Hans van Manen, 92, continues to fascinate the world

Dutch choreographer Hans van Manen continues to fascinate the ballet world. At the age of 92 years, he seems to be unstoppable.

It is not surprising that the Dutch National Ballet performs van Manen's ballets a few times a year. The next mixed bill, Other Dances, features his Solo in June 2025.

However, van Manen's works have been staples of many ballet and dance companies internationally, with some of them still being premiered here and there along with works by next generation choreographers.

This season at least two companies, San Francisco Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet, have performed programmes solely dedicated to van Manen's works.

In April-May 2026, Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam will run the Hans van Manen in Carré programme. Needless to say, the programme is dedicated to his works, which will be danced by the Dutch National Ballet dancers. The company will perform his other works throughout the next season at Het Opera.

Van Manen, currently Resident Choreographer with the Dutch National Ballet, was born in Nieuwer-Amstel, the Netherlands, in 1932. According to the company's web page about him, he danced with the Netherlands Opera Ballet and Roland Petit's Ballets de Paris in France. In 1955, he made a debut as a choreographer. That is 70 years ago. Seven decades.

Van Manen has been a prominent figure in the Netherlands at least since 1960s. He co-directed Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) , then held resident choreographer positions with the Dutch National Ballet and NDT. He went back the Dutch National Ballet in 2005 as Resident Choreographer.