Het Nationale Ballet + ISH Dance Collective

Compelling mix of hip-hop and ballet in a dance thriller based on the famous book by Oscar Wilde
After the successful family performances Narnia and GRIMM, choreographers Ernst Meisner and Marco Gerris are once again joining forces this season to present their first joint production for adults and young people aged 14 and over: Dorian. In this special adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray from 1891, the two take a thriller-like approach full of tension and suspense at the intersection of ballet and hip-hop.

Oscar Wilde’s philosophical novel The Picture of Dorian Gray is about the pursuit of eternal youth and losing yourself completely in it. The main character Dorian Gray wishes that he would always remain as young and handsome as he looks in the painting his friend Basil made of him. And that his image in the painting instead becomes older and uglier. Meisner and Gerris place the story in an eccentric, contemporary setting. Main character Dorian goes completely crazy in his desire for beauty and adoration, with all the consequences that entails. He ends up in a downward spiral and becomes entangled in a labyrinth in which he can no longer separate reality and fantasy.

Young talent
Just like with Narnia and GRIMM, Dorian combines different dance styles into a vibrant mix of hip-hop and ballet. In addition to dancers from the Junior Company and ISH Dance Collective, you will also see dancers from Dutch National Ballet in this production. Joey Roukens, one of the Netherlands’ most famous young composers at the moment, has written a new full-length piece of music especially for Dorian. In Theater Heerlen the music is played live by Het Balletorkest.

The performance lasts 2 hours, including 1 intermission.

Source : PLT Website