Each year, the dancers of NDT 1 and NDT 2 organize a unique programme: Switch. An evening composed entirely by the dancers themselves, of which all proceeds will go to a charity of their choice. The 2025 edition will take place on January 18.
View the NDT 2 programme Lucid Variations as video on demand in Digital Theatre.
Dear friends,
Welcome to The beauty of it all! We are delighted to present this programme, carefully crafted to honour NDT’s rich legacy while embracing new artistic voices that offer fresh perspectives.
We begin with Jiří Kylián’s 27’52”, originally choreographed for NDT 2 in 2002, a captivating exploration of human connection and the passage of time. Beyond its precise duration, this work invites contemplation on the complexities of love, and the inevitability of change.
Introducing a new voice to NDT, Maxine Doyle, renowned director and choreographer from Punchdrunk. In her NDT debut, Fifteen Minutes, Doyle’s compelling approach to dance and theatre creates a mesmerizing narrative that resonates deeply with the human experience.
To close the evening, we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16, created in 1999 for NDT 2. This electrifying work, renowned for its dynamic energy and interactive elements, promises to ignite your senses and leave an indelible mark.
Our heartfelt thanks to our dedicated collaborators, dancers, and NDT team for their unwavering commitment. And to you, our esteemed audience, thank you for joining us!
Emily Molnar
Artistic Director
Dedicated to former artistic leader of NDT 2, Gerald Tibbs (27-05-1952)
STAGED BY
Urtzi Aranburu
MUSIC
Composition by Dirk Haubrich: inspired by the original Ur-Version of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony nr. 10 (1910).
LIGHT
Kees Tjebbes
DECOR
Jiří Kylián
COSTUMES
Joke Visser
NDT REHEARSAL DIRECTOR
Ander Zabala
WORLD PREMIERE
February 21, 2002 Lucent Danstheater, The Hague
DURATION
27 minutes and 52 seconds
Ruth Lee, Casper Mott
Viola Busi, Conner Chew
Demi Bawon, Ricardo Hartley III
Rebecca Speroni, Nathanaël Plantier
Omani Ormskirk, Samuel van der Veer
Maša Anić, Nathaniel Belnavis-Wright
“The title only represents the exact duration of the piece. It is related to the time the dancers take to perform it. But the dancers performance starts many hours before the curtain goes up….! Dancers invest much time, experience and concentration to prepare for the moment in which they face the audience….! But in fact they throw themselves in front of the audience and solely represent what they are worth at that point of their life. 27’52” is a work concerned with at least four elements: “Time”, “Speed”, “Love” and “Constant changes”. We might not be aware, but we don’t only become older on our birthday, but every split of a second of our life is responsible for our aging, and every moment of our life represents some kind of change….! To me this is a very reassuring and liberating thought. We don’t have to remain the same from our birth to our death….! We have the ability to change. I know that this is an essential part of the teaching of many eastern religions, but it is still very exciting when we actually realize it.
In 27’52” there are some more realistic elements worth mentioning. The set has actually two major parts: The floor underneath the dancers’ feet and the ceiling above. In the course of the performance we notice that both of these elements are unstable and unreliable. Everything is constantly moving: our age, our interest, our partnership, our future and our destiny. This means that the only thing we can rely on is uncertainty…. And although I am an incurable optimist, I must admit that this fact is the most fateful and faithful companion of our life.
Of course this piece is about existence, love and death….! But it is also about many things in between and it is ultimately up to the interpreter to find all the colors of the rainbow between the floor underneath our feet and the ceiling above our heads.”
— Jiří Kylián, June 2019
“It’s been a mesmerizing journey. 27’52’’ by Jiří Kylián, a timeless gem, interwoven into the very essence of our company’s legacy. This piece has been my eternal muse for many years and interpreting its poetry has opened a portal of endless discovery. I’m placed in a questioning state of pleasure and agony; searching through these complex, unknowing, yet always present elements of life. Jiří’s guidance was the truest gift of unforgettable moments I will cherish till the rest. I’m excited and so grateful to have the privilege to continue this piece through my lens.”
