The Dutch National Ballet's 2019 Gala

Xander Parish and Maria Khoreva in "Diamonds"

Author Michel Schnater, © 2019 Dutch National Ballet: all rights reserved

Dutch National Ballet Gala 10 Sept 2019, 19:30 Music Theatre, Amsterdam

The opening night gala of the Dutch National Ballet's new season is one of the highlights of my year. It is always a grand affair, the gentlemen in dinner jackets and the ladies in gorgeous evening attire.  The Music Theatre (or Stopera as the building that combines Amsterdam's city hall (Stadhuis) and opera house is unofficially called) is packed. The video on my review of last year's gala conveys some of the excitement and atmosphere.

At 19:30 the lights dim and the conductor enters the orchestra pit.  He (I have not yet seen a woman conduct an orchestra in the Music Theatre though I am sure many will do so in future) raises his baton and the orchestra plays the polonaise from The Sleeping Beauty.  The curtain rises to a row of children, the first-year students of the National Ballet Academy.  The first years are followed by the second and subsequent years, each year in different coloured uniforms.  The Academy is now under the direction of the magnificent Ernst Meisner, still a young man but already a widely acclaimed choreographer. He is also artistic coordinator of the Junior Company  The students are followed by the Junior Company, then the élèves, the corps de ballet, the coryphées, grands sujets, soloists and finally the principals. The women appear in dazzling white classical tutus and the men in dashing tunics. This is known as the Grand Défilé and although it is very simple it is an impressive spectacle.

The company then performs scenes from its current repertoire or works that are staged specially for the occasion.  There is always something from Hans van Manen, usually something from one of the other great Dutch choreographers, Rudi van Dantzig and Toer van Schayk and often works by the company's artistic director, Ted Brandsen, David Dawson, Juanjo Arques and, of course, Meisner.  I particularly look forward to Meisner's works because his choreography appeals to me more than almost any other. His Embers and  No Time Before Time are among the most beautiful works that I have ever seen and I can't watch them without emotions welling up. Much of Meisner's work has been created for the Junior Company who must be the 12 most beautiful dancers on the planet.  Their performance is always the highlight of my evening much as I admire the company's principals and other fine dancers.

Brandsen usually makes two speeches at the gala.  One to welcome the audience and introduce the show.  The other to present the prima ballerina, Alexandra Radius, in whose name the company's Friends award a prize to the dancer of the year.  Usually, the winner is a principal but last year it was Timothy van Poucke who joined the Junior Company in 2016. Brandsen usually delivers long passages of his speeches in English as many members of the audience are from countries other than the Netherlands.

The gala is always a party.  Wine, beer, soft drinks and canapés are offered the moment guests enter the theatre.  The hospitality continues during the interval and after the show.  As soon as they have changed the dancers make a grand entrance down the staircase of the lobby.   This is the audience's chance to mingle with their heroes and heroines and perhaps dance with them in the disco at the entrance to the theatre.  In that regard, anyone can say that he or she has danced with the Dutch National Ballet in the Music Theatre.

This year's gala was a little different from previous years.  For a start, it seemed to be shorter.  Only five pieces were performed in the first half and one on the second.   There was no performance by the Junior Company as such though some of its members were in other pieces.  Nor was there any work by Meisner.  I would have been a little disappointed had I not reminded myself that I had seen the Junior Company at the Linbury in July for the first time in several years (see Welcome Back! Junior Company returns to the Linbury 6 July 2019) as well as in Dancers of Tomorrow at the Music Theatre a few days later.  The third way in which this year's gala differed from previous years was that Brandsen delivered his entire speech in Dutch which is not unreasonable since the show took place in Amsterdam.  Dutch is the first cousin to both English and German which I studied at secondary school and as I visit the Netherlands several times a year I have picked up a little bit of the language. I think I understood most of the director's speeches.

Despite those differences, I enjoyed the gala very much indeed,  Matthew Rowe, one of my favourite conductors, lifted his baton. The Grand Défilé was as impressive as ever.  Having seen those excellent young dancers in Dancers of Tomorrow in July I felt particularly close to them.  I am doing my best to support the Academy in any way I can and I hope that I will be able to arrange for funding through lifetime gifts or legacies for talented young dancers like Conor Walmsley who studied in Amsterdam, joined the Junior Company and has recently graduated into the senior company.

