The National Theater in Prague will commemorate the 75th birthday of choreographer Jiří Kylián
Czech Television will present a live broadcast of the premiere of Kylián – Bridges of Time from the historic building of the National Theater on ČT art on the day of March 21, Kylián’s birthday. Kylián has spent a large part of his life abroad, whose name has long been associated primarily with the Dutch Dance Theater.
Five years ago, while celebrating his 70th birthday, he said he saw dance as the most personal, but also the most neglected means of artistic expression. He also mentioned that his very interest in dancing in his life did not cheat at all, but he enriched it with a lot. According to him, dance is the oldest artistic expression of humanity, it is much older than music, painting or literature. Choreography of perception as a discipline in which knowledge of many art forms must be combined, but also anatomy, psychology or economics.
The documentary One Year in the Life of Choreographer Jiří Kylián will be available for free viewing from March 21 to 27 on the youtube channel of the National Theater Ballet. The film maps the year 2018 to 2019, when two important milestones appeared in Kylián’s life. In it, Kylián also revealed the backstage of both events and supplemented them with comments about his life and work
The first event was the premiere on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Czechoslovak Republic at the Prague National Theater. The composed evening called Kylián – Bridges of Time presented the audience with four ballets, which Kylián rehearsed with the ensemble of the National Theater Ballet.
The second important moment was awarded to the Knights of the French Academy of Fine Arts, one of the highest awards in the field of art. He was granted membership in the prestigious French Academy of Fine Arts at a ceremony on March 13, 2019 in Paris. At the inauguration, each new member of the academy receives a sword to symbolize their profession. This artifact becomes his attribute and weapon in defense of art and culture.
In addition, it should concisely express the use of the artist’s world. During the ceremony, the Princess of Hanover handed Jiří Kylián a sword according to his own design, on the hilt of which there is a similar dancer – the Bird Woman standing on the silver wings. Kylián is the first choreographer in the world to receive this important award and for which the academy has decided to open a new category: Choreography.