Van Manen made Adagio Hammerklavier for the Dutch National Ballet, and it premiered on 4 October 1973, at the Stadsschouwburg, Amsterdam.
Though the six were also set to dance in Swan Lake, the rehearsal schedule made them available at the same time while the rest of the company were working on the production.
"[1] The costumes and set were designed by Jean-Paul Vroom, with the women in pale blue chiffon dresses, and the men in white tights, bare-chested and wearing necklaces.
She noted although the ballet was created in a time when choreographers were experimenting with complex lifts, in Adagio Hammerklavier, women are "curling and drooping to the floor.
"[1] She added that in other parts of the ballet, "couples move in unison... With unexpected assertiveness walks will turn unto stamps.