Skip to main content
My Shows
News on your favorite shows, specials & more!

Dutch National Opera & Ballet Presents SHADOWS Next Month

Performances run 13 - 28 September 2022.

By:
Dutch National Opera & Ballet Presents SHADOWS Next Month Image

On Tuesday 13 September, Dutch National Ballet is opening its new season with an adapted programme entitled Shadows, comprising ballets about war, power and hope. The Green Table, an anti-war ballet by Kurt Jooss, is one of the most gripping works in twentieth-century dance history. This important ballet is unfortunately extremely relevant at the moment, so it has been included in the programme after an absence of 25 years. The world premiere of Regnum, by the Ukrainian-Dutch choreographer Milena Sidorova is a ballet about human motives and what people will do - both within personal relationships and society as a whole - to obtain power, set to Mozart's Symphony no. 25. It was already planned as part of the programme, as was the Dutch premiere of Wayne McGregor's Yugen, a hopeful ballet in which light and shadows play a major role in the stage sets.

The Green Table from 1932

The German choreographer Kurt Jooss created his ballet The Green Table ninety years ago, but the piece still grips and moves audiences today. For his magnum opus, Jooss initially drew inspiration from mediaeval illustrations of the dance of death, but current events in Germany in the 1930's soon lent the work overtones of an indictment against the abuse of power and the futility of war. We see 'bigwigs' around a conference table deciding the fate of soldiers and civilians, and in contrast Jooss shows the victims of war, who eventually come together in a quiet procession, led by the triumphant figure of Death.

Exceptionally musical

Alongside this work, in Shadows, Dutch National Ballet is presenting the Dutch premiere of Wayne McGregor's Yugen (Japanese for sublime beauty). For this impressive ballet, which met with great acclaim in London at the beginning of 2018, McGregor was inspired by Leonard Bernstein's monumental composition Chichester Psalms, an eclectic mix of Hebrew texts, Christian choral music and Broadway jazz. McGregor gives an exceptionally musical interpretation of the composition, alternating lyrical dance scenes with powerful, dynamic group sections. The sets for Yugen, in which light and shadows play a major role, were designed by the renowned ceramic artist Edmund de Waal.

Timeless and powerful

The third work in Shadows, entitled Regnum, is a world premiere by the Ukrainian-Dutch choreographer Milena Sidorova, who has been a dancer with Dutch National Ballet for seventeen years and has held the post of Young Creative Associate with the company since 2021. Sidorova's new creation for sixteen dancers, including principal Olga Smirnova, is inspired by Mozart's Symphony no. 25. The timeless and powerful character of the music forms the starting point for a ballet about human motives and the means that people use to gain power, both in personal relationships and in society as a whole. For this new ballet, Sidorova is working with game designer Anna Dohy, who is making her debut as a set designer. The costumes for Regnum are designed by François-Noël Cherpin, who has previously designed costumes for the Dutch National Ballet productions Mata Hari, Paquita and Ballet Imperial.
Dutch National Opera & Ballet Presents SHADOWS Next Month Image

Click Here to Get Tickets

Love Theater in Netherlands? Join The Community!

Whether you've got past experience writing about theater or just starting, the BroadwayWorld Community offers a unique opportunity to become a champion for your local arts community, helping raise awareness of local offerings and adding another local voice to the conversation at a time arts coverage is shrinking in the press across the continent. Join us and become a pivotal part of the movement that celebrates and promotes the arts in the digital age.

Learn More
Need more Netherlands Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...


BroadwayWorld TV


Liv i lavvoen med Trubadur Bayer IKKE I SALG in Netherlands Liv i lavvoen med Trubadur Bayer IKKE I SALG
Lavvoen (10/17-10/17)
1984 in Netherlands 1984
Stadthalle Verden (9/24-9/24)
Memories (1995) in Netherlands Memories (1995)
Melkweg (9/19-9/19)
På tur med Arne Hjeltnes in Netherlands På tur med Arne Hjeltnes
Lavvoen (10/17-10/17)
Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011) in Netherlands Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011)
Melkweg (10/17-10/17)
Jon Niklas Rønning in Netherlands Jon Niklas Rønning
Lavvoen (10/16-10/16)
Leedbewakers: Noodkeet in Netherlands Leedbewakers: Noodkeet
Caprera Openluchttheater (8/23-8/23)
Aperitivo! Med Thea Engvik in Netherlands Aperitivo! Med Thea Engvik
Browns Corner (10/17-10/17)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show in Netherlands The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Caprera Openluchttheater (9/04-9/04)
Den spanske revolusjon – vinkurs med Ingvild Tennfjord og tapasmiddag in Netherlands Den spanske revolusjon – vinkurs med Ingvild Tennfjord og tapasmiddag
Wood hotel by Frich’s (10/16-10/16)