Britten - Frank Bridge Variations: Modern Ballet by Hans van Manen | Het Nationale Ballet (2007)

Excerpt from the modern ballet "Frank Bridge Variations" by Hans Van Manen, to music by Benjamin Britten. Performed by Het Nationale Ballet.
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Music:
Benjamin Britten - Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge
Choreography: Hans van Manen
Dancers:
Igone de Jongh
Alexander Zhembrovskyy
Ji-Young Kim
Cédric Ygnace
Rosi Soto
Juanjo Arques
Charlotte Chapellier
Mathieu Gremillet
Jaione Zabala
Peter Leung
Set and costume design: Keke Dekker
Light: Bert Dalhuysen
Ted Brandsen, the National Ballet’s new artistic director, was ready to welcome him with open arms and after eighteen years Van Manen returned as their regular choreographer. The first work he created for the company in this capacity were the Frank Bridge Variations, set to nine out of the eleven movements of the Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, in which Benjamin Britten had used a theme from his old teacher. Strikingly, in this work Van Manen replaced the pointe technique by an earthly tone in the expression. In the funeral march the dancers merely walk the stage in stern patterns. The “less is more” adage is even more strongly expressed in the duets: a few turns, a few lifts, and maximum power of expression. Limitation reveals the master. Call it “déjà vu”, if you like.
2007, NPS in co-operation with Het Nationale Ballet