Review: Dutch National Ballet Other Dances mixed programme - burst of dance and music
- Ikuko
- Jun 25
- 4 min read
I went to Dutch National Ballet's (Het Nationale Ballet) Other Dances mixed programme on 19th June 2025 at Nationale Opera & Ballet in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. (I missed the two nights of Jiří Kylián with The Norwegian National Ballet at the Amare Theater in Den Haag. I wish I had two or more bodies with a hive mind.)
The Other Dances programme was comprised of five abstract works of Artistic Director Ted Brandsen, Hans van Manen, David Dawson, Alexei Ratmansky and, as the title suggested, Jerome Robbins.
In short, the programme was such a treat for me. It was very Dutch National Ballet. It was a great showcase of the rich talents the company boasted, including dancers, choreographers, the orchestra, musical artists and designers. It reminded me of the nature of dance and music and how enjoyable they were together. Furthermore, it was the first time for me to watch each one of the ballet pieces although Ratmansky's was a new production.
The beautiful Arianna Maldini opened the evening with Brandsen's 2023 creation, The Chairman Dances. It was set to the music of the same name by John Adams (1985). Nine couples of male and female dancers in the ranks from coryphee to corps de ballet danced the choreography, which integrated ballroom dance steps. The most notable of this ballet was the dancers all wore the same ankle-length white tutus, which the Dutch National Ballet called "gender neutral". Visually, I would have misunderstood they were wilis from Giselle. In contrast, the choreography was certainly not gender neutral, which was nice. The dancers were also full of life and joyful rather than ghostly. Nevertheless, a thought came to my mind. Wilis may be danced by male and female dancers in future like swans in Johan Inger's production. Matthew Bourne may be the trailblazer on this front. Or, all female wilis may look the most revengeful after all.
The second was the company's associate artist Ratmansky's new work, Trio Kagel, set to Mauricio Kagel’s Rrrrrrr…. What's unique about Trio Kagel was that this Ratmansky's work was not a storytelling ballet or a reinterpretation of a classical ballet. And it was accompanied by a live accordionist, Vincent van Amsterdam, on stage. The specific part of the music used for this ballet was originally composed for an organ. Apparently, the score was arranged for solo accordion by Ratmansky's son. It was a pas de trois danced by a male dancer (Principal Timothy van Poucke) and two female dancers (Soloist Nina Tonoli and corps member Anastasia Cheplyansky). Although the stage was minimalist, the setting felt like a jazzy, fashionable and somehow nostalgic night-out at a cafe in Paris. The costume was black, accentuated with red and blue tulles for girls, in a fresh contrast to The Chairman Dances.
The third was van Manen's Solo. He need three dancers because not a single dancer would have enough stamina for this six minute non-stop perky choreography. Even so, it required Soloist Sho Yamada, Grand sujet Daniel Robert Silva and corps member Robin Park endless stamina and they had it. It was full of techniques and positive energy, and it was a crowd-pleaser. Although everyone was clisp and clean, I have to point out the Brazilian Robert Silva stood out in Solo and The Chairman Dances, for which he was also casted.
Then came Other Dances by Jerome Robbins. The couple of the evening were Principals Anna Ol and Semyon Velichko. I had been particularly excited about Other Dances because I had seen it only in recordings before. More importantly, this specific Other Dances was staged by Isabelle Guérin, who was my childhood and current admiration (I sat on the front row and heard she and Patrick Dupond talking to each other during the Don Quixote grand pas de deux). What can I say about this ballet? Set to Chopin's piano, it was so Robbins, it was so sublime I was under the influence of for 20 minutes. The couple was so mature if the Solo dancers were diamond roughs. Somehow the printed cast sheet forgot to print the name of the amazing pianist on stage, Ryoko Kondo. A pianist is often an integral part of Robbins' ballets.
After the intermission, it was Dawson's The Four Seasons. Although the name of the mixed programme was Other Dances, The Four Seasons was the main event of the night. Dawson's strong creative team including usual suspects, costume designer Yumiko Takeshima (there must have been lots of changing at the stage wings), artist and stage set designer Eno Henze and lightning designer Bert Dalhuysen, never miss the sweet spot. Set to Max Richter's reinterpretation of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, the ballet gave me an illusion that I was seeing sheet music and the music. Especially the repetition of the running on the stage and the sequence of the lifts towards the end were so beautifully logical and precise it was as though dancers were playing the notes.
Music was the keyword for the evening. Without music, dance does not exist (except for some of Trisha Browns' works and my living room tendus). And the audience knew it. The whole audience danced with the dancer and the musician. The applause to the musicians and the orchestra were the loudest I have ever heard in any ballet performances.
It was also nice to see soloist-level dancers and soloists of tomorrow dance similar roles. I will look forward to promotion announcements.
These five pieces would have been enjoyable individually. Altogether, however, they were in a different scale. They produced depth and facets. A mix of show-offs and understated elegance. They were curated to be somehow Robbins yet they brought out the stylistical uniqueness of each choreographer. The programme also showcased superiority of the Dutch National Ballet. Pure dance and pure music. The world class.
For the online programme book, click here.
