Hans van Manen - Private Archives

Hans van Manen began his career in 1951. He was active as a dancer, choreographer and as artistic director both at the Nederlands Dans Theater and Het Nationale Ballet, where he was appointed Resident Choreographer in 2003. The DVD recordings are sourced from Hans van Manen’s private archives of rare, unissued material.

His pieces were set, among others, at the Stuttgart Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, the English Royal Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, Zürich Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet and the Alvin Ailey Company. Hans van Manen’s oeuvre includes over 120 ballets.

Clarity of structure and a refined simplicity are the elements in his work which have brought him the name ‘the Mondriaan of dance’. Introdans has danced over 20 works by Van Manen. Many of his ballets are ideally suited for a young audience: in 2000 and 2003 Introdans Ensemble for Youth successfully presented a Van Manen program entitled ‘Mix4Kids’.