ted brandsen - artistic director & resident choreographer
Ted Brandsen (Kortenhoef, the Netherlands) danced with the Dutch National Ballet from 1981 till 1991, and it was there, in 1985, that he took his first steps as a choreographer. Brandsen gave up dancing in order to concentrate on his choreographic career. Nowadays, Brandsen’s works are in the repertoire of several ballet companies around the world.
In 1998, Brandsen was appointed artistic director of the West Australian Ballet in Perth. He was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2003 for his contribution to Australian ballet culture.
In January 2002, Brandsen returned to the Dutch National Ballet, originally in the position of assistant artistic director and resident choreographer. In July 2003, he was appointed artistic director of the company.
Since his return from Australia, his successful ‘Australian’ ballets Carmen and Pulcinella have been added to the Dutch National Ballet’s repertoire. Brandsen’s other creations include Light Journey (2002), Body (2004), Firebird (2004), Stealing Time (2006), Hallelujah Junction (2007) and the full-length ballet Coppelia (2006).
hans van manen - resident choreographer
Hans van Manen (Nieuwer Amstel, the Netherlands) had his first ballet lessons at the end of the forties from Sonia Gaskell, who took him into her company, Ballet Recital, in 1951. In 1957, he made his debut as a choreographer with Feestgericht, which received the State Award for Choreography. From 1961 onwards, Van Manen has worked alternately with the two main dance companies of the Netherlands. Since 2005, he has once again held the post of resident choreographer with the Dutch National Ballet.
Van Manen has now created more than 120 ballets, which are performed by over fifty companies worldwide, illustrating the fact that he has become a household name in international ballet circles.
Van Manen has received many awards, including the Sonia Gaskell Prize, the VSCD Choreography Award, the Deutsche Tanzpreis, the Benois de la Danse Lifetime Achievement Award and the prestigious City of Duisburg Music Prize. In 2000, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his special services to Dutch dance.
In 2007, the Dutch National Ballet held the Hans van Manen Festival, in honour of the choreographer and his work,
on the occasion of his 75th birthday. During the festival, he was made a Commander in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.
krzysztof pastor - resident choreographer
Krzysztof Pastor (Gdansk, Poland) trained as a dancer at the National Ballet School in Gdansk. In 1983, Pastor became a soloist with the Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon (France). He danced with the Dutch National Ballet from 1985 to 1995.
Pastor choreographed his first work in 1986 for an international gala in Lodz, and in 1992 he created his first piece for the company’s regular programme: the successful Shostakovich Chamber Symphony. Since then, Pastor’s international reputation as a choreographer has grown steadily. In 2001, Kurt Weill was nominated in no fewer than three categories for the prestigious Benois de la Danse Award. For Detail IV, Pastor received the 1995 Golden Choreography Prize from the International Ballet Competition in Helsinki.
He received the Medal of Merit from the Polish Ministry of Culture in 2000, and the Dancers Fund ‘79 awarded him the Choreography Prize in the same year.
Pastor was appointed resident choreographer with the Dutch National Ballet in 2003. Besides his works for the company, Pastor has also created pieces for many other companies worldwide. In March 2009, he was appointed director of the Polish National Ballet.