SECHS TÄNZE / creation 1986

Choreographer Jirí Kylián

Dance performance Introdans Ensemble for youth

For many years now, the Dutch company Introdans has been presenting a rich and accessible repertoire, ideal for heightening children's awareness of choreographic art, throughout the Netherlands and on tour in various countries abroad. Contemporary yet with a classical base, the company has attracted a great many choreographers of various currents, who wish to take part in this exceptional adventure. Introdans has added four pieces of work from the great master, Jirí Kylián, to its repertoire, all of which were originally created for the dancers of the Nederlands Dans Theater. Four exquisitely elegant and harmonious treasures, including the renowned “Sechs Tänze”, a bewigged divertissement, bursting with auto-derision and poetry, inspired by Mozart's Six German Dances. Absolutely irresistible

Sources : Maison de la Danse performance programme

chorégraphie Jirí Kylián
musique Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, "Danses allemandes 1-6 Koëchel 571" (extrait de l'Histoire de la valse, interprété par Residence Orchestra o.l.v. Heinz Wallberg, enregistré en 1985, édition Residence Orchestra 420 052-26)

scénographie, création costumes Jirí Kylián
costumes Joke Visser
lumière Joop Caboort, adaptée par Kees Tjebbes

assistant du chorégraphe Roslyn Anderson
répétitrice Iris Reyes
première mondiale 24 octobre 1986, Nederlands Dans Theater, La Haye
première Introdans Ensemble pour les Jeunes 23 octobre 2004, Arnhe

Réalisation vidéo Charles Picq date du document vidéo 2011 production Introdans Ensemble for youth, Maison de la Danse

Durée de l'œuvre 14min

The world-renowned choreographer Jiří Kylián (Czechoslovakia, 1947) has been artistic director and house choreographer for of Nederlands Dans Theater for more than thirty years. Throughout his career Kylián created 75 choreographies for NDT. The piece  "Mémoires d’Oubliettes" marked the end of his work for NDT in 2009. Since then his creative focus has shifted to more small scale projects. Kylián created various other pieces for companies worldwide such as the Stuttgart Ballet, the Paris Opéra, the Munich Bayerisches Staatsballett and the Tokyo Ballet. Kylián received many prestigious, international awards and honours.

Jiří Kylián started his dance career at the age of nine, at the School of the National Ballet in Prague. In 1962 he was accepted as a student at the Prague Conservatory. He left Prague in 1967 when he received a scholarship for the Royal Ballet School in London.  Then he left for the Stuttgart Ballet led by John Cranko, where he made his debut as a choreographer with Paradox for the Noverre Gesellschaft. After having created three ballets for NDT ("Viewers", "Stoolgame" and "La Cathédrale Engloutie"), he became the company’s artistic director in 1975 together with Hans Knill. During the 1978 Charleston Festival in the United States  Kylián put NDT on the international map with Sinfonietta (Leoš Janácek). That year he and Carel Birnie founded NDT 2, which was – and is – meant to offer young dancers the opportunity to develop their skills and talents. In 1991 he initiated NDT 3; a company that created opportunities for ‘older’ dancers. NDT stood out as the first company worldwide that showed the three dimensions of a dancer´s life. After an extraordinary record of service Kylián handed over the artistic leadership in 1999, but remained associated to the dance company as house choreographer until 2009.

Source: Nederlands Dance Theater 's website

More information: ndt.nl/en/home.html