Commission to Yannis Kyriakides

Scapino Ballet Rotterdam and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra present La Mer, a new production featuring a commissioned score by Yannis Kyriakides. Reimagining Debussy’s La Mer and Nocturnes – Sirènes, the work integrates contemporary dance, symphonic and electronic music, digital media, and haute couture to examine the ocean’s evolving place in human culture—once viewed as a mythical site of beauty, now increasingly defined by ecological fragility.

The production expands on choreography originally created for Boston Ballet in collaboration with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. In this new version, extended to 90 minutes, Kyriakides’s composition layers orchestral textures with electronic sound, reflecting the complexity of marine environments.

La Mer contrasts two oceanic perspectives: an imagined, symbolic world shaped by Debussy’s Sirènes, evoking a romanticized view of nature; and a contemporary viewpoint that reflects the impact of environmental degradation and human intervention.

Further Information:
scapinoballet.nl

Dates

October 9–10 & 15–17, 2026
Nieuwe Luxor Theater, Rotterdam