Back to Ballet takes you back to the core of classical ballet in this turbulent time where the dancers find their way back to the stage. In timeless and compelling ballets with heart-pounding leading roles, including Le Corsaire, Swan Lake and Paquita, our dancers can once again shine!

Valse Fantaisie
Valse Fantaisie by George Balanchine, a virtuoso ballet full of jumps, pointe work and 'pas de chats', was originally presented as the second part of Glinkiana (1967), choreographed after four different compositions by Mikhail Glinka. The music, reminiscent of the waltzes of Frederic Chopin, is fast and light, and was nicknamed 'the melancholic waltz'. The female dancers move together around a single male dancer in a whirl of perpetual motion. It is pure dance, full of dynamics and rhythm.

Le Corsaire  (Pas de deux)
The spectacular pas de deux from Le Corsaire was created in the late 19th century, and could be interpreted as an ode to the virtuosity of classical ballet. Its technical and expressive requirements have rendered it a favouvrite among soloists. In recent years, Dutch National Ballet's principals Maia Makhateli and Young Gyu Choi have made an international name for themselves with this pas de deux.

Swan Lake (Pas de deux 2nd act)
Swan Lake (1895) is one of the masterpieces of nineteenth-century Russian imperial ballet. Composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreographer Marius Petipa managed to bring both music and dance to the highest level. The pas de deux that Odette dances in the second act with prince Siegfried is considered a miracle of lyricism and poetry in the art of dance. Ivanov's second act is often performed unchanged to this day.

Paquita
With majestic elegance, a star couple and various soloists shine amidst the dancers of the corps de ballet. In her version of Marius Petipa's Paquita, associate artistic director Rachel Beaujean shines a fresh light on the pure dance divertissement from the narrative 19th-century ballet. Beaujean wants to give the 'grand pas classique' from Paquita, the 'pas de trois' and the 'mazurka' (performed by children), the schwung that suits our times.