The history of Dutch National Ballet

One of the highlights of the anniversary celebrations is the double programme Present/s in February 2012, which premieres nine new works by leading choreographers: Juanjo Arqués, Ted Brandsen, David Dawson, Sol León and Paul Lightfoot, Hans van Manen, Krzysztof Pastor, Alexei Ratmansky, Ton Simons and Christopher Wheeldon. Keso Dekker designs the sets for all nine ballets and the costumes for some of them. "Startänzer, Ausnahme-Choreographen. Ballett auf der Höhe unser Zeit", writes Frankfurter Allgemeine, and the opinion of Moskovskie Novosti is, "An example to be followed. Maybe our theater managers (..) should be sent for training to Holland to learn how to do Jubilees."

Present/s is dedicated to Rudi van Dantzig. 

At the Gashouder, in Amsterdam, one week before the Hans van Manen gala, the premiere takes place of The Dutch National Canta Ballet, an initiative by Karin Spaink and Maartje Nevejan, with choreography by Ernst Meisner. Over fifty Cantas (small vehicles intended for people with a disability) and their drivers get together on the dance floor with dancers from Dutch National Ballet and Nova College Haarlem in this special production. The newspaper Trouw writes, “What an exciting and daring idea to bring together these two worlds, which at first sight are completely different. Suppleness and steel, health and illness, movement and standstill.” The NTR broadcasts a four-part television series about the creative process of this special production, directed by Maartje Nevejan.

For the Holland Festival 2013, Dutch National Ballet presents a completely new double bill, comprising the world premieres of Sacre du Printemps by the Chinese choreographer Shen Wei – who is making his debut with the company – and Overture by David Dawson.” Dawson’s Overture puts classical ballet in top gear, whereas Shen Wei’s Sacre du Printemps demands a subdued virtuosity and organic flow of its dancers”, according to de Volkskrant. And Theaterkrant.nl characterises the production as an “exceptionally good programme”, in which the two choreographers work with a “mathematical precision”.

A few months after the premiere, Dawson’s Overture is nominated for the ‘Zwaan’ award for ‘Most impressive dance production’. 

In September 2013, the renowned duo Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten – who together run the dance platform ICK Amsterdam – make their debut with Dutch National Ballet, presenting The body of Dutch National Ballet. The new work is combined in a programme that includes Hans van Manen’s Corps, prompting the following statement from the newspaper Trouw: “It is dangerous to juxtapose work by Greco and Scholten, who do not shy away from kitsch as a stylistic device, with that of Van Manen, a choreographer whose maxim is ‘less is more’. But it is evident how impressive Dutch National Ballet’s corps de ballet is.” 

In April and May 2014, Dutch National Ballet presents the first edition of Dutch Doubles, in which well-known choreographers collaborate with artists from other disciplines. For this edition, Hans van Manen works with harpist Remy van Kesteren (Dances with Harp), Jorma Elo with fashion designers Viktor&Rolf (their designs for Elo's Shape include square tutus), Ton Simons with photographer and video maker Rineke Dijkstra (Romance) and Juanjo Arqués with visual artist Krijn de Koning (Roulette).

“So this is how exciting and alive neoclassical dance can be. In Dutch Doubles, Dutch National Ballet couples four choreographers with Dutch artists from different disciplines, from Rineke Dijkstra to Viktor&Rolf. The result is creditable”, writes De Telegraaf in a four-star review. Six months after its world premiere, Simons' Romance receives the ‘Zwaan’ award for ‘Most impressive dance production’. With hindsight, it turns out that Van Manen’s Dances with Harp is the last ballet to be created in the Netherlands by the choreographer, who is 81 at the time (six months later, he creates Alltag for Ballett am Rhein in Düsseldorf). 

