Golden Prague and dance in the 59th year
Friday evening was dedicated to the world of dance from the point of view of the ceremonial premieres. From 7:00 p.m., the documentary was shown in the hall of the New Stage of the National Theatre Jiří Kylián Theatrical actwhich followed 35 years of the life of the theater building of the leading Dutch contemporary dance company NDT. The film was based on Kylián’s interview with the architect of the world’s first theater dedicated purely to dance By Rem Koolhaas and was essentially a sensitive (and felt) farewell to the space that had witnessed the rise and global fame of NDT. Kilian and Koolhaas went back to the 80s, when it was decided that the theater would be built, they remembered the circumstances and problems that accompanied the construction, as well as the manager Carl Birniewho literally kicked independent theater off the ground.
Jiří Kylián’s personal interest was evident in the documentary, which is understandable. However, it was interesting to listen to a person who, when he left NDT, did not want the company to dance his choreography for several years, because he was convinced that the company should always move forward and find new dance paths, and who says that the theater should not be a museum, to suddenly use, after preserving the legacy and reminder of an extraordinary era in the form of a building that apparently had an extraordinary genius loci… Personally, I also noticed a noticeable lack of mention in the film due to the withdrawal of the original theater (the ensemble, administration and dance school are now housed in a new complex that grew up immediately behind the original house), to which they only partially recorded that it was an annotation of the entire document, as Jiří Kylián, who was present in Prague, only added laconically, about the decision of politicians who want to go down in history (which, after all, seems somewhat simplistic to me).
The comparison of the views of the two artists was also noteworthy, while Kylián was much more sentimental, Koolhaas approached the whole situation much more pragmatically and clinically, and he definitely did not seem like an artist whose child (and his firstborn) is being destroyed before his eyes. Anyway, what I found fascinating was one of his last remarks on the subject of sustainability and ecology, which I felt was quite at odds with his equanimity with the fact that buildings are no longer as immortal as they used to be. To build a building with a vision of its life for 40, 50 years does not seem very sustainable to me…
Kylián’s documentary was followed by a traditional portrait of our dancers and choreographers, a cameraman and a director Martin Kubala. This time, a prima ballerina was in his sights (and he wants to finally say it!). Ballet of the National Theater Nikola Márováwhich Kubala watched during the turbulent 2021/2022 season, which revolved entirely around ballet Romeo and Juliet and questions about whether the dancer will finally get her dream role.
After a long time, it was an extremely balanced film with very good dramaturgy and an arc that managed to portray both Nikola Márová herself and the world of life in the ballet company. The documentary featured a number of personalities who completed the overall picture (for example Michal Štípaex husband Alexander Katsapov even the current one Jan Mara, Tereza Podarylova, Daria Klimentová or Jiří Kilian AND Jaroslav Slavicky), but it was especially the prima ballerina herself who held the entire film together with her openness and authenticity.
The original intent of the documentary and its intended climax was quite clear. Watch the season of one of the leading Czech dancers, who triumphantly introduced herself in the performance in the role of Julia, who has already escaped so many times in the past. The conclusion would be a bit of an American happy ending, but it would probably be flattering and one would leave with a feeling of satisfaction and a certain satisfaction. And as much as I risk sounding cruelly cynical, the result was paradoxically most helped by life itself and the obstacles that piled up in front of Márová one after the other, and in the end really prevented her premiere as the young Capulet (for now). It really made him feel part of the story, I felt the main protagonist, at the end he wanted to hit his head against the wall in frustration, maybe it showed him, but it can also be the reality of dance art. And that just doesn’t always necessarily end with a standing ovation on an open stage.
However, Nikola Márová received these in front of a completely filled Nová scéna auditorium, and the audience were from the mouth of the boss Filip Barankiewicz assured that on October 8, but really. So hopefully now, a few days in advance, I’ll introduce it, no one will think (again) that we could maybe try changing partners…
Video library or records, documentaries and dance films
After a very busy year, when the festival’s video library offered so many minutes of dance documentaries, recordings and films that it was impossible to physically manage to watch them all, this year’s Zlatá Praha moderated and offered sixteen titles from the country and abroad.
He represented the Czech scene on the one hand Kafka: The Process choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti performed by the Ballet of the National Theater in Prague with a guest Ondřej Vinklát in the main role of Josef K. (review of the theatrical premiere here), on the one hand, a short film drop (drop) in submission Ballet of the National Theater Brno. He choreographed the ensemble members Barbora Bielková, Carolina Isach AND Kristýna Kmentovátheir colleague took over the direction Martin Svobodník and everything was danced by members of the Brno ensemble. The film, revolving around the topic of the climate crisis, for example, and life-giving water, took place mainly in the catacombs of Brno, which gave the work the appropriate atmosphere, and after the camera calmed down in the second half and did not rotate every few cuts by 180 degrees, it was a pleasant miniature , in which the authors demonstrated clear choreographic potential.