Shock and awe ballet in Bill & Mr. B overflows with quality on all sides; there is no stalling

In the production Bill & Mr B, the Dutch National Ballet dives thematically into history with reprises of works by George Balanchine and William Forsythe. Balanchine's Symphony in Three Movements (1972) is considered the breeding ground for Forsythe, who then went 'the extra mile' with Steptext (1985) and The Second Detail (1991). From protocol to photocall: dance as a photo session. Movement - click, movement - click. It overflows with quality on all sides; there is no stopping it. 

If there is a similarity between Balanchine's and Forsythe's work, perhaps it is their pursuit of freedom within ballet. They challenged 'ballet laws' with a corporate American approach and punched holes in ballet history. It is still difficult to emulate these choreographers. Not all companies can and do perform their pieces, but the country's largest company steals the show with them at the Holland Festival. Also thanks to the accompaniment of an exciting Holland Symfonia Led by Otto Tausk.

Stunning dance programme

Whereas Balanchine chose to evolve cautiously like Erasmus, Forsythe was more of a reformer, like Martin Luther. He radically changed the ballet. Symphony in Three Movements (nine years for Balanchine already used by Hans van Manen) begins like a school performance, with girls lined up in belted white suits. However, this music ballet is not a childish dance but a showcase of coupé jetés, double convertibles and piqués en tournant against the crowd. With fascinating timpani and driven strings, the contrast of Stravinsky's primal sounds with the abstract dance is striking. A long pas de deux (brightly dancing Igone de Jongh) in the lyrical second movement is followed by an incantatory final dance. This vehicle for star soloists closes with a still life of dancers, as if by Fernand Léger composed.

Where Balanchine reconstructed the ballet, Billy Forsythe simply manipulated the genetic material. Steptext, a derivative of the earlier Artifact, begins even before you enter. You watch a rehearsal on stage: dancers have socks on, walk around, the lights are still on, but the code is that we are silent and watch. Forsythe is contrarian and plays with conventions. Swearing in the ballet cathedral. On flaming impetus from the Chaconne by Bach is nimbly danced by three men in black and a woman in signal red. Anna Tsygankova's legs are phenomenally fast: she slurps up a partner like a salamander with its tongue an insect. Artur Shesterikov also dances superbly. And there is more extreme makeover ballet to come.

If you were to call Balanchine IBM ballet, it is The Second Detail Apple ballet for true connoisseurs. Set to urgent music by Thom Willems, Forsythe lays with shock and awe-dance (rapid dominance) set the bar very high. What could be better than showing off your best technical performance as a dancer, but in a playful and relaxed way? In ingenious group formations, dancers perform with detailed attention to solos or duets here and there. Sasha Mukhamedov enters in a beautifully deregulating role as previously seen in Say Bye Bye was the case with a 'Jackie Kennedy gone wrong'. The choreographer must have been comfortable in his skin because the dance material certainly is for dancers. As he said in a recent interview (18 June 2012) said: it is naturalised and native become. The Second Detail is considered the last of his true ballets, before he took a different path.

You simply have to see this performance two or three times. For info and tickets.