Van Dantzig created modern versions of Romeo and Juliet (1967) and Swan Lake (1988), but he may be best known for his one-act ballets to a wide range of twentieth-century composers.

Sponsor Message.

Critics may question the edgy elements of homoerotic tension and existential malaise that recur in van Dantzig's work, but they also appreciate the vigor with which he puts his politics out front-and-center without diminishing the theatricality of the dance.

Sans Armes, Citoyens (1987, with a score by Hector Berlioz) is one example of van Dantzig drawing inspiration from his complex personal life and extending it to address social issues through movement. Requiring ensemble dancing that demands great virtuosity, this piece is a virtual manifesto urging the ideals of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity without resort to violence.

In its political and artistic vision, Sans Armes, Citoyens is also emblematic of the more than fifty provocative works van Dantzig created before leaving the Dutch National Ballet in 1991 to devote himself to writing and to staging his work with other companies.

In 2003 Van Dantzig published a biography of the Dutch artist and resistance fighter Willem Arondeus. In 2008, he published a memoir, Remembering Nureyev: The Trail of a Comet, about his collaborations with the great dancer.

Van Dantzig died on January 19, 2012 at his home in Amsterdam of complications from cancer. He was survived by his longtime partner Toer van Schayk.

The enduring and persistent connection between ballet and male homosexuality is undeniable and may be related to the art's remarkably masculine provenance.

Artistic dance has proven to be a haven for glbtq people, who have made significant contributions in almost every area, including as choreographers, performers, and teachers.

The Ballets Russes represents not only a crucial turning point in dance history, but as one of the earliest gay-identified multinational enterprises, it is a milestone in gay history as well.

For Russian nobleman Sergei Diaghilev, who revolutionized music, the visual arts, theater, and dance, homosexuality may have been integral to his creativity.

The greatest dancer of his time, Rudolf Nureyev also gave the world a new and glamorous image of a sexually active gay man.

Christopher Wheeldon is one of the most innovative and acclaimed classical ballet choreographers working in the dance world today.