On 1 February, Ernst Meisner took up the newly created position of associate director of talent development with Dutch National Ballet. This means that after five successful years, he will be leaving the Dutch National Ballet Academy. In the coming months, he will gradually reduce his workload as artistic director of the school. The intention is to find a successor for him by the start of the 2024/2025 season. In his new position with Dutch National Ballet – which includes the artistic leadership of the Junior Company – he will, however, remain closely involved with dance education in the Netherlands and with the Dutch National Ballet Academy in particular.

As associate director of talent development, Meisner (1982) will be responsible for ensuring a continual high-quality intake of talented dancers and choreographers into Dutch National Ballet, for programming the ballet performances in Studio Boekman (the new small auditorium at Dutch National Opera & Ballet) and for reinforcing the profile of talent programmes like the Choreographic Academy and New Moves. By creating and implementing this new position, Dutch National Ballet is giving a new impulse to the importance of talent development, for ballet dancers and choreographers alike.

Talking about his announced departure, Meisner said, “Over the past five years, collaboration and connection have been the keywords in developing a new vision for ballet education, in which the Dutch National Ballet Academy aims to play a leading role.

Every day, I have been able to learn a lot from our young dancers. It is thanks to their inspiration that we have succeeded in growing further, and I am immensely proud of everything they achieve. Along with managing director René Vlemmix, all the wonderful teachers and other colleagues, we have taken the next step in ensuring that the Dutch National Ballet Academy is the national and international ballet school that a major ballet company like Dutch National Ballet deserves. The Junior Company, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, is a good example of the strong collaboration between the academy and Dutch National Ballet.”

“I look forward to continuing to reinforce the ties between the school and the company in my new position as well, and to supporting ballet talent in the Netherlands in its quest for the future of the art form we hold so dear.”