What's OnTwo Pieces For HET

Two Pieces for HET (1997)

Choreographer Hans van Manen
Music - Arvo Pärt and Erkki-Sven Tüür

Knighted by the Queen of Netherlands in 1992, his 35th year as a choreographer, Hans van Manen has choreographed more than 120 ballets, each carrying his unmistakable signature. Clarity in structure and a refined simplicity has earned him the name ‘the Mondriaan of dance'. 

Van Manen, whose inspiration ranges from as wide a scope as the works of George Balanchine to Fred Astaire, created Two Pieces for Het, when he returned to work with Dutch National Ballet in the late 1990s. Originally part of a larger work, it was performed in this version by Scottish Ballet as part of the Autumn 2004 season.  Reviews commented on the emotion and passion of the piece including The Sunday Herald who wrote it showed “a couple who seem to drink in each other’s very being with every touch”. Danced as two continuous sections, it shows the couple at first playfully competitive, becoming gradually more tender as the piece winds down to a delicate conclusion.

Two Pieces for HET further defined, and refined, the challenges of togetherness
The Times

I was engrossed by the grace of it all
The Daily Mail