The show continued with the pas de deux in Diamonds from Balanchine's Jewels by Xander Parish and Maria Khoreva from the Mariinsky.  I have been following Parish's career since July 2007 when he and his sister Demelza appeared at A Summer Gala of Dance and Song at the Grand Opera House in York.  I did not blog about ballet in those days but Charles Hutchinson of The Press reviewed the show.   Those two young dancers performed with the likes of Samara Downs and Marianela Nuñez but it was their piece that impressed the audience the most and it has been etched in my memory ever since.  Since then I have seen Parish in London as Romeo in 2914 and in Ballet 101 in Leeds in Northern Ballet's 45th-anniversary gala.  I also had the pleasure of meeting him at the London Ballet Circle. Parish has always thrilled me but his performance on Tuesday was masterly. He commanded the audience's attention like a king. I do not recall seeing Khoreva before but I shall follow her in future.  Not only did she partner him well. She showed considerable virtuosity in her solo.  That pas de deux alone justified the trek to Amsterdam.

Parish and Khoreva were followed by Maia Makhateli and Young Gyo Choi in a pas de deux from Le Corsaire.  I was very puzzled by the programme note for it stated that the piece was created by Samuel Andrianov and premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre on 12 Jan 1915. As the music for Le Corsaire was composed by Adolphe Adam who wrote the score for Giselle I knew that this ballet must be very much older.  According to Wikipedia, it was first performed in Paris in 1856 but all modern productions are based on Marius Petipa's of 1863. I had never heard of Andrianov until I read the article on Balanchine in the French Wikipedia where I learned that he had been one of Balanchine's teachers. There is no similar mention in the English article.  A short paragraph on the piece in Dutch - not a language that I have ever studied formally so I may well have got the wrong end of the stick - the piece was created for students and was introduced to the Netherlands by Rudolf Nureyev in 1965. That would make sense for Young is a powerful dancer who reminds me of Nureyev. Makhateli is always a delight to watch.  The crowd was delighted.

The only work that seemed to be completely unconnected with Balanchine was van Manen's Trois Gnossiennes.  This was set to a piano score by Erik Satie which was earlier used by Sir Frederick Ashton in an orchestrated version for his Monotones.  Van Manen uses a single piano played by Olga Khoziainova mounted on a platform on castors which was pushed gently around the stage by four young male dancers. The dancers were Igone de Jongh and  Jakob Feyferlik of the Vienna State Opera House's Ballet Company.  It was very beautiful.   I just can't make up my mind whether I prefer van Manen's work or Ashton's.

The last work of the first part of the gala was the first of Balanchine's Symphony in Three Movements to the score by Stravinsky by the same name.   This is a work for 12 dancers including 6 soloists - Quian Liu and Young Gyu Choi, Anna Tsygankova and James Stout and Floor Eimers and Jozef Varga.   This is an exuberant piece with a lively score. The women wore simple leotards and their hair in ponytails.  It was fast and slick and left the audience on a high.

As in previous years, complimentary drinks and savouries were served during the interval.  These were a bit different from ours in that chunks of cheese, ham or sausage were served without bread or biscuit. I took a sample of each of them as well as a glass of quite potable wine.  I have got to know some of the Dutch ballet goers over the years and met several in the lobby. I usually find myself at the merchandise stand buying cards or t-shirts for friends in England but, as that stand has disappeared on Tuesday, I took advantage of the interval to stand on one of the terraces overlooking the Amsel and take in the September night air.

After we had returned to our seats, Brandsen stepped back on stage and announced that the time had come for the Alexandra Radius award.  He explained that the money had been raised by Friends of the company and asked us to stick up our hands.  At least, I think that is what he said because the conversation was entirely in Dutch.  He then introduced Alexandra Radius who is still beautiful.  He announced that the winner of the 2019 prize was Edo Wijnen and played a short film which showed Wijnen's achievements. Radius presented Wijnen with his prize which included a trophy.  He gave a short acceptance speech part of which was in English. Both he and Radius received enormous bouquets.

The rest of the evening was taken up with Balanchine's Who Cares? A great celebration of New York to the music of George Gershwin and Hershi Kay.  Readers can gain an idea of the energy and exuberance of the piece from the YouTube trailer. De Jongh and Makhateli performed solos in the piece together with Vera Tsyganova and Constantine Allen who joined the Dutch National Ballet only in 2018.  I think this was the first time that I had seen him and it will certainly not be the last   Yet again the audience rewarded the dancers with a standing ovation. One that they truly deserved.

Last year I missed the party because one of my guests was a child. This year I stayed and met many friends and acquaintances from the company and the audience.  I had been looking out for Xander Parish, Ernst Meisner, Michaela DePrince and Matthew Rowe but I did not encounter any of them. Hardly surprising as the crowd was massive and the noise deafening.  As far as I know, no British company holds a party for its audience after a gala like this.  That is a shame because it is one of the reasons why every Dutch person I know has great pride and great affection for the national company even if he or she never actually attends any of its performances.

