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The Netherlands

Figures in Extinction & Made in NL

Right at the start of the year, the Netherlands are once again living up to their reputation as a dance stronghold. In The Hague, choreographer Crystal Pite and author Simon McBurney are bringing Figures in Extinction to the theater for the third time with the Nederlands Dans Theater: premiere of the trilogy finale in Manchester, then a long tour, but first: previews in The Hague. Anyone who attends the preview there on 7 February can go straight to Amsterdam the next day, where the junior ballet of Het Nationale is presenting the six-part series Made in NL — choreographies from A (like old masters Rudi van Dantzig and Hans van Manen) to Z (like Zoë Greten, a promising young talent).

www.ndt.nl; www.operaballet.nl

Switzerland

Beyond & Seeing Within Sight

Two double evenings at smaller Swiss venues are coming up: In the very east of the country, in St. Gallen, the choreography Fantaisie mineure by Yoann Bourgeois can be seen under the title Beyond, coupled with Contemporary Dance 2.0 by Hofesh Shechter from the previous season, which already reveals its aesthetic orientation in the title.

Premiere on 21 February, the evening will tour later; www.konzertundtheater.ch

In Lucerne, a performance entitled Seeing Within Sight brings together creations by Israeli choreographer Inbal Pinto and her Spanish colleague Javier Rodríguez Cobos.

The premiere is on 9 February; www.luzernertheater.ch

Stockholm

It is a little unfair when the Royal Opera House in Stockholm advertises its next ballet premiere with The Return of Master Ek and fails to mention that the double bill also features a choreography by Wayne McGregor. Be that as it may: Firstly, Ek is a fellow countryman, and you might miss him a little in the Swedish capital. And secondly, McGregor is showing his Infra which premiered at the Royal Ballet in 2008, but Ek is premiering A Cup of Coffee! To the sounds of Anders Hillborg's cello, an older couple in their daily routines are contrasted with the passions of youth, and anyone who knows Ek knows that melancholy, humor, philanthropy and choreographic virtuosity between classical movement repertoire and contemporary sharpness can be expected.

The premiere is on 7 February; www.operan.se

Dortmund

Dips

Ballet director Xin Peng Wang is saying goodbye to Dortmund after 22 seasons. And he is doing so with the decidedly contemporary triple bill Dips, created in collaboration with the NRW Junior Ballet, founded in 2014: Marco Goecke's Blushing can be seen, alongside Wang's own choreography Saturn in which, in addition to the junior ballet, the main company is involved. The premiere of the evening is explicitly aimed at young talent: Drama Class by Nadav Zellner already hints at a training situation in the title, and in its advance announcement, the Dortmund Theater promises a "skillful combination of strict seriousness, charm and wit". Instead of the usual introductory lecture at the theater, this time there will be a panel discussion on the topic of "Culture and education as the pillars of our society".

From 22 February; www.theaterdo.de

Berlin

Ein Sommernachtstraum

And another successful duo that no one can ignore: choreographer Edward Clug and composer Milko Lazar have worked together frequently since 2008, producing bestsellers such as Faust, originally created for the Zurich Ballet. The latter, in turn, was commissioned by Christian Spuck who has since moved from Lake Zurich to the Spree where he now teams Clug and Lazar with Shakespeare. So Ein Sommernachtstraum, not infrequently adapted for ballet, will haunt the giant stage of the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. Enchantment forecast: high!

From 21 February; www.staatsballett-berlin.de

Mainz

Camera obscura

From Leverkusen to the world — that is how one can describe the career of Philippe Kratz, who is celebrating his 40th birthday this year and has long since outgrown his choreographic infancy. La Scala in Milan, the Bavarian State Ballet, Gauthier Dance in Stuttgart: they all have ordered from him. The same goes for tanzmainz, which can celebrate its 10th anniversary this season and, after the appetizer quartet Unfolding, is now filling an entire evening entirely with Kratz: Camera obscura takes a look at perspectives. Very personal. Exciting!

From 15 February; www.staatstheater-mainz.com