IMPRESSIVE BALLET

I went and see a performance of Nederlands Dans Theater II in Schouwburg Kunstmin last Friday night and I was thrilled as usual.

The company performed three ballet, each of approximately 20 minutes.:
Skulls and Bees (Stijn Celis)
Dream Play (John Inger)
and Mammatus (Medhi Walerski)

I particularly liked Mammatus, named after a type of cloud!

I had seen Dream Play in an earlier production of NDTII in the same theatre, but that didn’t bother me at all. On the contrary!
With Dream Play Johan Inger has created an abstract yet narrative ballet to Stravinsky’s “Le Sacre du Printemps.” He gives a new perspective to the heavily charged story of the ritualized spring sacrifice, reducing it to a daydream inspired by a fleeting sexual encounter. Then comes a wish-fulfillment dream, an erotic and sometimes aggressive game in which the six dancers occasionally play rough with the inventive set. Inger’s earthy, expressive movements mesh perfectly with Stravinsky’s raw sounds.

Decor and costumes for Dream Play: Mylla Ek

Light: Erik Berglund

World premier: November 16, 2000, Lucent Danstheater Den Haag

Nederlands Dans Theater II was founded in 1978. In its more than 25 years of existence, it has developed into a top quality, internationally recognized company performing in theaters all over the world; Spain, Czech.-Republic, New Zealand, Turkey, USA, France, Germany, South Korea, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the Dutch Antilles. Nederlands Dans Theater II consists of 16 dancers between the age of 17 and 22, all of whom completed a classical ballet training. Dancers are recruited from all over the world.

The initial aim with Nederlands Dans Theater II was to 'feed' the main company (Nederlands Dans Theater I) with its young dancers. It served as a bridge period to mature the freshly graduated dancers from the various classical conservatories and schools, and prepare them for a professional dance career. Today over 70% of the dancers of Nederlands Dans Theater I started their career in Nederlands Dans Theater II.The repertoire of Nederlands Dans Theater II is quite varied, working with established choreographers such as Jirí Kylián, Hans van Manen, Ohad Naharin, Paul Lightfoot/Sol León and Johan Inger, but also--more importantly--working with young and upcoming choreographers.

Over the past few years, Nederlands Dans Theater II has developed into a company of today. Working closely with young choreographers, and confronted by different choreographic styles and techniques, has given these young dancers the opportunity to react closely to contemporary developments in music and art of the 1990's. These talented young dancers are able to mirror the realities of today and incorporate these elements into new productions as a kind of Zeitgeist of the 21st century. Nederlands Dans Theater II especially aims to interest and excite young audiences for today's dance.

Enjoy,

HK