Dutch National Ballet opened their 2025-26 season with a well-balanced triple bill. Entitled, Monument, in honour of the master work by Rudi van Dantzig, Monument for a Dead Boy, the mixed programme highlighted Dutch artistry, not only in celebration of Amsterdam’s 750th anniversary, but as a bold declaration of the company’s continuing ethos of freedom of expression and identity.
The evening began with a new work entitled IN FLUX, by former soloist with the Dutch National Ballet and now acclaimed choreographer, Juanjo Arqués. The piece asserted the evening’s main themes, engaging with the current conversation of gender identity and gender fluidity.
The thirteen dancers moved effortlessly through Arqués’ contemporary work, portraying entities shifting between different states of being. Accompanied by a sweeping and cinematic score by composer Thomas van Dun, the dancers embodied the vibrant, lyrical movement, offering fresh perspectives and groupings. The first trio of men showcased their strength and sensitivity, interlocked in intimate exchanges while propelling one another in graceful, gravity defying lifts. Soon after, the trio was joined by a quartet of three men and one woman, eventually dancing in a unified septet. And so it went throughout the piece, each moment slipping in and out of assemblages that resisted the binary and contemplated the importance of a gender-neutral dance space.
This shift beyond the binary was reflected in the unisex dancewear by costume and set designer Tatyana van Walsun. The white costumes also mirrored the impressive billowing strips of white fabric that hung from the ceiling and came together or unfurled throughout the piece, the dancers either brushing passed or moving through them as symbols of identities, indeed, in flux.
Sure, the overlapping voices of the dancers sharing their perspective on gender and identity was a tad didactic and perhaps gratuitous. However, it did set the tone for the entire night and made the audience explicitly aware of the programme’s themes. I had to ask myself if the engrossing duet between the man and the woman at the ballet’s apex was indeed my favourite part of the piece, or did it simply appeal to my binary, ballet-trained eye? Perhaps both. Either way, IN FLUX, successfully introduces the ballet world to the contemporary discourse on gender.
Whereas IN FLUX points to a potential future of identities in multitudes, van Dantzig’s revolutionary piece, Monument for a Dead Boy speaks to the fragility of a singular identity in turmoil, and the sad reality that sometimes, it just doesn’t get better. Created for the Dutch National in 1965, van Dantzig was inspired by the story of a young man who ended his own life because of his homosexuality. The ballet unravels like a macabre, modernist play, centering around the protagonist, The Boy, movingly portrayed by newcomer Tristan Simpson. Through a series of fragmented episodes into The Boy’s psyche, the audience becomes a witness to his tumultuous journey, navigating tender moments of self-discovery and battling societal pressures and demons in the form of his parents and school mates.
Simpson’s dance quality demonstrated a command of character, blending physical prowess with innocent expressiveness. Every moment both he and Alexander Álvarez, who portrayed His Youth, shared on stage, was beautifully executed, embodying a tender blossoming of sexuality. The intimate cast of dancers weaved through van Dantzig’s gestural choreography as though in a fever dream or nightmare, accompanied by a dissonant electronic soundscape composed by Jan Boerman. The backdrop, an abstract splattering of somewhat psychedelic colours added another dimension to The Boy’s mental state, like a Rorschach test on acid.
Noteworthy mentions include the terrifying portrayal of The Boy’s toxic and abusive parents danced by Ariana Maldini and Conor Walmsley. Additionally, the dance scene with the ensemble of School Boys encountering the protagonist was incredibly nuanced, fraught with homoeroticism and violent tension. As I watched, I couldn’t help but wonder the kind of impact Monument for a Dead Boy would have made at its world premiere. The ballet is both a sublime and sinister piece of dance theatre, depicting a haunting story of a young man fraught with demons and desires.
The evening ended with Toer van Schayk’s rousing and bombastic 7th Symphony, aptly titled after Beethoven’s composition, impressively rendered by Dutch National Ballet Orchestra led by conductor, Thomas Jung. The music was a galvanizing force that led the ensemble of twenty dancers, through a series of classical steps and lyrical movements that sparkled at every turn.
The dancers breezily shifted between pure lines evoking regality and a kind of pastoral playfulness. While the ballet seemed rooted in balletic binaries – the dashing men barreling through the stage in unison in a kind of princely peacocking, the women equally compelling in coquettish flirtations – the penultimate allegretto had beautiful sober yet seductive moments between same sex pairings.
Van Schayk’s ballet is like an express train with no stops, and I applaud the dancers who performed on Friday night with their unabating sense of attack. Principal dancers Riho Sakamoto and Timothy van Poucke were commanding presences, providing steady stewardship to the young ensemble. Koyo Yamamoto electrified the stage with his boundless vigor during his solo. And while the sheer dance talent of the men seemed, at times, overwhelming in its abundance, I must commend all the women, especially Khayla Fitzpatrick, Riho Sakamoto and Nina Tonoli, for their deliciously, articulate pointe work.
Curated by Artistic Director Ted Brandsen, the evening’s programme exemplified the company’s artistry and integrity. By highlighting different eras in the company’s existence, anchored by van Dantzig’s seminal piece, Monument represents its commitment to presenting bold new works alongside heritage pieces that resonate in the contemporary moment.