In April 2015, Dutch National Ballet presents the Dutch premiere of John Neumeier’s La Dame aux Camélias, a poignant dance drama based on the novel of the same name by Alexandre Dumas, which also inspired Verdi for his opera La Traviata. The main roles are danced at the premiere on 10 April by the Dutch principal dancers Igone de Jongh and Marijn Rademaker. "Dutch National Ballet has surpassed itself (..) Everything works in this ballet, which was choreographed in 1978 by John Neumeier for Stuttgarter Ballett, has since travelled all over the world and now ‘finally’ been added to the repertoire of the Amsterdam company”, writes Noordhollands Dagblad. De Volkskrant is more reticent, yet full of praise for how the ballet is performed: “Of course, it is a frightful story (..) But fortunately Dutch National Ballet has stars like Igone de Jongh and Marijn Rademaker in its ranks (..) With awe-inspiring empathy and brilliant technique, they regularly make you forget the story. This makes the ballet a nice acquisition for the company after all.”

This season, the Junior Company not only presents its own touring programme, but also collaborates with ISH Dance Collective in May 2015 on the family production Narnia: the lion, the witch and the wardrobe. It is the first collaboration between Ernst Meisner and ISH choreographer Marco Gerris, whereby they create a refreshing mix of ballet and hiphop. “We are all bowled over by Narnia (..) Ballet and hiphop each hold their own. Even better – they are a great match. And they explain one another. The expressive power of hiphop is rubbed into balletomanes. And those who spurn classical ballet as elitism with ethereal fairies in tutus see here how powerful and relevant it actually is”, writes NRC Handelsblad.

On 6 February 2016, the world premiere takes place of Ted Brandsen’s second full-length production: Mata Hari, based on the extraordinary life of the Frisian dancer and spy Margaretha Geertruida Zelle (1876-1917). The British composer Tarik O'Regan writes new music especially for the production, and Brandsen’s team also includes dramaturge Janine Brogt and designers Clement & Sanôu (sets and lighting) and François-Noël Cherpin (costumes). At the premiere performance, the title role in the ballet is performed by principal dancer Anna Tsygankova, who later receives the ‘Zwaan’ award for ‘Most impressive dance achievement’ for her interpretation. In a five-star review, Bachtrack writes, "It is not just a biography but an emotional journey of great depth with character development. Brandsen knows how to capture the audience with an excellent balance of narrative elements, emotional expression and dance which definitely pays tribute to the fascinating person Mata Hari was."

For the Dutch premiere of Roméo et Juliette, by the German choreographer and director Sasha Waltz, Dutch National Ballet and Dutch National Opera combine forces for the first time. Dancers and singers share the stage – all in a strongly physical role. For his interpretation of the role of Père Laurence, principal dancer Vito Mazzeo receives the Italian Capri Award. Theaterkrant.nl writes, “Roméo et Juliette contains carefully drawn-out scenes, in which the themes are explored in more and more depth, both in dance and in music. It leaves a lasting impression. If the production is a precursor of how the Amsterdam marriage will turn out, it is a very promising one.”

Dutch National Ballet closes this season with the Holland Festival programme Transatlantic. Besides David Dawson’s Overture, it includes the European premiere of Justin Peck’s Year of the Rabbit and the world premieres of George Williamson’s Crane and Ernst Meisner’s duet Merge (with costumes designed by Jan Taminiau). "In 2012, Year of the Rabbit formed the breakthrough of Peck, who was just 25 at the time. And I understand why. This must be wonderful to dance. The dancers’ pleasure radiates from the stage”, writes Dans Magazine. And de Volkskrant writes about Merge, “A nicely typified, beautifully danced encounter between a mature, cautious woman  (Igone de Jongh) and a young lad (Martin ten Kortenaar), who come together despite their differences.”

The programme Dutch Masters, in which Dutch National Ballet pays tribute to Toer van Schayk, includes his masterpiece Requiem, as well as his new creation: the duet Episodes van Fragmenten. Other works on the programme are Rudi van Dantzig’s Four Last Songs and Hans van Manen’s Adagio Hammerklavier. De Volkskrant writes, "Episodes van Fragmenten is a light-hearted and tender game, whereby phrases and scenes are continually interrupted. Fragmented memories of a love or loves, which come and go. How symbolic for a festive jubilee like this.”

