Life and Leisure
Dutch treat for Beijing
By Chen Nan (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-19 08:04
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The Dutch National Ballet spreads its wings with a mixed show of contemporary works. Chen Nan reports
After performing its classical production, Don Quichotte, at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing on Wednesday and Thursday, the Dutch National Ballet will do a gala of contemporary ballet on Friday and Saturday, comprising Adagio Hammerklavier and Solo by choreographer Hans van Manen, One Thing Leads to Another by Benjamin Millepied and Moving Rooms by Krzysztof Pastor.
These are the company's first performances in Beijing in 20 years.
Born in 1932, van Manen began his career in 1951 and is known for his abstract pieces which are distinguished by their musicality and lyricism.
The lyrical Adagio Hammerklavier, produced in 1973, is a piece for three couples. With the men bare-chested and in white pants and the women attired in light blue, each couple dances in different steps before reuniting at the end. The piece is about disorder and conflicts in relationships.
Set to the adagio from Beethoven's Piano Sonata in B-Flat, Adagio Hammerklavier is just one of the numerous ballets the choreographer has set to piano music.
The dance was performed at the 2010 Hong Kong Arts Festival, where it received high praise from critics and audiences.
Another piece from van Manen to be performed in Beijing is Solo, which he created in 1997. It is an athletic masterpiece for three men, alternating at high speed to the two parts of Johann Sebastian Bach's First Violin Partita.
Moving Rooms is one of Polish-born choreographer Krzysztof Pastor's best works.
Born in 1956, he began his ballet training with the Polish National Ballet School. Pastor joined the Dutch National Ballet in 1985 and has danced major roles in both classical and modern works. Now the resident choreographer of the Dutch National Ballet, he started choreographing works in 2004. Moving Rooms premiered in 2008.
Eleven dancers fill the space, which is marked out by different lighting designs created by Bert Dalhuysen, and perform to the music of Alfred Schnittke.
The piece is about the emotions generated in people by space or by a lack of it. In setting of flashing patches of lights, the choreographer combines virtuoso ensemble work with an impressive solo demonstration of physical flexibility and an elegant, physical duet.
Besides the works from established artists, the Dutch National Ballet will present works from young choreographers.
French choreographer Benjamin Millepied is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, and he will bring One Thing Leads to Another, a new show, which premiered in Amsterdam in October. Pounding percussion is a recurring element in the sometimes rather alienating, but always easy-on-the-ear composition by Nico Muhly. The dancers, 12 women and 12 men, are clad in ugly jungle outfits and energetically occupy the space in straight lines, massive blocks and swirling couples.
Born in 1977, Millepied began his ballet training at the age of 8 with his mother. He joined the New York City Ballet in 2002 and served as a choreographer for the movie, Black Swan, a psychological thriller starring Natalie Portman.
The Dutch National Ballet was founded in 1961 when the Amsterdam Ballet and the Netherlands Ballet merged.
With 80 dancers, featuring many international cast members, it is the largest dance company in the Netherlands. The company appeared at the gala opening of the Shanghai International Arts Festival in 2008.