Hans van Manen
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Hans van Manen (Nieuwer-Amstel, the Netherlands, 1932) is internationally recognized as one of the grand masters of contemporary ballet. To date, he has created more than 150 ballets, including those he has choreographed for the television. Van Manen’s signature style and aesthetic shine through in all his choreographies, characterized as they are by clean lines, refined simplicity and an aversion to frills and frou frou. His innate musicality is revealed in all of his works, which center on human relationships without ever being anecdotal.
Van Manen started taking ballet classes in the late forties with Sonia Gaskell. He then joined her company Ballet Recital in 1951, and later went on to dance with the Netherlands Opera Ballet and Roland Petit’s Ballets de Paris. In 1955, he made his debut as a choreographer with Olé, Olé, la Margarita. His third creation, Feestgericht, received the State Award for Choreography. From 1960 onwards, Van Manen primarily worked with the two most prestigious companies in the Netherlands. He was joint artistic director of the Nederlands Dans Theater for ten years, and then became resident choreographer of Dutch National Ballet (1973-1987) and Nederlands Dans Theater (1988-2003). In 2005, he returned to Dutch National Ballet as resident choreographer, where he has remained to date.
Hans van Manen's oeuvre comprises over 120 works, each of which bears the unmistakable signature of its creator. His ballets are part of the repertoire of all renowned companies in Europe, Canada, the USA and Japan and are performed by over 90 companies around the world.
He was awarded the Prix Benois de la Danse for his life's work at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 2004. Nine years later, another Prix Benois followed for "Variations for two Couples", which will be performed at the Hamburg Ballet in the 2024/25 season. The Hamburg company first danced a van Manen choreography in May 1990: "Sarkasmen”. In 2013, van Manen received the German Dance Award in recognition of his worldwide achievements and his long-standing influence on German dance. In France, he was appointed Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres in 2017, the highest honor in the field of the arts.
Outside dance, Hans van Manen is also a well-known photographer, having enjoyed huge success in the ten years he was active in this field. His work has been published in books and shown at international exhibitions.
Photo © Erwin Olaf