CONCEPT AND DIRECTION
Maxine Doyle
CHOREOGRAPHY
Maxine Doyle in collaboration with Gabrielle Nankivell and
the dancers of NDT 2
ARTISTIC ASSISTANT
Gabrielle Nankivell
MUSIC
New composition by Cassie Kinoshi
LIGHTING DESIGN AND LIGHTING SCENOGRAPHY
Yuka Hisamatsu
COSTUMES
Bregje van Balen
NDT REHEARSAL DIRECTOR
Lydia Bustinduy
WORLD PREMIERE
March 14, 2024, Amare, The Hague
DURATION
26 minutes
Maša Anić, Conner Chew, Úrsula Urgeles Gonzales, Ruth Lee, Casper Mott, Omani Ormskirk, Nathanaël Plantier, Rebecca Speroni, Nova Valkenhoff, Samuel van der Veer
“I’d like to dedicate this work to my mum.
FIFTEEN MINUTES is a countdown. It’s a wake-up call. It’s the ringing of alarm bells. It’s a disaster movie. How much time do we really have left? When we are up against it – who do we want to be with? What or who do we hold dear? What would be our last dance, our last song, our last supper?
FIFTEEN MINUTES has an ambitious lighting scenography and design created in collaboration with Yuka Hisamatsu. Fifteen light sculptures create both an atmospheric world for the dancers to inhabit as well as representing units – minutes of time.
Before I begin a creative process I write – poems, dialogues, descriptions. I call them “imaginings”. ASTEROID is something I wrote and shared with the creative team and the dancers before we began our collaboration.
ASTEROID
One upon a time we were beautiful celestial creatures flying towards the earth; falling from the stars.
Weightless
Massless
Breathless
We were falling souls. We were blue dots. We were creation. We were the beginning.
Then we started to consume. We gathered flesh and we got fat. Fat cats gorging on the planet. The planet became our double MAC and cheese with an extra-large side of skinny fat fries and ketchup.
We forgot about the stars and the beauty of the skies.
We dived into the oceans and we ripped them up. We mined them out. We drained and drank of all their delicious darkness so we could fly and dance towards the stars in our mechanical birds.
And then the planet got cross. And it started to scream. And our celestial bodies started to crash into the earth and we started to drown in our own shit.
Shit.
And the stars started to shine so brightly that our eyes started to hurt and our retinas started to burn.
Burn out.
We were burning out.
We fell like the damned into a plastic cesspit of our own creation.
I can’t breath
I can’t see or smell or hear any beauty
I am choking on the micros
Please
Please
Please
Rip out the plastic straws from my nostrils, from my mouth, from underneath my fins and fingernails
Superhero rip off the band aid and look up.
Catch the asteroid in your superhumanity before it crashes and burns.
Cradle the planet like a new-born babe.
Lick up its innocence.
Treasure it.
I’d like to thank the wonderful dancers of NDT 2 for their openness and generosity throughout this collaborative process. Thanks and respect to Lydia Bustinduy and Gabrielle Nankivell for their brilliance in the studio. I’d also like to give huge thanks to the NDT 2 production team for realising the artistic vision of the work. ”
– Maxine Doyle
“Not everything that ends carries the same weight or finally represents a vital turning point, but we do live constantly exposed to endings; to the reality that everything we experience, will end.
Knowing in advance that the end of something is approaching or not knowing when that something will conclude?
To build with Maxine a character that goes through the last minutes of everything she knows has been the most beautiful challenge I have come across in my time at NDT 2. Facing a character going through a situation that – unfortunately – I recognise, has been a kind of catharsis. It’s closing the circle for me.
Two years ago, as soon as I started working with NDT 2, my father got sick. Within three months and with an unbeatable diagnosis, we decided to set a date to assist his end, to try and spare more unnecessary suffering. I remember the last breakfast as one of the most difficult moments. The last “I love you”. The last hug.