The best evening I have ever spent at the ballet

The Dutch National Ballet Grand Défilé

Angela Sterling
(c) 2015 Dutch National Ballet

All rights reserved

Dutch National Ballet Gala 2015, Stopera, Amsterdam, 8 Sept 2015


Last Tuesday I attended the opening gala of the 2015-2016 Amsterdam ballet season.  It was the best night I have ever spent at the ballet. I have been to some great galas in my time including Northern Ballet's 45th anniversary celebration earlier this year (see Sapphire  15 March 2015) and Sir Frederick Ashton's retirement on 24 July 1970 but this was the best ever. I still feel as though I am floating several feet off the ground from the experience. Goodness knows when I will come down to earth.

The gala took place at the Stopera which is also known as the Music Theatre in Amsterdam. That building stands on the banks of the River Amstel and one of the city's canals. It has a white marble façade that is impressive by day and magical when floodlit at night. It houses a massive auditorium with two tiers of seats and an enormous stage. Every tier has a terrace overlooking the river. The terrace is an excellent place to reflect on the previous act on a warm summer evening.

I had been to the Stopera in June to see Cool Britannia (see Going Dutch 29 June 2015) and was impressed with it then. On Tuesday it was even more grand because everyone in the audience (including me) had been invited to a party after the show. Almost all the gents were in black tie and the majority of the ladies were in long evening dress. I have been to special performances at the Paris Opera, Lincoln Center and, of course, Covent Garden as well as many other theatres in the UK but nowhere  had I such such elegance, such glitter, such chic.

Upon our arrival we were offered drinks: champagne or some other bubbly, red and white wine, soft drinks and whatever happened to be behind the bar. Knowing that I had to wake at the crack of dawn for my return flight to be followed by a long day's work I grabbed a glass of sparkling mineral water and opened my purse to pay for it. "Don't worry" said the barman "it's on the house tonight." Another little treat that does not happen very often at home was a free programme. It was in Dutch but although that language's rules of pronunciation defeat most English speakers (including me) the written language is sufficiently like English and German for most Anglophones to get the gist without too much difficulty.

Just before 19:30 a gong summoned us to our seats. I was in the stalls (zaal) just 9 rows from the stage so my view was excellent. The auditorium was packed. I did not see a single empty seat. The house lights dimmed and an electronic notice board above the stage announced the first work. It was the Grand Défilé danced by the Dutch National Ballet, the Junior Company and the students of the National Ballet Academy to Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty. The piece had been choreographed by the company's Artistic Director Ted Brandsen and its Welsh ballet mistress, Judy Maelor Thomas. The conductor. Matthew Rowe who was born in London, readied the orchestra.  The curtain rose. The music started. A row of little children in leotards marched on stage to thunderous applause. They were followed by rows of increasingly older children, then the dancers of the Junior Company, the company's  élèves (or apprentices as we might call them), the corps, the coryphées, grands subjets (junior soloists), soloists and finally the principals. The ballerinas partnered by their premiers danseurs nobles. All the women in the company were in gorgeous white tutus. The men were in black. Each rank of dancers took their place on stage until the spectacular formation depicted above had been achieved. All the company's stars were there including its guest artist Matthew Golding. Rarely if ever have I seen such an array of balletic talent on stage at the any one time.

The curtain fell and on to the stage walked Ted Brandsen. As his web page notes:

"Under the directorship of Ted Brandsen (1959, Kortenhoef, the Netherlands) the Dutch National Ballet has made enormous progress. In 2013, for instance, the New York Times ranked the company in the top five dance institutions in the world that presented new productions, and De Süddeutsche Zeitung ranked the group in the top three in the world."

I was fortunate enough to meet him at the reception which followed the opening night of the Junior Company's tour of the Netherlands in February (see The Dutch National Ballet Junior Company's best Performance yet 8 Feb 2015), Brandsen began his talk in Dutch but then switched to English to welcome the many members of the audience from overseas. He spoke of the history of the company and its great achievements in recent years. All that had been accomplished in the last 70 years as there was no balletic tradition in the Netherlands before that time.

I reflected on our own slightly longer ballet history which began with the visits of the Ballets Russes before the first world war, the work of Adeline Genée, Marie Rambert and Ninette de Valois, the formation of the Ballet Club and The Camargo Society and the wartime tour of the Netherlands by the Vic-Wells Ballet just before the German invasion which nearly ended in disaster.

