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Dance of the Nations

HKU Utrechts Conservatorium baroque orchestra conducted by Antoinette Lohmann with guests Ricky Barros and Kath Walter

Between the elegance of Versailles and the dreams of Don Quixote, the baroque theatre comes alive again in our programme Dance of the Nations – featuring music by Telemann, Rebel and Vivaldi.

  • 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
  • 01 Nov 2025
  • HKU Utrechts Conservatorium
  • Fentener van Vlissingenzaal
  • Mariaplaats 27
  • Utrecht
In the splendid courts of 17th- and 18th-century Europe, dance was not merely entertainment, but a refined language that shaped musical and theatrical expression across national borders. Originating in France and spreading via travelling dance-masters, La belle danse merged French elegance with Italian ingenuity and local colour.

Dance of the Nations celebrates this shared heritage with new choreographies inspired by historical forms. With playful refinement, Telemann’s Les Nations re-creates cultural archetypes – Turks, Swiss, Muscovites, Portuguese – with wit and grace, while Vivaldi’s Folies d’Espagne captures the fiery Spanish spirit in Italian lyricism. Rebel’s Les Caractères de la Danse remains the ultimate example of French refinement, once danced by Camargo and Sallé.

The evening builds up to Burlesque de Quixotte, a playful ode to Cervantes’ dreamer, in which baroque steps transform into galloping horses and rotating windmills. Between history and fantasy, this programme invites us to rediscover the imagination, humour and beauty of baroque theatre.