Dutch National Ballet
Wins for young dancers, plus an online concert of music by Steven R Gerber
Twenty-one mentions in Dance Europe Critics' Choice
In the Critics' Choice of leading dance magazine Dance Europe on the 2021-2022 international dance season, Dutch National Ballet is rewarded with twenty-one mentions in the various categories including Dancer of the Year, Best Company, Director of the Year, Premiere of the Year and Outstanding Dance Performance.
Principals Olga Smirnova and Young Gyu Choi are both nominated in the Dancer of the Year category, in which an international jury nominates a total of twelve top dancers from all over the world. All nominees then compete for the Dancer of the Year public award. The public can vote throughout October. In 2020, the first edition of the Critics' Choice was won by Maia Makhateli, principal with the Dutch National Ballet.
Olga Smirnova and Young Gyu Choi
Three of the twelve-member Critics' Choice jury named the Dutch National Ballet 'Company of the Year' and Ted Brandsen 'Director of the Year'.
In the categories 'Outstanding performance by a female dancer' and 'Outstanding performance by a male dancer', there are honourable mentions for Maia Makhateli in Raymonda and Voorbij Gegaan, Anna Ol in Trois Gnossiennes and Adagio Hammerklavier, for Olga Smirnova in Raymonda, Edo Wijnen in Concertante, Giorgi Potskhisvili in Two Gold Variations and Young Gyu Choi as Abd al-Rahman in Raymonda.
In the 'Best premieres' category, Raymonda by Rachel Beaujean is mentioned no less than three times. Lucifer Studies by Toer van Schayk and Anatomy of Light by Wubkje Kuindersma also get a mention.
Mila Nicolussi of the Junior Company is mentioned as a 'Name to watch'.
The Critics' Choice 2022 was compiled by a twelve-member jury of editors writing for Dance Europe and other international (dance) publications. Each member of the jury compiled a personal list including the best dancer, dancers who have achieved excellence, the best company, best director and the best new productions of the past dance season.
All dancers nominated in the 'Dancer of the Year' category will compete for the audience award. The public can vote throughout October 2022 by emailing the name of their favourite dancer to media@danceeurope.net, stating their name and/or telephone number. Voting can also be done by sending the same details via text message to +44(0)7542 770072.
Steven R Gerber: Music in Dark Times
The English Symphony Orchestra (ESO) continues its innovative series of online concerts with a new ESO Digital release on 14 October 2022 which features the broadcast premiere of Steven R Gerber's suite Music in Dark Times, written in 2005 for Vladimir Ashkenazy and the San Francisco Symphony, who gave the first performances in March 2009.
In 2021, Kenneth Woods and the ESO released their first recording of Gerber's music, including two Sinfonias for Strings and two Sinfoniettas for Orchestra.
ESO Digital's Steven R Gerber: Music in Dark Times is available free online between 14 and 18 October 2022, and thereafter with a £5 per month ESO Digital subscription. Information: eso.co.uk/digital
Posted 16 October 2022 by Keith Bramich
