Rudi van Dantzig dies at 78

There are articles that I never published because I could not find a good reason to post.

One is about "For a lost soldier" (Dutch title: Voor een Verloren Soldaat) a 1992 Dutch film based upon the autobiographical novel of the same title by ballet dancer and choreographer Rudi van Dantzig. It deals with the romantic / sexual relationship between a 12-year-old boy (Dantzig) and a Canadian soldier during the final months leading up to the liberation of the Netherlands from Nazi occupation during World War II.

Rudi van Dantzig (August 4, 1933 – January 19, 2012), was a Dutch choreographer, ballet dancer and writer. From 1965 until his death he was co-artistic leader of the Dutch National Ballet (Amsterdam, The Netherlands).

Van Dantzig was born in Amsterdam. He studied with Gaskell and made his debut with her Ballet Recital in 1952, dancing full time with it (1954-9) after it became Netherlands Ballet. In 1959 he became a founder member of Netherlands Dance Theatre but in 1960 returned to Gaskell's company (which became Dutch National Ballet in 1961) becoming co-director in 1969 and sole director in 1971. He retired in 1991 but continued as resident choreographer until 1994 when he left to pursue a career as a writer. He has created many works for Dutch National Ballet but has also worked as guest choreographer for many companies including Ballet Rambert, Royal Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and the Bat-Dor Company.

In 1986 he wrote an autobiographical novel, 

Voor een verloren soldaat, about his love affair while a young boy with a Canadian soldier, which became a great success, receiving several awards; a film was made of it. An English translation, For a Lost Soldier, was published in 1996. Van Dantzig published a biography of the Dutch artist and resistance fighter Willem Arondeus in 2003.

Choreographer and dancer Rudi van Dantzig died at his home in Amsterdam on Thursday at the age of 78. He had been suffering from cancer for some time.

Van Dantzig is regarded as one of modern ballet’s most innovative chorographers. With fellow choreographer Hans van Manen and set designer Toer van Schayk, van Dantzig revolutionised Dutch ballet and made it an international byword for creativity.