Lambrecht Wessels is a conflict analyst, publicist and avid dance fan living in Amsterdam. He writes about modern and classical dance, and follows Dutch National Ballet and the Netherlands Dance Theater especially. But he also visits dance performances in Belgium, the UK and Scandinavia.
Nederlands Dans Theater 1’s new triple bill premieres Imre Van Opstal and Marne Van Opstal's Take Root alongside works by Sharon Eyal, Gai Behar and Crystal Pite.
This Swan Lake is a continued homage to classical female beauty and awe-inspiring dancing. The swans' collective mourning at Siegfried’s betrayal and its consequences are palpable.
Dawson impresses most where the dynamic between utter stillness and his lyrical movements is greatest, and Bryers has composed a beautiful and meditative series of compositions
What the young dancers lack in finesse they make up in boisterousness. Sidorova's dance vocabulary seems endless. Kuindersma's Mesmer radiates into the theatre.
Shut Eye (Lightfoot & León) is like an alternating current. Woke Up Blind (Goecke) is entertaining and vulnerable. Pite's work hits the rythmic nail on the head. You want to freeze-frame Pite's dancers, snap a picture and hang it on the wall.
As generations of dancers move on and off the stage, working hard for their very short lived moment in the spotlight, we can rest assured that there will be many classic Van Manen pieces in the repertoire for them to dance.
Athletic (modern) classics combined with playful Hans van Manen and romantic Kuindersma make for a great evening. Elisa Badenes and Anna Ol are superb.
Wheeldon’s vocabulary, Ratmansky’s Lyricism, Pastor’s roaring engine and Dawson’s mesmerising planetary roaming little prince Edo Wijnen, make for a happy afternoon.
It's all there; the virtuoso dancing, brilliant live Philip Glass music, mysteriously connected couples whirled into a subtle feeling of expansion. If your brain lacks a much needed moral and creative boost this is your December pick-me-up.
