Dutch National Ballet

Dutch National Ballet, the national ballet company of the Netherlands; the Dutch title is Het Nationale Ballet. The company was founded in 1961 by the merging of the Netherlands Ballet and the Amsterdam Ballet. Sonia Gaskell became director and followed a policy of creating a repertory based on the full-length and established classical works. In 1968 Hans van Manen became co-director and later artistic director. He introduced works by Frederick Ashton and George Balanchine and, with fellow Dutch choreographer Toer van Schayk, he produced many lasting works (Twilight, 1972 and Adagio Hammerklavier, 1973). The company is now experiencing a revival of interest in its new dancers, developed under the current director, Wayne Eagling.