Dancers: Timothy van Poucke and Constantine Allen | Photo: Hugo Thomassen Triple bill Monument for a Dead Boy Choreography Rudi van Dantzig Music Jan Boerman Set and costume design Toer van Schayk Lighting design Jan Hofstra, Toer van Schayk 7th Symphony Choreography Toer van Schayk Music Ludwig van Beethoven Set and costume design Toer van Schayk Lighting design Jan Hofstra IN FLUX World premiere Choreography Juanjo Arqués Music Thomas van Dun Set and costume design Tatyana van Walsum Lighting design Yaron Abulafia Dramaturgy Fabienne Vegt Musical accompaniment Dutch Ballet Orchestra conducted by Thomas Jung Premiere 11/9/2025 Subsequent performances: 13, 14*, 16, 17, 19, 20, 26, 27, 28* September 2025 | Curtain-up: 20:15 / *14:00 | Ticket sales start on: 8 May 2025 | Price Category: C | Location: Main Stage, Dutch National Opera & Ballet Rudi van Dantzig created his Monument for a Dead Boy in 1965. It is a disconcerting portrait of a boy struggling with his homosexuality, just as Van Dantzig himself did in his youth. Constructed of nightmarish scenes, the work was so groundbreaking at the time that it caught the attention of the Russian ballet star Rudolf Nureyev. His interpretation of the role of the ‘dead boy’ resulted in the international breakthrough of both Van Dantzig and Dutch National Ballet. Power and joie de vivre Toer van Schayk – who incidentally gave the first and most impressive interpretation of the title role in Monument for a Dead Boy – took inspiration in 1986 from Beethoven’s Seventh to create a ballet filled with joie de vivre, dynamism and vitality. To the powerful, rhythmically propelling musical movements, twenty dancers whirl over the stage, while to the second, more reflective movement Van Schayk sketches an emotional portrait of two men who cannot reach one another in the end. His highly acclaimed 7th Symphony was awarded the VSCD Choreography Prize. ‘Fluid’ identities Alongside the two masterpieces, Monument will show the world premiere of IN FLUX by Juanjo Arqués, set to new music by composer (and Project Rembrandt winner) Thomas van Dun. As one of the new generation of dance makers, Arqués takes a contemporary, open approach to the subject of his creation – gender identity. He thinks we still cling too tightly to binary opinions about gender and identity. In IN FLUX, using an abstract, poetic dance idiom, he argues for more recognition of ‘fluid’ identities, so that everyone can feel seen and valued. Groundbreaking, whirling, topical Themes like gay emancipation and gender identity have always had a place in our contemporary repertoire. Following on from Pride Amsterdam 2025, we are therefore opening the 2025 – 2026 season with two milestones of Dutch dance and one world premiere that each shed a very personal light on these themes. The annual Alexandra Radius Prize will also be presented at the first night of Monument, on 11 September. This prize from the Friends of Dutch National Ballet will be awarded to the dancer who, in the jury’s opinion, has given the most striking performance(s) in the 2024 – 2025 season. The prize will be presented by its namesake, former prima ballerina Alexandra Radius. “ We still cling too tightly to binary opinions about gender and identity” Juanjo Arqués 73
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