Alexei Ratmansky appointed Associate Artist with Dutch National Ballet
The world-famous choreographer Alexei Ratmansky has been appointed Associate Artist with Dutch National Ballet. The appointment will mean a more intensive collaboration between Dutch National Ballet and Alexei Ratmansky, who is internationally renowned as one of the greatest ballet choreographers of his generation.
The appointment is for the period 2024-2027, during which time Dutch National Ballet will present at least one ballet a year by Ratmansky. Ratmansky will also be involved in the company’s artistic policy and in developing choreographic talent. Alongside Hans van Manen (resident choreographer) and David Dawson (Associate Artist), Ratmansky is the third internationally prominent choreographer to become associated with Dutch National Ballet.
Alexei Ratmansky says:
“I am deeply grateful to Ted and the Dutch National Ballet for this prestigious and exciting invitation. I have had the great fortune to develop a creative relationship with the company during Ted’s tenure as Artistic Director and look forward to being a part of their artistic plans for the next three years. To have a creative and collaborative partnership with Dutch National is a wonderful gift for a choreographer to present work to, and engage with audiences to celebrate ballet as an artform which is something I am so passionate about.”
Ted Brandsen, director of Dutch National Ballet says:
“Alexei Ratmansky is a master of combining classical ballet traditions with modern influences. He creates works that feel timeless, yet innovative, whether they are reconstructions of the great classics or new abstract ballets. Ratmansky’s work shows the deep bond between music and movement, and turns dance into a living, breathing art form. Through his creations, he keeps pushing back the boundaries of ballet and enriching the art form for future generations. Alexei Ratmansky’s appointment to Associate Artist is therefore extremely valuable to the company. It perpetuates and deepens the close ties between Ratmansky and Dutch National Ballet, which were already formed in 2008 with the European premiere of his Russian Seasons. The fact that three of the most important ballet choreographers in the world, Hans van Manen, David Dawson and Alexei Ratmansky, each with their own distinctive hallmark, have become associated with Dutch National Ballet is of inestimable value to the international stature of our company.”
Dutch National Ballet has several of Ratmansky’s works in its repertoire, including the ballets created especially for the company, Don Quixote and Souvenir d’un lieu cher. The company has also presented the European premieres of his Russian Seasons, On the Dnieper, Firebird, Shostakovich Trilogy, Serenade After Plato’s Symposium and The Fairy’s Kiss.
Ratmansky’s appointment to Associate Artist means he will join the team of resident choreographers Hans van Manen and Ted Brandsen, Associate Artist David Dawson and Creative Associates Kalpana Raghuraman and Milena Sidorova.
Alexei Ratmansky – short biography
Alexei Ratmansky’s work is performed by nearlll major ballet companies worldwide, including New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Ballet de l’Opéra National de Paris, The Royal Ballet, The Royal Danish Ballet, Balletto del Teatro alla Scala, Staatsballett Berlin, Ballet Nacional de Cuba, The Australian Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Vienna State Ballet, and Dutch National Ballet.
From 2004 to 2009, Alexei Ratmansky was the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, which under his leadership was twice named “Best Foreign Company” by the London Critics’ Circle. From 2009 to early 2023, Ratmansky was artist-in-residence at American Ballet Theatre. Appointed in August 2023, Ratmansky is currently Artist in Residence at New York City Ballet.