My reflection was interrupted by Brandsen's introducing the great ballerina Alexandra Radius. She was one of the great stars of my youth and I remember seeing her in London. A short video showed her dancing various roles. Brandsen reminded us of her enormous contribution to the company. Then she entered the stage. A strikingly beautiful and elegant woman.  Brandsen explained that an award known as the Alexandra Radius prize had been established in her honour for the most outstanding dancer of the year. It had been won by Matthew Golding in 2011, Igone de Jongh in 2003, Casey Herd in 2012 and Anna Tsygankova in 2007. This year's winner was Maia Makhateli who had once danced with the Birmingham Royal Ballet. Impressively as she was born in Georgia and has spent much of her life in English speaking countries she delivered her acceptance speech in what appeared to me to be fluent Dutch. A film showed her dancing the great ballerina roles.

In honour of Alexandra Radius the first pas de deux of the evening was Voorbij Gegaan which I understand to mean Gone Forever. That piece had been choreographed by Rudi van Dantzig for Radius and her husband Han Ebelaar. On Tuesday it was danced by de Jongh and Herd. That was the first time I had seen de Jongh dance and she was wonderful. So, too, was her partner. I savoured every single step, turn and lift as I would a fine claret.

Next came Anna Ol and Semyon Velichko. Those dancers have only just joined the company so this was a first opportunity to see them not only for me but for most of the audience. They danced the final pas de deux between Solor and Nikiya in the kingdom of the shades from the last act of La Bayadère. Having seen Denis Rodkin and Irina Kolesnikova in that role at the Coliseum on 23 Aug 2015 the choreography and music were fresh in my memory (see Blown Away - St Petersburg Ballet Theatre's La Bayadere 24 Aug 2015). The Dutch version had been choreographed by Natalia Makarova and Minkus's music had been arranged by John Lanchberry.

That beautiful pas de deux was followed by Juanjo Arques's Rewind danced by Suzanna Kaic and Vito Mazzeo to music by Gorecki. Arques had created Blink for the Junior Company which had been a great success in both Amsterdam and London (see Junior Company in London - even more polished but as fresh and exuberant as ever 7 June 2015). I made his acquaintance at the reception that followed the first night of the Junior Company's tour and have followed his career very closely ever since. Arques took a bow after the performance of his work and it was great to see him.

A work from the English choreographer David Dawson came next. I had admired greatly his Empire Noir in Cool Britannia and had been looking forward to On the Nature of Daylight danced by Sasha Mukhamedov and James Stout to the music of Max Richter. I felt a surge of patriotic pride in this largely British line-up. It was very different from Empire Noir but no less enjoyable. Dawson has spent much of his career in Amsterdam and is now an associate artist of the company.  It would be good to see more of his work at home.

Next came Two Pieces for Het choreographed by the great Hans van Manen for Makhateli and Remi Wörtmeyer to music by Erkki-Sven Tüür and Arvo Pärt. These were composers I had not heard before. The performance was received enthusiastically.  

The first half of the evening was rounded off gloriously by Golding and Tsygankova's pas de deux from the black Act of Swan Lake. That was thrilling although I couldn't help thinking of my own shortcomings when I tried to learn Siegfried's solo at KNT's ballet intensive last month (see KNT's Beginners' Adult Ballet Intensive - Swan Lake: Day 3 20 Aug 2015). They were as magnificent in Swan Lake as they had been in Cinderella on 8 July 2015 (see Wheeldon's Cinderella 13 July 2015). Apparently it is not the done thing in Amsterdam to clap until Legnani's  32 fouettés are completed. I started clapping when I would in London and quickly stopped after attracting stares.

There were more free drinks and tempting chocolates on every table in the interval.  I bought my daughter manquée (otherwise known as Vlad's mum) a Michaela DePrince T-shirt. As I think I have mentioned more than once in this publication I was married to a Sierra Leonean for nearly 28 years and we gave refuge to a young woman from Freetown in 1990. She later read economics at Cambridge, married a splendid chap from Ghana and they now have a little boy known as Vlad-the-Lad. She is the nearest I have to a daughter and she has been a great comfort to me in the 5 years since my late spouse died. Like many Sierra Leoneans she takes enormous pride in the achievements of Michaela DePrince. When she heard I was going to Amsterdam she asked me whether I might meet DePrince. "It's very unlikely" I told her. "There will be so many people at the party and I am sure Ms DePrince will be surrounded by well wishers. But I can try to get you a Michaela T-shirt."  Before the gong sounded I met two acquaintances from England: Alison Potts (immediate past chair of the London Ballet Circle and Helen McDonough from the Wirral who contributes under the moniker DonQ Fan.