In February 2016, Dutch National Ballet presents a double programme, entitled Made in Amsterdam, comprising ballets recently created for the company and the world premieres of David Dawson’s Citizen Nowhere, Juanjo Arqués' Homo Ludens and Ernst Meisner’s In Transit. In the weekend of the opening nights of both programmes, the company organises Positioning Ballet, an international dance conference about the future of ballet, attended by dozens of ‘world leaders’ from the dance scene. “The fact that this conference took place in Amsterdam is no surprise, as the city houses one of the best companies in the world. This is undeniably reconfirmed by Dutch National Ballet, in Made in Amsterdam”, writes Noordhollands Dagblad. Soloist Edo Wijnen is nominated for the ‘Zwaan’ award for ‘Most impressive dance achievement’ for his solo role in Dawson’s Citizen Nowhere, and is awarded the Alexandra Radius Prize for the same role, in 2019.

In September 2017, for the occasion of the 80th birthday of resident choreographer Hans van Manen, Dutch National Ballet presents the programme Ode to the Master, comprising some regularly performed Van Manen works, as well as the Dutch National Ballet premiere of his On the Move, which he created in 1992 for Nederlands Dans Theater. Especially for the opening night on 15 September – which is attended by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima – Ode to the Master is expanded by Van Manen’s last choreographic work, Alltag, which he created in 2014 for choreographer and artistic director Martin Schläpfer and dancers of his company, Ballett am Rhein. "Ode to the Master is a treat of a performance (..) The four dance works are constructed with such precision – Van Manen’s trademark – that you cannot miss a single step”, writes De Groene Amsterdammer.

The Junior Company celebrates its fifth anniversary with the special tour In the Future. Alongside a selection of existing works (including Hans van Manen’s ballet of the same name), the programme comprises the world premiere of Juanjo Arqués' Fingers in the Air. "The choreography is intense and sensual and has a nice flow (..) it’s an interesting concept in which Juanjo Arqués excels", writes Bachtrack.

Later in the season, the premiere takes place of the new family performance GRIMM, the second collaboration between the Junior Company and ISH Dance Collective, freely inspired by the famous Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Trouw writes, "GRIMM is without doubt the most imaginative dance performance of this theatre season.”

For the second time, Dutch National Ballet presents a Dutch Doubles programme, in which choreographers work intensively with artists from other disciplines. This time, there are world premieres by Ernst Meisner and harpist/composer Remy van Kesteren, and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and singer Wende Snijders, supplemented by Déjà vu by Hans van Manen/Keso Dekker and Two and Only by Wubkje Kuindersma/Michael Benjamin. De Volkskrant writes, “The Dutch Doubles present spectacle in fourfold. Like a raging, rocking dance storm.” And Trouw writes, “It is worth stepping out of your comfort zone, as shown by Dutch National Ballet in Dutch Doubles (..) The highlight is the double act between Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and the Netherlands’ most remarkable female singer Wende. To excerpts from her album Last Resistance, she challenges 32 dancers, who form a counterforce to Wende’s ineluctable voice, like rearing parade horses.”

Dutch National Ballet presents its first full-length work by David Dawson: Tristan + Isolde, which he created in 2015 for SemperOper Ballett in Dresden, to a new composition by Szymon Brzóska. "Touching Tristan and Isolde enthrals Holland festival audience (..) the ballet has great potential for lasting power", reads the five-star review by Bachtrack. And Dance Europe writes: "Dawson proves once again that he is a master of his craft."

Immediately after the opening night performance, artistic director Ted Brandsen promotes dancer James Stout (who danced the role of Tristan) to principal dancer.

In September 2018, following the gala to open the season (see above), Dutch National Ballet presents The New Classics. Besides Wayne McGregor’s Chroma, the programme comprises the Dutch National Ballet premieres of Dances at a Gathering by Jerome Robbins and Serenade after Plato's Symposium by Alexei Ratmansky, to the music of the same name by Leonard Bernstein. 2018 marks the centenary of the birth of Robbins and Bernstein (who created West Side Story together). De Volkskrant writes, “Dutch National Ballet has dived headlong into the new season (..) Straight away, The New Classics is a must, with three diverse works, each fascinating, in which the dancers look like fish in water.” The New York Times calls Ratmansky’s work “probably the most important ballet of the 21st century”. 

