Boston Ballet presents Jiří Kylián’s Black and White at The Boston Opera House May 20 – 30. In an unprecedented move by Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen, the program returns for a second season due to popular demand and the great success of last year’s performances. Boston Ballet premiered Black and White in February 2009, becoming the first company outside of Nederlands Dans Theater to perform this program. The five-ballet program consists of No More Play, Petite Mort, Sarabande, Falling Angels, and Sechs Tänze.
“A true sensation was felt in Boston when we premiered Black and White last season,” said Nissinen. “I’d never received so much positive and powerful response from our audiences – they sent letters and emails, and I heard many regrets from those who missed the program. Although unprecedented, I knew I had to bring Kylián’s unique complexity, poignancy, hilarity, and intrigue back to the stage. You won’t want to miss this perfect grand finale for the season.”
Kylián choreographed these five Black and White works over a six year period from 1986 – 1991 at Nederlands Dans Theater. He worked exclusively with costume designer Joke Visser and lighting designer Joop Caboort to create a distinct and powerful aesthetic for each work. The Black and White ballets can be seen as black and white sketches intended to be completed by the viewer’s experience and senses. When the program premiered with Boston Ballet in 2009, The Hub Review described it as, “a triumph; a must-see; a dance that brings the audience to its feet, cheering. And then sets the crowd to thinking.”
No More Play, premiered in 1988, is set to music by Anton Webern. The piece for five dancers has a distinct structure, with movement that is at once sharp and soft. Petite Mort, a group work featuring artistic swordplay set to Mozart, premiered in 1991. Sarabande, created in 1990, is a powerful display for six men. Sarabande showcases the dancers as they shift between their group and individual variations using both movement and their vocalization to intensify the piece. Falling Angels, a work for eight women, is a mesmerizing and multilayered study in motion and minimalism set to Steve Reich’s Drumming. It first premiered in 1989. The program concludes with Kylián’s 1986 Sechs Tänze, a theatrical, madcap work displaying his unique humor.
Kylián was born in Prague, Czech Republic. He trained at the Prague Conservatory and at the Royal Ballet School, London. He began his choreographic career with Stuttgart Ballet (1970) before moving to the Nederlands Dans Theatre (NDT), where he became director in 1978. His many works include Sinfonietta, with music by Janáček (1979), the all-male Soldiers' Mass (1980), L'Enfant et les Sortilèges (1984), and three based on Aboriginal culture: Nomads (1981), Stamping Ground (1982), and Dreamtime (1983). Through the years, Kylián has moved away from lyrical works to abstract and often surrealistic ballets such as No More Play (1988), Falling Angels (1989), Sweet Dreams (1990), Sarabande (1990), and Petite Mort (1991). In April 1995, Kylián celebrated 20 years with NDT by mounting a large-scale dance production, Arcimbaldo. On that occasion, he received one of the Netherlands’ highest honors, becoming Officer in de Orde van Oranje Nassau. In 1997, Kylián won the Edinburgh Festival Critics' Award and received an honorary doctorate at The Juilliard School in New York. Kylián also received the Benois de la Danse award in 1998 and the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance among many other awards and honors. Kylián is currently resident choreographer and artistic advisor of NDT and artistic advisor of the Saitama Arts Foundation in Japan.
Roslyn Anderson, assistant to Kylián and former Rehearsal Director at NDT, staged the works.
Jiří Kylián’s Black and White
May 20 – 30, 2010
View footage from Black and White:
www.bostonballet.org/explorebb/videos/black-and-white.html
No More Play
Music: Anton Webern
Choreography: Jiří Kylián
Petite Mort
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Choreography: Jiří Kylián
Sarabande
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach
Choreography: Jiří Kylián
Falling Angels
Music: Steve Reich
Choreography: Jiří Kylián
Sechs Tänze
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Choreography: Jiří Kylián
2009-2010 Season Tickets
Spring season tickets are on sale now. All 2009-2010 tickets may be purchased through Boston Ballet by phone at 617.695.6955 or in person at the box office at 19 Clarendon Street, Boston, Mon–Fri, 9am-5pm, Sat, 11am-6pm (Sat hours Sept–May only), and performance days only on Sun, 11am – 4pm (or 6pm for The Nutcracker) . Subscriptions and all tickets will be available for sales online 24 hours a day at www.bostonballet.org. Prices for season ballets start at $25. Discounted group tickets (10 or more for season ballets) are available by calling Boston Ballet’s Group Sales at 617.456.6343. Contact the Boston Ballet Box Office at 617.695.6955 or visit www.bostonballet.org for details.
About Boston Ballet
Since 1963, Boston Ballet has been one of the leading dance companies in the world on stage, in the studio and in the community. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen and Executive Director Barry Hughson, the Company maintains an internationally acclaimed repertoire and the largest ballet school in North America, Boston Ballet School.
Boston Ballet maintains a repertoire of classical, neo-classical and contemporary works, ranging from full-length story ballets to new works by some of today's finest choreographers. Boston Ballet's second company, Boston Ballet II, is comprised of pre-professional dancers who gain experience by performing with the Company and independently, presenting lecture-demonstrations and special programs to audiences throughout the Northeast.
Boston Ballet School, the official school of Boston Ballet, has a long-standing dedication to excellence and access and reaches more than 10,000 students ages 2-adult each year through Boston Ballet School classes, Summer Dance Workshop, Summer Dance Program, Citydance, Taking Steps, and Adaptive Dance. The wide array of dance programs are held at three studio locations in Boston, Newton, and Marblehead with additional programs throughout New England, as well as community centers and in Boston Public Schools.
Boston Ballet gratefully acknowledges the following institutional partners:
State Street Corporation, 2010 Presenting Sponsor, The Nutcracker
Jane’s Trust
Massachusetts Cultural Council
National Endowment for the Arts
Boston Organ & Piano, Official Piano Supplier of Boston Ballet
