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can really move. Ballet dancers however
communicate in their language
perfectly with each other because they
control a specific language and that is
fantastic.
A: How important is dance in
Antwerp?
S: The Royal Ballet Flanders has its
own place in Antwerp. There is also the
company of Jan Fabre, Troublyn, Marc
Vanrunxt and a new generation with
Randi De Vlieghe and Iris Bouche… We
are spoiled. It is interesting to occasionally
work together and influence each
other. These different companies sit
side by side, and of course there is my
company, Eastman.
A: With the Royal Ballet Flanders I
have the challenge to meet the high
standards and demands of classical
ballet, whilst constantly being innovative
and appealing to diverse
audiences and building a repertoire
that gives us opportunities to tour
internationally.
S: In the thirteen years that I have
made productions as a choreographer,
I have won and lost audiences. Most
importantly, your audience is empowering
something you can stand behind. I
want to try new things. I often follow
my instincts in the choices I make.
The outside world can react very
aggressively on certain choices. This
sometimes hurts because the instinct
is one of the purest intentions. When I
read in my preparation for Faun about
Les Ballets Russes, and how Diaghilev
himself repeatedly had to justify to others,
this felt like a liberation. I was not
alone. If, however, he had always taken
into account what everyone thought we
would not have Le Sacre du Printemps.
A: Sometimes people just follow
what is trendy or safe or known,
while in their hearts they know better.
Shall we go with our hearts?
Made in Flanders is work that is made
especially on the dancers of the Royal
Ballet of Flanders - ensuring creativity
is at the heart of all that we do and
providing a hot bed of choreographic
innovation and risk taking
Season 2013 – 2014
Programme
Diaghilev Unbound
‘Astound me!’ — Diaghilev
100 years ago, The Rite of Spring by
Igor Stravinsky and Vaslav Nijinsky
was premiered in Paris, a milestone
in the history of ballet and a pivotal
moment for Diaghilev’s Ballets
Russes. Diaghilev Unbound offers
a ‘tour de force’ programme that
brings to the stage three reinterpretations
of key musical works from
the Diaghilev era. Diaghilev believed
that to remain relevant, ballet had
to constantly evolve. He changed
the world of ballet and between
1909 and 1929; ushered in a new
era. Daring, risking taking and collaborating
were hallmarks of a golden
era of ballet that offered a fascinating
interplay between tradition
and innovation, and he surrounded
himself with the best young dancers
(Pavlova, Karsavina, Spessivsteva),
choreographers (Fokine, Massine,
Nijinsky) and composers (Satie,
Stravinsky, Ravel, Prokofiev) and
artists (Picasso, Matisse, Bakst).
The Rite of Spring
When this ballet premiered in Paris it
caused a shock wave. The audience
at the world premiere both hooted
and cheered, argued loudly and even
came to blows. Legend has it that a
riot in the streets ensued. The Royal
Ballet of Flanders presents the Belgian
premiere of The Rite of Spring in the
version by the late American choreographer
Glen Tetley. Tetley was one
of the first dancer / choreographers to
train in both modern dance and ballet,
and performed leading roles with the
Martha Graham Dance Company and
American Ballet Theater – at that time
in the 1950s, stylistic extremes of the
art form. As a choreographer he experimented
with a mix of these idioms. It
was a style that many dancers found
irresistible.
Choreographer Glen Tetley / Music Igor
Stravinsky / Costumes and decor Nadine
Baylis / Lighting John B Read / Staged by
Bronwen Curry
58
Faun
‘Everything about this Faun works
spectacularly well’ — The Times
The Royal Ballet Flanders dances for
the first time the work of Antwerpbased
international choreographer Sidi
Larbi Cherkaoui. In Faun, Cherkaoui
brings a new perspective on another
controversial work by Nijinsky set to
Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi
d’un Faune. The theme of this impressionistic
work is sexual awakening.
Nijinsky revitalized the role of the male
dancer in early-twentieth-century ballet
and Faune constituted a transformational
moment in the representation
of male sexuality. This duet takes an
alternative look at the eponymous
creature from Stéphane Mallarmé’s
poem, Debussy’s music and Nijinsky’s
choreography, with additional music by
Nitin Sawhney and costumes by leading
fashion designer Hussein Chalayan.
Choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui /
Music Claude Debussy Nitin Sawhney /
Costumes Hussein Chalayan / Lighting
Adam Carree / Original production
Sadler’s Wells collaboration Eastman
Les Noces
This programme includes the world
premiere of Romania-born choreographer
Edward Clug’s Les Noces. Artistic
Director of the Maribor Ballet in Slovenia,
Clug has in recent years gained
international attention (Stuttgart Ballet,
Zurich Ballet) with his unique choreographic
style. His remarkable version
of Romeo & Juliet, Radio and Juliet,
to the music of Radiohead has won international
awards and toured globally.
For the Royal Ballet of Flanders, he
makes his choreographic debut with
his own version of Stravinsky’s iconic
Les Noces.
Choreographer Edward Clug / Music
Igor Stavinsky / Costumes Leo Kulas /
Decor Marko Japelj
The Return of Ulysses
Penelope, who for centuries has been
the embodiment of marital fidelity, has
been waiting for more than twenty
years for her husband’s return. With
every day that passes, it becomes less
likely that her waiting will be rewarded.
The more that reason contradicts her
belief that her husband will return unharmed
the stronger the conviction becomes
that he actually will. Like a chi-
maera hope pervades her life, lending
meaning to her existence. Penelope’s
ability to determine her own fate is of
course severely limited by the mounting
pressure of the horde of suitors,
who seek to inherit Ulysses’ riches by
marrying the supposed widow.
