# Dutch National Ballet

The Dutch National Ballet (Dutch: Het Nationale Ballet) is the official and largest ballet company in the Netherlands. Its forerunners were Ballet Der Lage Landen, Ballet of the Nederlandse Opera, Amsterdam Ballet, and Netherlands Ballet (Nederlands Ballet). As of March 2025 the company is directed by Ted Brandsen.

## History

The Ballet Der Lage Landen was a pioneering Dutch ballet company founded by artistic director Mascha Ter Weeme in 1947. The Ballet of the Nederlandse Opera was founded in 1949 by French dancer and choreographer Françoise Adret. The two companies merged in 1959 to form the Amsterdam(s) Ballet. Amsterdam Ballet in turn merged with the Netherlands Ballet (Nederlands Ballet) to form the Dutch National Ballet in 1961.
The company's first director was Sonia Gaskell (1961–1969). Gaskell was the founder of Ballet Recital, the forerunner of her more famous Nederlands Ballet (1954-1961). Other directors have included Rudi van Dantzig (1969–1991) and Wayne Eagling (1991–2003).
On 13 September 2011, the company celebrated its 50th anniversary with a gala performance in the presence of Queen Beatrix.

## Description

The company has been based at the Dutch National Opera & Ballet (formerly known as Het Muziektheater) in Amsterdam since 1986. As of March 2025 the company is directed by Ted Brandsen.
The company is a regular guest at major festivals across Europe, such as the Edinburgh Festival. It is committed to new choreography and performs work from current and past resident choreographers: Rudi van Dantzig, Toer van Schayk, Hans van Manen, Maguy Marin, and Édouard Lock.

## Dancers

The Dutch National Ballet employs approximately 90 dancers. Below is a list of principals, soloists, and grand sujets.

### Principals

| Name | Nationality | Training | Joined the Dutch National Ballet | Promoted to Principal | Other Companies (incl. guest performances) |
| Qian Liu | China | Liaoning Ballet School | 2012 | 2016 | Liaoning Ballet |
| Maia Makhateli | Georgia | Vakhtang Chabukiani State Ballet School | 2007 | 2010 | Colorado Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet |
| Anna Ol | Russia | Krasnoyarsk Ballet College | 2015 | N/A, Joined as Principal | Russian State Ballet of Siberia Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre |
| Olga Smirnova | Russia | Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet | 2022 | N/A, Joined as Principal | Bolshoi Ballet American Ballet Theatre Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo Hamburg Ballet Mariinsky Ballet Vienna State Ballet Teatro dell'Opera di Roma |
| Anna Tsygankova | Russia | Novobirsk State Choreographic College | 2007 | N/A, Joined as Principal | Bolshoi Ballet Hungarian National Ballet |
| Jessica Xuan | China  Canada | Canada's National Ballet School Dutch National Ballet Academy | 2013 | 2020 | National Ballet of Canada |
| YuanYuan Zhang | China | Sichuan Dance School Shanghai Theatre Academy | 2014 | 2024 | |
| Constantine Allen | United States | Pacific Ballet Academy Ballet Hawaii Kirov Academy of Ballet John Cranko Schule | 2018 | N/A, Joined as Principal | Stuttgart Ballet |
| Young Gyu Choi | South Korea | Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts Tanz Akademie Zurich Sunhwa Arts School | 2011 | 2016 | Universal Ballet |
| Giorgi Potskhishvili | Georgia | Vakhtang Chabukiani State Ballet School Dutch National Ballet Academy | 2020 | 2023 | |
| Timothy van Poucke | Netherlands | Dutch National Ballet Academy | 2016 | 2023 | |
| Jacopo Tissi | Italy | La Scala Theatre Ballet School | 2023 | N/A, Joined as Principal | Vienna State Ballet La Scala Theatre Ballet Bolshoi Ballet |
| Seymon Velichko | Russia | Novobirsk State Choreographic College | 2015 | 2020 | Novosibirsk Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre |

### Soloists

* Naira Agvanean
* Maria Chugai
* Floor Eimers
* Salome Leverashvili
* Jingjing Mao
* Elisabeth Tonev
* Nina Tonoli
* Joseph Massarelli
* Jan Spunda
* Edo Wijnen
* Sho Yamada

### Grand sujets

* Luiza Bertho
* Kira Hilli
* Erica Horwood
* Chloë Réveillon
* Connie Vowles
* Daniel Montero Real
* Daniel Robert Silva
* Connor Walmsley

## Previous company members

* Sylvester Campbell [Wikidata], 1960-1970.
* Billy Wilson (dancer) [Wikidata]
* Benjamin Feliksdal
* Raven Wilkinson
* Marianne Hilarides [nl]
* Milena Sidorova, 2005–2022. Grand sujet (2013), coryphée (2011), corps de ballet (2007), élève (2006), aspirant (2005)