Preview: Gala Evening Různé břehy

Jiří Kylián is the most famous Czech choreographer in history. Period.

In the late 1960s Kylián joined the mass exodus that followed the Warsaw Pact occupation and quickly established a reputation for himself abroad. Since the 1970s, his creative work has made an exceptional impact on the world of dance. He faced restrictions, however, and was not allowed to freely show his work in his home country under communism.

Whereas Kylián had the opportunity to develop his potential in a free society, in Czechoslovakia, creativity was stifled. This isolation continued until November 1989 and the Velvet Revolution.

Very soon after, Kylián made clear his interest in advancing dance in the Czech Republic. In May 1991, his Nederlands Dans Theater Company came to Prague. This guest appearance during the Prague Spring Festival was a very important event for Czech culture.

Kylián personally participated in the event and on this occasion the Kylián Videotheque was launched. Kylián's project was part of a three-year Dutch program, "Cooperation with Eastern Europe," implemented for the countries that had broken from the USSR.

Since the Videotheque opened its doors, it organized dozens of educational projects and systematically expanded its documentary collection, which contains a unique inventory of work by Kylián and other world artists such as Hans van Manen, Mats Ek, William Forsythe, Christopher Bruce, Maurice Béjart, Ohad Naharin, Paul Lightfoot and others. It is the only publicly accessible collection of dance recordings in the Czech Republic and currently it is the only one in the world with an almost complete collection of Kylián's choreographed works.

The Theater Institute has organized a series of celebrations for the 20th anniversary of this unique Videotheque, which will culminate Nov. 30 with the performance Různé břehy (Different Shores) devoted to Kylián. The atmosphere of the gala evening will be set by the special dance vocabulary and the instantly recognizable style of this famous Czech choreographer.

"The 20th anniversary of the Kylián Videotheque is a unique opportunity to appreciate Jiří Kylián's personal commitment and interest in the development of Czech dance," Eva Žáková from the organizing Institute tells The Prague Post. "We want to underline the influence he's had on dancers and choreographers around the world and also on dance artists of his native country."

The dramaturgical conception of the gala has been created by the 420People Company. Its founders Nataša Novotná and Václav Kuneš spent eighteen years in the Nederlands Dans Theater under Kylián's direction. Now they are based in Prague and their company is keeping up with the contemporary world of dance art.

Různé břehy will feature more than a dozen dancers, most of whom spent a substantial part of their artistic lives engaged in Kylián's prestigious Nederlands Dans Theater, and "now they have gone on their own path," Kuneš says. "It was one of Kylián's key wishes to present the people, dancers and choreographers who were in some way associated with him. At the same time he wanted to show the diversity of dance styles. He has chosen all the artists for the gala himself."

"The audience will have chance to see excerpts from Kylián's older choreography Bella Figura as well as his newest work titled Anonymous," Novotná adds.

"Furthermore, a duet, Amoroso, in the choreography of Cora Bos Kroese and the trio Urtanz by Lukáš Timulák will be presented. And I should not forget to mention also a demonstration from the work in progress by my colleague Václav Kuneš that will premiere in May 2012. All these choreographies will be mixed with video clips from stage and backstage and altogether it will create a very original composition."

As a part of the evening, a new book of Kylián's memoirs, Různé břehy: Choreographer Jiří Kylián between The Hague and Prague, will be launched.

Over the past 20 years, the dance scene in the Czech Republic has changed a great deal. The country now provides the ground on which contemporary dance can flourish. The improving conditions of Czech society offer new artistic possibilities for the evolution of the contemporary dance genre in the new millennium. Hopefully Kylián's Videotheque will help support the development of modern dance and energize choreographic culture in the Czech Republic for many years to come.

Johana Mücková can be reached at
features@praguepost.com