One of todays leading choreographers,
Christian Spuck performed with
Jan Lauwers’s Needcompany and Anne
Teresa de Keersmaeker’s Rosas ensemble
and he later joined the Stuttgart
Ballet in 1995. Spuck has been director
of the Zürich Ballet since the beginning
of the 2012/13 season.
Choreographer Christian Spuck / Music
Henry Purcell + songs from the ’40 - ’50
and ‘60 / Soprano Lenka Brazdilikova /
Dramaturge Jens Schroth / Costume & decor
Emma Ryott / Lighting Peter van Praet
Romeo and Juliet
This season the Royal Ballet of Flanders
presents the world premiere of a new,
never before seen production of Romeo
and Juliet. William Shakespeare’s
timeless love story written in 1595
is brought to the stage set to Sergei
Prokofiev’s beloved music and with
costumes by Belgian’s premiere haute
couture designer, Tim Van Steenbergen.
The story of the impossible love between
two young people from rivaling
families is for young Russian choreographer,
Slava Samodurov, a potent mix.
‘I do not want Romeo and Juliet to be
lyrical. I want wild temper from both of
them. Only being completely overtaken
by love and the idea that they are driven
to the edge of the world. Jellyfish don’t
stab themselves.’
The performances are accompanied
by Brussels Philharmonic in Ghent conducted
by the young British conductor
Jamie Phillips making his ballet debut
at the world premiere and the Flanders
Symphony Orchestra in Antwerp under
the baton of Benjamin Pope.
Choreographer Slava Samodurov / Music
Sergei Prokofiev / Costumes and decor
Anthony Macllwain / Lighting Simon
Bennison / Staged by Klara Dovzhik
Beyond the Tutu
An evening that pays tribute to the
purity of classical ballet, puts male
dancers through their places and offers
some challenging questions to
the myths surrounding the art form.
English
La Bayadère,
The Kingdom of the Shades
Cynthia Harvey, one of the greatest
ballerinas of her generation and now an
internationally respected teacher and
repetiteur, comes to Flanders to stage
her production of Marius Petipa’s 1877
classic, La Bayadère, The Kingdom of
the Shades. One of the most beautiful
and demanding ballets for the female
corps de ballet and soloists, it is a work
of pure poetry and technical brilliance.
Cynthia Harvey was a leading ballerina
in American Ballet Theatre and was invited
by Sir Anthony Dowell to join The
Royal Ballet, London, the first American
ever to enter the company as a Principal
Dancer. La Bayadère is accompanied
by Nuove Musiche conducted by
Benjamin Pope.
Choreographer Cynthia Harvey /
Music Ludwig Minkus
Made man
‘…a beautiful evening with
Fonte’s Made Man as the highlight.
[…] PHE-NO-ME-NAL presentation
of a thrilling and exciting
choreography.’ — Bert Hertogs
The male dancers of the company take
over the stage in Nicolo Fonte’s Made
Man which makes a welcome return
this season after its acclaimed premiere
in 2010. Made Man is a powerful and
poignant look at the male dancer, with
Fonte’s dynamic choreography offering
powerful motifs and images with emotions
that lie with urgency beneath the
changing dynamics of the performers.
The men share power and brotherhood,
rivalry and enmity.
Choreographer Nicolo Fonte / Music David
Lang, Julia Wolfe, Anna Clyne / Decor and
costumes Markus Pysall
Tyll
The programme includes the Royal
Ballet of Flanders premiere of Tyll by
Alexander Ekman, who makes his choreographic
debut with the company. Ekman
is one of the most sought after choreographers
on the international dance
scene today and is currently an Associate
Choreographer with Netherlands
Dance Theatre 2. Originally created for
the Royal Swedish Ballet in 2007 to critical
and audience acclaim, Tyll offers an
overview of the history of ballet imbued
with Ekman’s cheeky humour.
Choreographer Alexander Ekman /
Music Mikael Karrison / Costumes
Bregje van Balen / Set design Tom Visser
59
Coupe Maison 8
Coupe Maison 8 is the annual choreographic
workshop for the dancers of the
Royal Ballet of Flanders. As in previous
years, dancers from within the company
have an opportunity to develop
their choreographic talents on their
fellow dancers on the stage of Theater
‘t Eilandje. This year they are joined by
young guest choreographers from the
UK, the Netherlands and Belgium. We
also introduce Mini Coupes, an opportunity
for audiences to join us one hour
before the performance in our studios
to see shorter rough cuts that are not
quite ready for the main stage. This is
a brilliant opportunity to come behind
the scenes and see works in progress
by our fledgling in-house choreographic
talent and to experience the creativity
and inventiveness of the dancers of the
Royal Ballet of Flanders as new choreographic
perspectives are explored.
Fund Raising Gala
17 th October, 2013
On October 17, the Royal Ballet of
Flanders and the Friends of Ballet host
a very special international ballet gala in
the Antwerp Opera House. Each year,
the Friends raise much needed funds to
support the artistic programme of the
Royal Ballet and this year, for the first
time, international guests from the world
of ballet join our dancers for a magical
and unique evening of dance featuring
Stuttgart Ballet, Dutch National Ballet,
James Cousins Dance Co from London
and others still to be announced.
This is an event for ballet lovers and
those looking for a special occasion to
entertain friends, customers and business
clients in a unique setting.
Your evening includes a champagne
reception, sumptuous pre performance
meal and a post performance party with
the dancers.
€ 250 Diamond Seats
walking dinner, champagne reception
and post performance party
€ 150 Ruby Seats
champagne reception and post
performance party
€ 100 Sapphire Seats
post performance party
€ 75 Emerald Seats
€ 40 Topaz Seats
€ 25 Opal Seats
For information and to book tickets email
marianneboterdaele@balletvlaanderen.be