Balancing between extremes, the field of tension between art and artificiality, reason and emotion, health and illness is explored. The choreography in the second part (on Sat 21 and Sun 22 June) of this unique Jiří Kylián retrospective shows us the complexity of the borderland. The dancers of the Norwegian National Ballet passionately portray the choreographer's vision: the struggle as well as the splendour of life on earth.
Day before Tomorrow: 1995-2008 by Jiří Kylián
Bella Figura | Wings of Wax | Gods and Dogs
Bella Figura highlights the relativity of sensuality, beauty and aesthetics. Where is the line between art and artificiality, between truth and a lie? Where does performance begin and reality end? Fascinated by this twilight zone, Kylián explores both meanings of ‘bella figura’: the beauty of the figure versus human resilience in difficult times.
Battling the laws of nature, the classically trained dancer defies gravity time and again. With Wings of Wax, the choreographer refers not only to Icarus' pride, but to man's boundless ambition to reach ever higher to escape the heavy and reach the light. The expressive piece is a swirling set of complex movements in perfect synergy with the music.
Finally, the mysterious Gods and Dogs focuses on the thin dividing line between sanity and madness and the norms that determine who falls under what. Dirk Haubrich's music composition based on Beethoven's string quartet set ballet opens with an exciting play of shadows and takes the audience on a dynamic and ominous journey.
This performance is shown thanks to Fonds Internationale Dans (FIND). Amare, Holland Dance Festival and Nederlands Dans Theater join forces in this fund with the aim of bringing high-profile international dance productions to the Netherlands and presenting them in Amare to profile The Hague as the dance city of the Netherlands.