Renowned Choreographer Hans van Manen Dies at 93

The world-renowned choreographer Hans van Manen passed away on December 17, 2025, at the age of 93. Widely regarded as the most influential choreographer the Netherlands has produced, van Manen’s career spanned more than six decades and left an enduring mark on contemporary ballet both in Europe and around the world.

Born in 1932 in Nieuwer-Amstel, now Amstelveen, van Manen began his ballet training in the late 1940s with Sonia Gaskell and joined her Ballet Recital company in 1951. He went on to dance with the Netherlands Opera Ballet and Roland Petit’s Ballets de Paris. His choreographic debut came in 1955 with Olé, Olé, la Margarita, followed soon after by Feestgericht, which earned the State Award for Choreography.

From the 1960s onward, van Manen worked closely with the Netherlands’ leading dance institutions. He co-directed Nederlands Dans Theater for a decade and served as resident choreographer with Dutch National Ballet from 1973 to 1987, later returning to Nederlands Dans Theater from 1988 to 2003. In 2005, he rejoined Dutch National Ballet, where he held the title of senior choreographer as of 2025.

Over the course of his career, van Manen created more than 150 ballets, including works made specifically for television. While his early reputation was centered in the Netherlands and Germany, his influence steadily expanded. His ballets are now performed by more than 100 companies worldwide, including Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Stuttgart Ballet, Vienna State Ballet, Houston Ballet, the National Ballet of Japan, and many others.

Ted Brandsen, director of Dutch National Ballet, said in a statement, “Hans van Manen is one of the greatest artists our country has produced and an incredibly inspiring friend to so many people. His contribution to the development of dance in the Netherlands and far beyond is of immense importance. His art will live on in the bodies of the dancers who perform his work and in the eyes of countless spectators.”

Van Manen was known for a distinct choreographic style defined by clarity, musical precision, and refined simplicity. Guided by the principle that “less is more,” his ballets focused on human relationships and emotion without relying on narrative excess. Small gestures and subtle interactions often carried profound expressive weight, becoming a hallmark of his work.

In 2021, van Manen established the Hans van Manen Foundation, granting Dutch National Ballet custodianship of his complete oeuvre. The foundation oversees the staging, distribution, and preservation of his works, while copyrights remain with his husband, Henk van Dijk.

Throughout his life, van Manen received numerous honors recognizing his artistic achievements. These included the Erasmus Prize, the Prix Benois de la Danse Life Achievement Award, the VSCD Oeuvre Prize, and the German Musikpreis for his musicality. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the Netherlands Lion in 2007 and later a Commander of the French Ordre des Lettres et des Arts. In 2018, King Willem-Alexander presented him with the Honorary Medal for Arts and Science of the Order of the House of Orange.

Beyond choreography, van Manen was also an accomplished photographer. His photographic work was exhibited internationally and published in book form, and in 2024 he donated his complete photographic archive to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Dutch National Ballet has announced upcoming performances celebrating van Manen’s legacy, including 5 Tangos from February to March 2026 and Hans van Manen in Carré in late April and early May 2026.

Hans van Manen is survived by his husband, Henk van Dijk. His work continues to shape the language of contemporary ballet and will remain a central part of the international dance repertoire.

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