Following last season’s premiere of Tristan + Isolde, this season David Dawson creates a large-scale new work especially for and with the dancers of Dutch National Ballet: Requiem. For the occasion, the British composer Gavin Bryars writes new music, performed by Dutch Ballet Orchestra, conducted by Matthew Rowe, the Chorus of Dutch National Opera, and four vocal soloists. Requiem is combined with Dawson’s masterpiece for one dancer Citizen Nowhere.

“In between the extremes of light and dark, there is a field of tension filled with life and energy. David Dawson’s choreography is constructed from complex, alternating and rapidly overlapping patterns (..) His vocabulary is virtuoso (..) Dutch National Ballet’s new Requiem is a strong programme with an enormous wealth of ideas in the dance and music. A programme to be seen at least once more”, writes Theaterkrant.nl. 

For the Holland Festival 2019, Dutch National Ballet dances a ‘three generations of choreographer programme’. Alongside the Dutch National Ballet premiere of Hans van Manen’s Kleines Requiem (created in 1996 for Nederlands Dans Theater), it comprises the Dutch premieres of William Forsythe’s Pas/Parts 2018 and Juanjo Arqués' Ignite.

"Dutch National Ballet proves itself one of the best in the world”, reads Trouw’s heading about the programme as a whole. And de Volkskrant writes about Pas/Parts 2018, "How delightful to see the fantastic dancers of Dutch National Ballet dancing ‘their steps’ with such assurance and power.”

In a third edition of Best of Balanchine, Dutch National Ballet presents George Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial (added to the repertoire in 1993) in a new version, with sumptuous, colourful costumes designed by François-Noël Cherpin. Het Parool writes,

"In Ballet Imperial, Balanchine reduces the splendour of the tsarist court to an abstraction (..) There was warm (well deserved) applause from the audience for principal dancers Maia Makhateli, Artur Shesterikov and Riho Sakamoto. Yet the true power of this ballet lies in the ensemble sections, in which the roundness of the tutus is reflected in whirling circular patterns.”

On 6 February 2020, the world premiere of Frida takes place in Dutch National Opera & Ballet. The new, large-scale, full-length production by the Colombian-Flemish choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa is inspired by the life and work of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The music is written especially for the production by the British composer Peter Salem, and the sets and colourful costumes are designed by Dieweke van Reij. The role of Frida is danced at the premiere performance by principal dancer Maia Makhateli.

Het Parool writes, "Lopez Ochoa transcends the anecdotal right from the word go (..) The self-portraits of Frida, danced by men, come to life in masterly group sections (..) In the title role, Maia Makhateli excels not just technically, but also dramatically. Her Frida is an absolute ode to the joy of life and to feminine resilience.” And Dance International writes, "The complex story is deftly handled, there is plenty of inventive choreography and a slew of excellent performances. The costumes are no small part of the success and Ochoa weaves these strands together in a ballet that has both entertainment value and depth."

All the other theatre premieres planned for the 2019/2020 season are cancelled due to the corona crisis. There are, however, several online premieres. For example, in the first months of the lockdown, Milena Sidorova creates the dance video Hold On, to the number of the same name by the Dutch band DI-RECT, and Young Creative Associate Peter Leung and filmmaker Altin Kaftira make Gently Quiet, consisting of 11 short dance films shot at various outdoor locations in Amsterdam that are practically deserted during the lockdown. From the beginning of June 2020, after trying to keep in shape at home for months, the dancers can come back to the studios again to rehearse, albeit in small groups and distanced from one another. On 15 June, the online premiere takes place of The Prometheus Project, comprising solos by Wubkje Kuindersma, Ernst Meisner and Remi Wörtmeyer. Dance Tabs writes, "Meisner’s Eagle was a powerful solo for Sem Sjouke", "A brief work of remarkable imagery, powerfully performed" (about Wörtmeyer’s solo) and "This was the least adorned piece, with no design accoutrements, relying on the simple classicism of Kuindersma’s choreography, which fully utilised the space, alongside Kaftira’s roving camerawork."

