This summer will see a festival dedicated to one of the most famous figureheads in Dutch ballet, Hans van Manen. Get your tickets now!

Tribute to the grandmaster of Dutch ballet

In 2007, the Hans van Manen Festival, organised by Dutch National Ballet for the occasion of Van Manen’s seventy-fifth birthday, was the highlight of the theatre season.

This summer, Van Manen will turn 90, and once again the international dance world will come together to pay homage to the grandmaster of Dutch ballet. This year, a total of eight dance companies and ensembles are taking part in the festival.

Leading dance companies from the Netherlands and abroad

This year, a total of eight dance companies and ensembles are taking part in the festival:

• Wiener Staatsballett (Vienna State Ballet)
• Ballett am Rhein Düsseldorf-Duisburg
• Stuttgarter Ballett
• Nederlands Dans Theater 1
• Nederlands Dans Theater 2
• Introdans
• Dutch National Ballet
• Dutch National Ballet Junior Company

Together, they will present a cross-section of the extensive Van Manen repertoire. The programme also includes a Dutch premiere: Ballett am Rhein will perform Dances with Piano, an adaptation of Dances with Harp, which Van Manen created for the company in 2014.

Groundbreaking

The Stuttgarter Ballett will dance Van Manen's Solo: his shortest masterpiece, which is nothing short of wonderful. The Wiener Staatsballett is performing an early Van Manen work: Four Schumann Pieces, originally created for The Royal Ballet in London. Nederlands Dans Theater is presenting one early work and one later one by Van Manen: NDT 1 is dancing his groundbreaking Situation from 1970 and NDT 2 will shine in Simple Things.

Colourful evergreens

Introdans and the Junior Company will be adding a colourful touch, with, respectively, Polish Pieces and In the Future - two evergreens in which an important role is played by the colourful costumes by Van Manen’s regular designer Keso Dekker.

Dutch National Ballet will be dancing no fewer than eleven ballets by the master choreographer, ranging from an early work like Metaforen to internationally successful ‘classics’ like Grosse Fuge, Adagio Hammerklavier and 5 Tangos. But the programme will also include later works like Concertante, Two Pieces for HET and Frank Bridge Variations.

 

Book your ballet tickets online

Tickets to the Hans van Manen Festival are available on the Dutch National Opera and Ballet website. Book your ballet tickets in advance before all the good seats are taken!