Following the premiere of the quintessentially Romantic Giselle in a staging by English ballet master Maina Gielgud, the Polish National Ballet presents a very different new production. This time it is a triple bill of contemporary choreographies by Dutch masters of the genre set to music by Ludwig van Beethoven The title of the programme, Beethoven and the Dutch School, is a reference to the Dutch school of choreography, distinguished by an original visual aesthetic, extraordinarily creative treatment and reinterpretation of classical dance, phenomenal musical and visual discernment, and incredible musicality displayed by its most prominent representatives.
The style found its best expression in the work of the leading Dutch choreographers of the last decades of the 20th century. These include the late Rudi van Dantzig and two other colossi of contemporary ballet of his generation: Hans van Manen and Toer van Schayk. Their two pieces, Grosse Fuge and 7th Symphony, both widely recognised and shown across the globe, have now been successfully staged in Warsaw by the Polish National Ballet with the Polish National Opera Orchestra under Alexei Baklan. The third of the pieces is a new ballet created by the current director and choreographer of the Dutch National Ballet, Ted Brandsen, specifically for our company. Set to Beethoven's Variations and Fugue for Piano in E-flat major, his Eroica Variations are performed by pianist Piotr Sałajczyk.
The Dutch triple bill also offers a better insight into the artistic background of Krzysztof Pastor, the Polish National Ballet director, who is very open about his special affinity with the Dutch school of choreography. A former dancer with the Dutch National Ballet, where he performed for a decade in many ballets by the best of the company's choreographers, he made his choreographic debut in Amsterdam and is now considered in the Netherlands as a follower and original continuator of the legacy of the Dutch school alongside with Ted Brandsen. (pch)
Pictured:
1. Grosse Fuge by Hans van Manen, dancers: Natalia Pasiut and Patryk Walczak, Yuka Ebihara and Dawid Trzensimiech, Daria Majewski and Vladimir Yaroshenko, Jaeeun Jung and Tomasz Fabiański, photo: Ewa Krasucka
2. Eroica Variations by Ted Brandsen, dancers: Mai Kageyama and Ryota Kitai, photo: Ewa Krasucka
3. 7th Symphony by Toer van Schyak, dancers: Chinara Alizade and Vladimir Yaroshenko, photo: Ewa Krasucka
