Introdans

The spotlight on the significance of Kylián's work in the international dance world.

In 2027, Jirí Kylián will celebrate his 80th birthday. With fifteen works from Kylián's extensive oeuvre in its repertoire, Introdans puts the spotlight on the artistry of this master choreographer. On a journey through the iconic pieces Child's Play, Petite Mort and Chapeau, the company showcases the power, beauty and emotion of his influential dance language. In addition, Kylián's short film Scalamare will also be shown. Jirí Kylián's vision of time, movement and art is thus highlighted from different perspectives.

Artistic director Roel Voorintholt: "For 50 years, Kylián has given colour to the dance world. His work, that is pure enjoyment. Ever since 1978, as a dance student, I have followed Kylian's work with admiration, and that is unchanged today."

About the works

Petite Mort

Kylián's rich dance language is fuelled by the exchange with music: in the choreography Petite Mort with Mozart's piano concertos number 21 and 23. Kylián selected the quiet movements to contrast with the dynamic dance playing of the 12 dancers; six men and six women. Petite Mort is an epic choreography about life, love and death. On the verge of ecstasy, the breath momentarily stops. A little death, the French call it. It depicts the wafer-thin transition between strength and vulnerability, potency and power.

Children's Games

Child Plays is choreography from Kylián's early years. He drew inspiration for it from the 16th-century painting The Children's Games by Pieter Brueghel the Elder. There are games everywhere in the painting, from 'leapfrogging' to hooping. But who is playing the game? Do we see the child in ourselves? On the dance floor, playtime is open. Under the 'maypole', the seriousness of play takes shape in dynamic group pieces and playful duets.

Chapeau

Chapeau is a vibrant and festive occasional work set to songs by Prince and Hawaiian music, created for Queen Beatrix's 25th anniversary of the throne in 2005. With this ballet, the master choreographer 'takes his hat off' to everything the former queen has meant to the Netherlands and to Dutch dance. He drew inspiration from her famous, extensive hat collection, from which some twenty replicas can be seen in the choreography. Chapeau is cheerful, witty, exuberant, but with its focus on the most minute detail, at the same time a great challenge for even the best dancers.

Scalamare

Time and timing, says Kylián, is what art and life are all about. A dancer's movement is there only in the moment. Here and now. Through the medium of film, Kylián offers a different perspective on the passage of time. The cinematic view should therefore not be missing from the focus programme. Part of the KYLIAN evening is therefore the screening of his short film Scalamare about a couple who have spent 40 years together.