Boston Ballet presents
Jiří Kylián’sBlack and White at the Citi Performing Arts CenterSM Wang Theatre February 12-15, becoming the first company outside of Nederlands Dans Theatre to perform this entire program. The five-ballet program includes
Falling Angels and
Sarabande, premiered by the company in 2005, as well as
Petite Mort,
Sechs Tänze and
No More Play.
“Boston audiences are about to experience one of the most exciting moments in dance this city has ever seen. Black and White is a dynamic, powerful evening of contemporary works with cutting-edge choreography,” said Mikko Nissinen, Artistic Director, Boston Ballet. “It is an honor and remarkable feat to have the opportunity to present a full evening of Kylián’s masterpiece work.”
According to Kylián, the Black and White ballets can be seen as a black and white sketch intended to be completed by the viewer’s experience and senses. Sarabande, a powerful display for six men, 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. “‘Dazzling’ doesn’t do justice to the program Boston Ballet performed last night,” the Boston Globe raved when these two works premiered together in 2005.
The company now adds Petite Mort, which incorporates artistic swordplay set to Mozart, Sechs Tänze, a speedy, madcap work displaying Kylián’s unique humor, and the intimacy and introspection of No More Play, to its repertoire. Seen together, these five ballets provide audiences with an opportunity to view the work of one of the world’s most fascinating and celebrated choreographers whose style has influenced a generation of choreographers worldwide.
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.
Patrick Delcroix, assistant choreographer to Jiří Kylián and a former dancer at NDT, staged No More Play and Sarabande. Roslyn Anderson, former Rehearsal Director at NDT, staged Falling Angels and Sechs Tänze. Delcroix and Anderson staged the final work, Petite Mort, together.
All performances are held at the Citi Performing Arts CenterSM Wang Theatre.
Black and White – U.S. PREMIERE
February 12-15, 2009
No More Play – BOSTON BALLET PREMIERE
Music: Anton Webern
Choreography: Jiří Kylián
Petite Mort – BOSTON BALLET PREMIERE
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Choreography: Jiří KyliánSarabande
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach
Choreography: Jiří Kylián
Falling Angels
Music: Steve Reich
Choreography: Jiří Kylián
Sechs Tänze – BOSTON BALLET PREMIERE
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Choreography: Jiří Kylián
Tickets
Tickets for Black and White can be purchased by phone at 866.348.9738, online at www.citicenter.org, or in person at the Citi Performing Arts CenterSM box office, located at 270 Tremont Street in Boston's Theatre District, open Monday - Saturday from 10am - 6pm. Prices for season ballets start at $25. Discounted group tickets (10 or more) are available by calling Boston Ballet's Group Sales at 617.456.6343. Rush tickets are available. Contact the Boston Ballet box office at 617.695.6955.
About Boston BalletFounded in 1963, Boston Ballet is one of the leading dance companies in North America. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen, the Company maintains an internationally acclaimed 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 made up of pre-professional dancers who gain experience by performing with Boston Ballet and as an independent group, presenting lecture-demonstrations and unique programs to audiences throughout the Northeast. The Boston Ballet Center for Dance Education is the largest ballet school in North America. In service of its mission to bring the highest quality arts education to all, it reaches and instructs more than 10,000 students of all ages each year through Boston Ballet School, Summer Dance Workshop, Summer Dance Program, Citydance, Taking Steps, and Adaptive Dance. The wide array of dance education programs are held at four major ballet studio locations, in community centers, and throughout the Boston Public Schools.