After half a year with no live performances, Dutch National Ballet opens it doors again on 17 September 2020. For two weeks, the company presents two short performances per evening, which (due to the corona measures) can each be attended by a maximum audience of 350 people: Dancing Apart Together and Hans van Manen’s iconic video ballet Live.

Dancing Apart Together comprises no fewer than eight world premieres, by Ted Brandsen, Ernst Meisner, Juanjo Arqués, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Sedrig Verwoert and Milena Sidorova, supplemented by existing works by Hans van Manen and David Dawson, with the addition of Michel Fokine’s legendary solo The Dying Swan as the opening piece. Trouw writes, “Following months of enforced lockdown, this is a powerful message: Dutch National Ballet is going for it. And how ! With no fewer than twelve different ballets in one evening, including a remarkable number of group works”. And de Volkskrant writes, “Van Manen’s masterly Solo and his world-famous video ballet Live turned out to be the highlights of the start of this adapted new ballet season.”

In October and November 2020, Dutch National Ballet is supposed to dance the double programme Back to Ballet - Classic and Back to Ballet - Contemporary for the maximum number of 250 people permitted per performance. Unfortunately, the altered corona measures mean there is just one live performance of the first programme, on 13 October.

After that, the permitted audience number is reduced to just 30, which prompts Dutch National Ballet to switch to livestreams of both programmes, alongside giving a few live performances for a select small audience (including healthcare workers). An important eye-catcher in Back to Ballet - Classic is the world premiere of Ted Brandsen’s male ballet Classical Symphony. "In Classical Symphony, Brandsen pays tribute to the dancers of Dutch National Ballet. Three sections from Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 drive the dancers in patterns that are swingingly modern and classical in equal measure. Brandsen shows off the male dancers’ mastery of technical feats like fast turns and high leaps, and their perfectly synchronised arsenal of movements”, writes Theaterkrant.nl. In Back to Ballet – Contemporary, Juanjo Arqués' Manoeuvre is premiered. De Volkskrant writes, “Particularly the canon form, in which the seven dancers subtly change their movement vocabulary or successively break out of the lines, makes Manoeuvre a strong ballet.”

After Back to Ballet, Dutch National Ballet is still restricted to livestreams for the time being, due to the corona measures. The programmes shown online in the period December 2020 to May 2021 include a specially compiled Christmas Gala (6864 views), the programme Hans van Manen Variations (6715 views), a Spring Special (2697 views), the world premiere of David Dawson’s METAMORPHOSIS (47,335 views), Wubkje Kuindersma's Architecture of Hope (2365 views) and a trilogy of new works by Young Creative Associates Wubkje Kuindersma, Milena Sidorova and Sedrig Verwoert (in total 41,442 views). 

In June 2021, Dutch National Ballet can give live performances again at last. As part of the Holland Festival, two programmes are presented. The first, Beethoven, comprises Hans van Manen’s Grosse Fuge, alongside the world premiere of Prometheus by Wubkje Kuindersma, Ernst Meisner and Remi Wörtmeyer. The second, Four Seasons,  comprises the Dutch premiere of David Dawson’s The Four Seasons and the European premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s The Two of Us.

Dawson’s The Four Seasons gets rave reviews: "The Four Seasons is one of those blissful moments when dance, music and design chassé into alignment to create a moment of sublime beauty." And the same goes for Wheeldon’s The Two of Us: "I’ve never seen a more sincere, open-hearted, grounded work from Wheeldon (..) The dancers look like themselves, moving not so much with but through the music, feeling its vibe, and letting themselves be carried away by it (..) utterly genuine, heart-catching. I found myself holding back tears."