The courage of the character that Maxine proposed to me, is the same courage of which I always want to feel owner of. To be able to say goodbye to the me of three years ago, on stage with such a prodigious group of people, in my last program with NDT 2, is feels like the most insane privilege.
Thank you Maxine and Gabi for all the trust, care and collaboration with which you have packed our studios. I can only think and wish for one more coincidence: to work with you again.”
“Something inspiring about this process to me, was that Maxine draws from a lot of sources, to indicate what we’re looking for. We looked at various images of e.g. woodcuts, classical paintings, and videos of a hunting polar fox.
The goal is not necessarily to replicate those images, but to capture their essence and translate that into movement. Each of us interprets those ideas in different ways, and Maxine was wise to steal from us and expand them to what you’ll be seeing on stage tonight.
On the flipside, this also means that over time, a lot of ideas and material didn’t make the cut. While you may think you’re missing out, to me; it is the beauty of our profession. The vastness of a creation process is rarely perceptible in the final form of the piece.
It is merely the tip of the iceberg.
Thank you, Maxine, for creating a transparent and collaborative environment and thank you Gaby for being the bridge between our worlds.”
“What is there left to grasp when the world is ending?
A constellation of memories, interactions, fantasies takes shape within this fatal countdown.
To me, the piece serves as a way to navigate through my own innate human responses. Who do I reach out to? How do I cope with the world abruptly collapsing?
It sheds a light on the fragility of our own selves, and our connections with others. FIFTEEN MINUTES offers this precious core of humanity, through distress, love, nostalgia, regret, panic…and leaves us facing our volatile existence within the chaos.”
STAGED BY
Ian Robinson, Rachael Osborne
MUSIC
Nelson Riddle & his Orchestra: C’est Magnifique, Capitol Records Inc.
John Buzon trio: It must be true, I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me, Capitol Records Inc.
Dick Dale and the Del-Tones: Hava Nagila, Deltone Records.
Maxim Waratt: Illusion of Beauty.
Tractor’s Revenge: Echad MiYodea, performed by A. Belelli, I. Green, O. Leibovitch and O. Naharin
Marusha, written by Harold Arlen E.Y Harburg: Somewhere over the Rainbow, © EMI Music Inc. / Belwin Mills, New York
Don Swan & His Orchestra: Hooray for Hollywood, Capitol Records Inc.
Dean Martin with Dick Stabile & Orchestra: Sway, Capitol Records, LCC.
Asia 2001: Guarana Cupana, Avatar Records, avatar-music.com.
Frédéric Chopin: Arthur Rubinstein: Nocturne Op. 9 No 2 in E flat major, Sony Music Entertainment.
LIGHT
Avi Yona “Bambi” Bueno
COSTUMES
Ohad Naharin
NDT REHEARSAL DIRECTORS
Lydia Bustinduy, Ander Zabala
WORLD PREMIERE
November 11, 1999, Lucent Danstheater, The Hague
DURATION
35 minutes
Maša Anić, Demi Bawon, Nathaniel Belnavis-Wright, Viola Busi, Conner Chew, Nicky Daniels, Annakha Flos, Úrsula Urgeles Gonzales, Ricardo Hartley III, Ruth Lee, Boaz Molenkamp, Casper Mott, Omani Ormskirk, Nathanaël Plantier, Rebecca Speroni, Nova Valkenhoff, Samuel van der Veer
Minus 16 is a phenomenal work for all dancers of NDT 2 set to a thrilling musical compilation of cha-cha, mambo and traditional Israeli music. This choreography came about by putting together sections of previous works of Naharin: Zachacha, Anaphase, Sabotage Baby and Moshe.
“To dance Minus 16 is an exhilarating experience and one that is also completely new to me. This work comes with many variables we have to deal with on stage, but there is also lots of room for play. What excites me is how we can find ways to stay true to the integrity of the work and simultaneously let go of our own restrictions that inhibit us from connecting to ourselves as humans. As I am exploring this in the studio and on stage, I invite you as the audience to play with us and let yourself, too, be free.”
View more photos in the gallery
