Mourning the death of Hans van Manen

Dutch-born Hans van Manen created more than 150 works in his lifetime and is considered one of the great innovators of European ballet, lending a new humanity to the neoclassicism of his great role model George Balanchine. His ballets, in which women and men were always equal partners, are of crystalline clarity, timeless beauty and great musicality.

He was one of the founding members of the Nederlands Dans Theater and directed it from 1961 to 1971. In 1973, he was appointed choreographer at Het Nationale Ballet in Amsterdam. From 1988, he was again associated with the NDT as house choreographer before returning to Het Nationale Ballet in 2003.

His incisive pieces are now in the repertoire of all major ballet companies worldwide. Since the Vienna premiere of Adagio Hammerklavier and Twilight in 1977, a number of van Manen's works have been performed with the Vienna State Opera and State Ballet, including Five Tangos, Grand Trio, Songs without Words, Große Fuge, Bits and Pieces, Black Cake as well as Solo and Trois Gnossiennes. Concertante and the video ballet were still shown live in the 2024/25 season.

Hans van Manen leaves a huge gap in the dance world.