When we returned to the auditorium images of falling snow were projected on to the stage. Before the house lights dimmed two dancers dressed as lions were in the auditorium. Then I recognized some of the beautiful young dancers from the Junior Company on stage. The beat was compelling. The dance an amalgam of ballet and hip hop. It was Narnia, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by Ernst Mesiner and Marco Gerris. A collaboration between the Junior Company and ISH Dance Collective. That was the highlight of the show for me. When Ernst visited the London Ballet Circle he mentioned the possibility of bringing it to the UK. It would be wonderful if that were ever to happen. Particularly if it could be brought to Leeds or Manchester.

One of the works for which Radius is remembered is Le Corsaire and we were reminded of her artistry in that role by a short film. In her honour the final pas de deux from that ballet was danced by Qian Liu and Young Gyu Choi.  This is a beautiful ballet that I have seen only once on stage and once on an HDTV transmission from Moscow. The pas de deux was executed exquisitely.

It was followed by John Neumeier's La Dame aux  Camélias danced by de Jongh and Marijn Rademaker. Although very different I could not help thinking of Ashton's Marguerite and Armand danced by Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev which had also been inspired by the Dumas novel. Neumeier had used Chopin whereas Ashton had chosen Liszt but Neumeier's work was equally beautiful.

Next came Makhateli and Artur Shesterikov in the Diamonds pas de deux from Balanchine's Jewels. This is one of my very favourite ballets. Shesterikov had impressed me tremendously in Empire Noir and I admired him even more after seeing him in a piece that I knew well. As for Makhateli it was pretty clear why she had won the Radius prize this year. They were both magnificent.

The finale was Wheeldon's Concerto Concordia which I had admired so much in Cool Britannia. Tsygankova and Jozef Varga danced one couple as they had last time but the other couple were Nadia Ynowsky and Wörtmeyer. This was almost the only time that we saw members of the company other than principals and soloists and it was good to see the ensemble. The performance at the gala was even better than in Cool Britannia and the applause was deafening.

The party that followed seemed like a continuation of the ballet except that it was one in which the audience participated in the dancing. Literally for there was a disco on the ground floor of the Stopera. I joined in hoping to be partnered by Golding, Herd or Shesterikov. How many others can say that they have danced at the Amsterdam Music Theatre in the presence of members of the Dutch National Ballet? Throughout the night there was a steady flow of soft drinks, coffee and every kind of alcohol, all sorts of tasty nibbles. Although I missed Ernst Mesiner, Richard Heideman and most of the young dancers I had met in February I did meet Ted Brandsen and Juanjo Arques and I was flattered that they recognized and remembered me.

I told Brandsen that the evening excelled even Ashton's retirement gala. I am not sure that he believed me but it is true for the simple reason that the company had invited their public to their party. That is what makes the Dutch National Ballet great. It is why it is loved so much in the Netherlands and beyond. Ballet in that country does not seem to carry the elitism, exclusivity or snobbery that is to be found here. It is enjoyed by all. Every ethnic group seemed to be represented in the audience in roughly the proportions that they constitute the Netherlands population as a whole. Companies in this country could learn much from the Dutch National Ballet.

As I had been warned that the tubes stop at 01:00 in Amsterdam I left the party at 00:30. I had changed from evening dress into denim and was on my way out when I spotted Michaela DePrince.
"Excuse me" I blurted out, "are you Ms. DePrince?"
"Yes" she replied "and you are?"
I told her my name and that I had written about her in Terpsichore. I also mentioned my connection with Sierra Leone.
"You probably saved that young woman's life" she replied.
I don't think that was ever the case because Vlad's mum came from Freetown which suffered only briefly at the hands of the RUF and indeed her parents and siblings escaped to Nigeria during the occupation but it was so sweet of her to say so. As I was rushing for my tube and the party was still young our conversation was very brief but it was like the icing on a cake. I left the Stopera thinking how that exceptionally talented young dancer was as gracious off stage as she is magnificent upon it.

Now dear readers if you have persevered so far you will know why I am still on a high. I have learned one very important lesson from it.  As Voltaire said:

"Dans ses écrits, un sage Italien
Dit que le mieux est l'ennemi du bien."

Three days after the gala I attended Northern Ballet's 1984 at West Yorkshire Playhouse. I went there because the company is always at its best in The Quarry. I knew the performance would be good and indeed it was but I just couldn't appreciate it.  I think any performance by any company would have been an anticlimax after that gala. Next time I attend an event like the Dutch gala I will leave at least a week before I see any other ballet. I owe that to the dance maker and artists.