CELEBRATION OF FREEDOM

Dance does not only serve to express joy, sorrow and emotional states of mind, it can also be a prayer, a ritual, therapy or intellectual structure. (Jiří Kylián)

The festive premiere KYLIÁN – Bridges of Time is one of the projects marking the centenary of the foundation of the Czechoslovak Republic, representing a turning point in Czech history and symbolising liberty and democracy. And freedom of creation is that which all forms of art have in common. To commemorate the momentous anniversary, Jiří Kylián chose four of his pieces for the evening – Symphony of Psalms, Bella Figura, Petit Mort and Sechs Tänze (Six Dances).

Jiří Kylián is one of the most globally acclaimed and celebrated Czech artists. His extensive oeuvre, numbering more than one hundred choreographies, is immensely diverse and creative, bearing witness to his unceasingly seeking novel ways and manners of expression.

Kylián’s works are noted for being emotionally profound, harbouring inner agitation, bold dramatic lines, as well as playfulness, with the predominant subjects being love and death, and everything in between. Kylián’s career has been closely linked with the Nederlands Dans Theater, a company he helmed from 1975 to 1999 and for which he worked as its chief choreographer until 2009. During his tenure as the artistic director of the NDT, he introduced to the European dance scene such gifted young colleagues of his as Mats Ek and Ohad Naharin. The dancers he inspired to devote to choreography included Nacho Duato, Paul Lightfoot, Patrick Marin, Mario Radačovský and Johan Inger. Kylián’s creations have been staged worldwide.

This year, Jiří Kylián, who has reached 71 years of age, was elected a foreign associate member of the prestigious Académie des beaux-arts, which on 25 April extended its traditional sections with a brand new category – choreography (and dance). Of late, Kylián has also dedicated to dance films and photography.

JIŘÍ KYLIÁN AT THE NATIONAL THEATRE

Kylián’s choreographies are mainly known to Czech audiences owing to the National Theatre in Prague, which has to date performed his pieces Return to a Strange Land, Field Mass, The Child and Magic, Petite Mort and Last Touch. We felt greatly honoured to have the opportunity within the evening Kylián – Bridges of Time to present again to Czech ballet lovers works by the singular choreographer.

CELEBRATING KYLIÁN!

The exceptionality of the premiere of the production Kylián – Bridges of Time reflected in the array of the accompanying events, by means of which we aimed to complete the mosaic of the overall picture of Jiří Kylián’s creation in its full beauty and informed depth. They included a multimedia exhibition and a ballet workshop, accessible to the general public, within which our soloists exposed the typical traits of Kylián’s penmanship and elucidated other connections.

The Celebrating Kylián! exhibition opened on 10 October at Operations Building B on Václav Havel Square. Originally prepared last year in The Hague to mark Jiří Kylián’s 70th birthday, it was initiated by the Holland Dance Festival, Kylian Productions, the Korzo theatre, the Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) and the Zuiderstrandtheater. The exhibition was first installed in Prague for a week this June. Now its visitors were afforded the opportunity to see unique archival photographs and videos, capturing Kylián in the creative process. The exhibition also contained a Czech corner, presenting a retrospective of the artist’s pieces performed on Czech stages. It was installed by the Kylián Fund in Prague in collaboration with the National Theatre and Dance Prague festival. The exhibition, which was kindly supported and supervised by the NDT and the Kylián Foundation in The Hague, was open daily from 11 to 25 October between noon and 7 pm.

Symphony of Psalms
Choreography: Jiří Kylián
Assistant choreographer: Patrick Delcroix
Music: Igor Stravinsky
Costumes: Joop Stokvis
Sets: William Katz
Lighting design: Kees Tjebbes

Bella Figura
Chroreography and sets: Jiří Kylián
Assistant choreographer: Cora Bos Kroese
Music: Lukas Foss, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Alessandro Marcello, Antonio Vivaldi, Giuseppe Torelli
Costumes: Joke Visser
Lighting design: Kees Tjebbes

Petite Mort
Chroreography and sets: Jiří Kylián
Assistant choreographer: Roslyn Anderson
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Costumes: Joke Visser
Lighting design: Jiří Kylián, Joop Caboort
Technical adaptation (light/set): Kees Tjebbes

Sechs Tänze (Six Dances)
Choreography, set and costumes: Jiří Kylián
Assistant choreographer: Roslyn Anderson
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Lighting design: Jiří Kylián, Joop Caboort
Technical adaptation (light/set): Kees Tjebbes

The National Theatre Chorus and Orchestra
Musical preparation: Jaroslav Kyzlink
Conductor: Jaroslav Kyzlink / David Švec
Piano solo: David Švec, Martin Levický