Jiri Kilian: biography, creativity, reviews

Jiri Kilian is a choreographer whose biography will be presented in this article. This is a legendary person, known all over the world. His ballets are original and original. Glory came to Jiri back in the 20th century.

Biography

Jiri Kilian was born in Prague in 1947. He began to learn the ballet at the age of 9 years. First he studied at the school at the Prague National Theater. At the age of 15 he entered the conservatory. Five years later, Jiří went to Britain (to the Royal Ballet School) for an internship. After that he acted as a soloist in the troupe J. Cranko in Stuttgart. There he worked for several years.

As a director he began to work in 1975 in the Netherlands Dance Theater Jiri Kilian. The choreographer created a lot of productions with the artists of this collective. All the dancers he divided into three age categories, each of them had his own repertoire.

Jiri received international fame in the late 1970s when he presented his ballets in America: "Symphonietta", "Over Overgrown Grass", "Pasture", "Child and Magic", "Forgotten Land", "Symphony of Psalms" and "The Wedding Party".

In the 80 years, the choreographer increasingly turns to the avant-garde and departs from the plot performances.

Jiri has developed his own special style, thanks to which he was called the choreographer-philosopher. His performances are full of emotions.

In 1995, the director was invited to the Dutch Dance Theater as an artistic director. He held this post for four years. After that, for another ten years he collaborated with this collective as a choreographer.

The main productions of the 70-80s

It was during these years that Jiri Kilian received international recognition.

Signed ballets of this period:

• "The Wedding Party";
• "Enlightened Night";
• "Torso";
• "Ritual step";
• "Symphony in Re";
• "Sunken Cathedral";
• "Symphonyetta";
• "Returning to a foreign country";
• "Child and magic";
• "The history of the soldier."

The ballets are directed to the music of such composers as A. Schoenber, I. Stravinsky, L. Janacek, T. Takemits, C. Debussy, J. Haydn, K. Chavez, M. Ravel.

In the production of "Noces" the choreographer demonstrates a striking penetration into the consciousness and rituals of the Slavs. Orthodox Christianity and paganism are mixed here.

"The history of the soldier" is a mixture of classical ballet, contemporary dances, pantomime and tango. The plot tells of a man who made a deal with the devil.

"Child and magic" is the story of the French writer G.S. Colette about a boy who was very bad and naughty. One night, all the toys that he broke, all the frogs and butterflies that he tortured, gathered together to take revenge on this terrible child.

The best productions of the 90s

During this period, the famous choreographer changed the artistic point of view. The style of his productions has changed. Jiri Kilian turned to surrealism and abstraction.

The setting of that time:

• "The Fall of the Angels";
• "Black and white";
• "Six Dances";
• "Sarabanda";
• "No more games";
• "Pleasant dreams";
• "Little death";
• "Dark temptation";
• "Kaguya";
• "A beautiful figure";
• "Birthday".

The most successful setting of the 21st century

In 2004, to the music of Dirk Hibrich Jiri Kilian staged the ballet "Insomnia." Six dancers are engaged in the performance. Scene on the diagonal is crossed by a curtain of white color from sheets of paper. He creates a line between fiction and reality, conscious and unconscious. Dancers penetrate the screen and there begins their transformation. The ballet "Insomnia" is an analysis of human desires and relationships between people, told in six monologues and four duet numbers.

I. Kiliana called a great master of nuances, he is perfectly able to find such dance movements that are able to express the smallest movements of the soul - a raised shoulder, a drooped brush, etc.

Reviews of the productions

Jiri Kilian (choreographer) has different emotions for the audience. Reviews about his productions can be found and very positive, and extremely negative. Many write that the ballets of this choreographer do not cling to them and do not impress. Spectators can not penetrate the essence of the conceived and perceive the plot as meaningless. Many believe that in Jiri's ballets, music and choreography are not one whole, they do not depend on each other in and of themselves. And the dancers simply perform some movements that do not add up to anything and are more like free exercises in gymnastics. The performances of I. Kilian, according to the public, will be of interest only to those who are a fan of modern ballet, and those closer to the classics, they simply can not understand. There are people who say that most of the ballets of I. Kilian cause them a feeling of dead callousness. Some viewers write that they did not like the avant-garde on stage, until they got acquainted with the work of the famous Czech for the whole world. Fans of contemporary art called Jiri genius, and his performances - masterpieces.

In any case, it is necessary to go to the ballets of this director, at least to get acquainted with his work and make up his opinion about him, which will not replace someone else's feedback.