Jan Kooijman to Star in February 2023 Premiere of NUREYEV

Jan Kooijman is set to star in the new Dutch play, Nureyev, based on the life of the world-famous ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, in February 2023. Producer De Theater BV announced the news today. The show is written by Allard Blom and directed by Martin Michel. The two-person show features choreography by Rinus Sprong. Nureyev will premiere on Tuesday 21 February 2023 at DeLaMar in Amsterdam.

"The story of Rudolf Nureyev is a story of passion, both in life and in dance. The complete surrender of an artist to his craft. A performance about a dying man who was looking for a home, for acceptance and for love, but found everything in the beauty and cruelty of ballet," says producer Christian Seijkens. "It was immediately clear to us that Jan had to play Nureyev. He takes a dancer's past, build, commitment and passion into the role."

After his training at the Rotterdam Dance Academy, Jan Kooijman worked as a professional dancer for nine years with the Scapino Ballet Rotterdam. After his active dance career, he played leading roles in various films and series, such as De Zevende Hemel and Bluf . However, Jan never denied his dance roots, and, in 2011, was awarded the Special Prize as ambassador for Dutch dance by the Stichting Dansersfonds of Alexandra Radius and Han Ebbelaar. He has also been a member of the jury in Dutch and Flemish dance programs such as So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With the Stars for years.

The story

Nureyev, 54 years old, has just seen a performance of La Bayadère and is not happy. He has summoned the two protagonists to the stage and has sent everyone else away. Nureyev is not doing well. He was diagnosed with AIDS some time ago, and he knows he is dying. La Bayadère is probably the last ballet he will ever work on. It will be his farewell to the dance. A farewell to life. When Nureyev starts talking, he initially talks about La Bayadère, the story of the damned love between temple dancer, Nikaya and warrior, Solor. In talking about the ballet, Nureyev talks about his life.

Nureyev can be seen throughout the Netherlands from March to early May 2023.

For more information: www.nureyev.nl .

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