Swan Lake Remixed for ADE

Swan Lake Remixed for ADE (2026) Swan Lake Remixed for ADE was a one-off performance staged on 21 October 2026 at Amsterdam’s newly renovated Gashouder, as part of the cultural opening of Amsterdam Dance Event’s 30th anniversary. The production brought together Dutch National Ballet and ISH Dance Collective, merging classical ballet, hip-hop, contemporary dance, electronic music and digital art in a reinterpretation of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Under the direction of Ernst Meisner, director of Dutch National Ballet, and Marco Gerris, artistic director of ISH Dance Collective, the performance explored the original ballet’s themes of longing, freedom, temptation, identity and the tension between light and darkness. The original electronic composition was created by Rik Ronner, reimagining the musical world of Swan Lake through contemporary electronic sounds. Choreographic contributions came from Sedrig Verwoert, Rutkay, Zoë Greten, Ahmad Joudeh and Nnamdi Nwagwu, bringing together different dance languages and artistic backgrounds. The principal roles were performed by Salome Leverashvili as the White Swan (Odette), Timothy van Poucke as the Prince and Giorgi Potskhishvili as Rothbart and DJ. They were joined by 24 swans from Dutch National Ballet’s corps de ballet and Junior Company. ISH Dance Collective’s performers included Gino Jagessar, Herrold Anakotta, Lars de Vos, Dietrich Pott, Lisha Chen, Oscar Starink, Paris Crossley, Raquel Tijsterman, Shane Boers, Sophia Mason, Stasy Terehhova and Thersa Bergmann. Guest dancers Zoë Greten, Rutkay, Ahmad Joudeh, Sedrig Verwoert and Nnamdi Nwagwu contributed additional choreographic perspectives. The visual atmosphere was shaped by Ben Kreukniet’s lighting and video design, with costumes designed by Oliver Haller. The performance marked several milestones: 30 years of Amsterdam Dance Event, ten years of collaboration between Dutch National Ballet and ISH Dance Collective, and the approaching 150th anniversary of Swan Lake in 2027. It followed the companies’ earlier collaborative productions GRIMM and Dorian. Produced in partnership with Amsterdam Dance Event, Gashouder and creative production agency XSAGA, the approximately 60-minute performance transformed one of Amsterdam’s most recognisable electronic music venues into an experimental ballet stage. With two sold-out performances, Swan Lake Remixed for ADE celebrated the meeting of classical heritage and contemporary club culture, showing how a 19th-century ballet can find new expression through the sounds and movements of the 21st century.