Alan Land

Alan Land (Minnesota, United States) trained at The Children’s Theatre School in Minnesota and Canada’s National Ballet School in Toronto. He went on to join Dutch National Ballet in 1979, where he was promoted to principal dancer in 1987.

Land has danced main roles in full-length classics such as Giselle, Cinderella, Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet. He also danced leading roles in works by Toer van Schayk, Rudi van Dantzig, Hans van Manen, George Balanchine and William Forsythe. Alan Land performed as a guest artist in Monaco, Israel and Poland. In 1995, the Dutch Association of Theatre and Concert Hall Directors (VSCD) presented him with the Golden Dance Theatre Award for his excellence as a dancer.

In 1995, Land said farewell to the stage and was appointed associate artistic director with Finnish National Ballet. In 2003, he returned to Dutch National Ballet as a ballet master. He also plays character roles with the company on occasion. Land is a sought-after guest teacher with companies all over the world.

Land has also been active for many years as a visual artist. His paintings have been shown at various solo exhibitions in Amsterdam and Minneapolis (United States), and in 2015 he had a duo exhibition with choreographer, designer and visual artist Toer van Schayk, in the Mondriaantoren in Amsterdam.