While in Amsterdam for the European premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s On The Dnieper last February, I took the opportunity to interview Ted Brandsen, the artistic director of Dutch National Ballet, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in style this season. The resulting “Director’s Notes” are in the latest issue of Pointe Magazine (with Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Lindsi Dec on the cover), and you can read the article online:

Cover of the October/November 2011 issue © Pointe Magazine

Onstage, Dutch National Ballet dancers have a no-nonsense energy and an intoxicating confidence—and for good reason: The company has been on the rise since Ted Brandsen took the reins in 2003. The dancer-turned-choreographer has hired a host of up-and-coming young soloists, and produced an enviable string of premieres: Alexei Ratmansky and John Neumeier have set some of their best ballets on the troupe, and ambitious new works by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and others have entered the repertoire. After a long period of uncertainty over its mission, DNB is returning to its creative roots.

Founded in 1961, Dutch National Ballet started out as a classical company with an emphasis on new work, galvanized by Dutch choreographers like Hans van Manen and Rudi van Dantzig. However, that focus began to fade in the 1990s. And while Wayne Eagling introduced leading American choreographers like Jerome Robbins during his directorship from 1991 to 2003, “there was a bit of confusion in the Netherlands about the identity of the company,” Brandsen says. The board returned the company to its Dutch foundation by tapping Brandsen, who was born near Amsterdam and danced with the company before directing the West Australian Ballet.

Brandsen’s most pressing task has been learning to juggle the “three pillars” of a very large repertoire: Dutch choreography, 19th-century classics and international 20th-century masterpieces. No fewer than three resident choreographers (van Manen, former company member Krzysztof Pastor and Brandsen himself) are upholding the Dutch connection at the moment. With traditional versions of Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake, not to mention the largest Balanchine repertoire outside of New York City Ballet, the company also serves as the Netherlands’ only “museum of dance,” as Brandsen dryly puts it, with a clean, unfussy approach to every style. “We still need to reaffirm that this wide focus is essential to our identity,” he explains. (…)

» Read the full interview in Pointe Magazine: “Returning To Its Roots,” October/November 2011

Ted Brandsen with ballet mistress Rachel Beaujean © Angela Sterling