Choreographer Kalpana Raghuraman has been appointed as the new Creative Associate of Het Nationale Ballet. Kalpana Raghuraman will enter into a two-year commitment with the company, during which collaboration, research and exchange will be central, in addition to creating productions.
Kalpana Raghuraman is a choreographer, dancer, anthropologist and artistic director of the dance company Kalpanarts. By combining Indian dance forms with urban and contemporary dance, she develops a new, boundary-transcending dance language. Kalpana Raghuraman will present her first choreography as Creative Associate of Het Nationale Ballet in the spring of 2025.
The appointment of Kalpana Raghuraman at Het Nationale Ballet also concerns an artistic collaboration between the dancers of Het Nationale Ballet and the dancers of Kalpanarts. Kalpana Raghuraman is the first Creative Associate at Het Nationale Ballet who does not come from the ballet world.
In addition to her work as Creative Associate, she will remain artistic director and choreographer of Kalpanarts . From the world premiere on Saturday 12 October, her new production Trust will be shown in more than 12 Dutch theatres, a performance about the many facets of trust in a world where distrust often prevails.
Kalpana Raghuraman : “I am very much looking forward to joining forces with Het Nationale Ballet in the coming years. I greatly appreciate their openness and genuine interest in my vision of Indian dance and culture. Ballet and Indian dance have a rich, shared history that is deeply rooted. As a cultural anthropologist and choreographer, I have spent years researching this. I am looking forward to strengthening this connection and developing a new dance vocabulary within it. In this, these different worlds will come together in an equal way and strengthen each other. I look forward to exploring new artistic possibilities together with the team of Kalpanarts and Het Nationale Ballet, within this unique collaboration.”
Ted Brandsen, director of Het Nationale Ballet : “Kalpana Raghuraman has a unique perspective and an inspiring vision of the differences and connections between Indian dance, contemporary dance and classical ballet. As Creative Associate, she will have the opportunity to explore this further with our artistic team and dancers. It is interesting for both of them to see where this artistic coming together can lead. I am therefore eagerly looking forward to this exciting collaboration.”
Creative associates of the Dutch National Ballet
The Creative Associates is part of a broad initiative in the field of talent development by Het Nationale Ballet, which also includes initiatives such as New Moves , the Choreographic Academy , NextSteps and the Junior Company . Het Nationale Ballet started the Young Creative Associates in 2017. This multi-year commitment includes, among other things, providing choreography assignments, collaboration and exchange, and mentorship in making artistic choices. As of this theatre season, it was decided to drop the ‘Young’ label, in order to also allow more experienced choreographers to join the initiative. Previous Young Creative Associates were choreographers Wubkje Kuindersma, Sedrig Verwoert, Juanjo Arques, Peter Leung and Milena Sidorova.
Image: Choreographer Kalpana Raghuraman (Photographer Nicole Pecková)