Jiri Kilian is a choreographer, whose biography will be presented in this article. This is a legendary person, known throughout the world. His ballets are original and original. Glory came to Jiri in the 20th century.
Biography
Jiri Kilian was born in Prague in 1947. He began to study ballet at the age of 9 years. At first he attended school at the Prague National Theater. At the age of 15, he entered the conservatory. Five years later, Jiri went to Britain (to the Royal Ballet School) for an internship. After that, he joined the troupe of J. Cranco in Stuttgart as a soloist. He worked there for several years.
As a director, he began working in 1975 in the Netherlands Dance Theater Jiri Kilian. The choreographer has created many productions with the artists of this group. He divided all the dancers into three age categories, each of them had its own repertoire.
Jiri received international fame in the late 70s, when he presented his ballets in America at the festival: Symphonietta, Overgrown Grass, Pasture, Child and Magic, Forgotten Land, Psalms Symphony and "Wedding".
In the 80s, the choreographer increasingly turns to the avant-garde and moves away from plot productions.
Jiri has developed his own special style, thanks to which he began to be called a choreographer-philosopher. His performances are full of emotions.
In 1995, the director was invited to the Netherlands Dance Theater as an artistic director. He held this post for four years. After that, he collaborated with this collective as a choreographer for another ten years.
The main productions of the 70-80s
It was during these years that Jiri Kilian received international recognition.
Significant ballets of this period:
- "Wedding";
- Enlightened Night;
- "Torso";
- "Ritual step";
- "Symphony in re";
- The Sunken Cathedral;
- Symphonietta;
- "Return to a foreign country";
- "Child and magic";
- "The story of a soldier."
The ballets are staged to the music of such composers as A. Schoenber, I. Stravinsky, L. Yanachek, T. Takemits, K. Debussy, J. Haydn, K. Chavez, M. Ravel.
In the production of "Wedding", the choreographer demonstrates a striking penetration into the consciousness and rituals of the Slavs. Orthodox Christianity and paganism are mixed here.
The Soldier's Story is a mixture of classical ballet, modern dance, pantomime and tango. The plot tells the story of a man who made a deal with the devil.
"Child and magic" is the story of the French writer G.S. Colette is about a boy who was very bad and naughty. One night, all the toys that he broke, all the frogs and butterflies that he tortured, came together to take revenge on this terrible child.
The best productions of the 90s
During this period, the famous choreographer changed his artistic point of view. The style of his productions has changed. Jiri Kilian turned to surrealism and abstraction.
The performances of that time:
- "The Fall of the Angels";
- "Black and white";
- "Six dances";
- "Sarabande";
- "No more game";
- "Pleasant dreams";
- "Little death";
- Dark Temptation
- "Kaguya";
- "Beautiful figure";
- "Birthday".
The most successful production of the 21st century
In 2004, Jiri Kilian directed the ballet Insomnia to the music of Dirk Hibrich. Six dancers are engaged in the performance. A white curtain of sheets of paper crosses the stage diagonally. He creates the line between fiction and reality, conscious and unconscious. The dancers penetrate the screen and there their transformation begins. The ballet "Insomnia" is an analysis of human desires and relationships between people, told in six monologues and four duet numbers.
I. Kilian is called a great master of nuances, he is very able to find such dance movements that are able to express the smallest movements of the soul - an upturned shoulder, wilted brush, etc.
Performance Reviews
Jiri Kilian (choreographer) evokes various emotions among the audience. Reviews of his productions can be found both very positive and extremely negative. Many write that the ballets of this choreographer do not catch them and are not impressive. Spectators cannot understand the essence of what was conceived and perceive the plot as meaningless. Many people think that in Jiri’s ballets, music and choreography are not one, they are themselves independent of each other. And the dancers simply perform some movements that do not add up to anything and are more like floor exercises in gymnastics. The performances of I. Kilian, according to the public, will be of interest only to those who are fans of modern ballet, and those who are closer to the classics, they simply can not understand. There are people who say that most of I. Kilian’s ballets evoke a feeling of dead soullessness in them. Some viewers write that they did not like the avant-garde on stage until they became acquainted with the work of the Czech, famous throughout the world. Fans of modern art call Jiri a genius, and his performances are called masterpieces.
In any case, you must definitely go to the ballet of this director in order to at least get acquainted with his work and draw up your opinion about him that will not be replaced by other people's reviews.