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Jiří Kylián (born 21 March 1947) is a Czech former dancer and contemporary dance choreographer.

Early life
Dancer and choreographer Jirí Kylián was born in 1947 in Prague - Czechoslovakia, to his father Václav, a banker and later director of the largest "Savings Bank" of Czechoslovakia, and to his mother Markéta, who in her young age was a dancer-child protégée. At the age of 9, he became a student at the "School of the National Ballet Prague". In 1962 he was accepted as a student to the Prague Conservatory. One teacher, who left a deep mark on Jirí's professional development, was Zora Šemberová, who is known for her world first interpretation of Juliet (1938) in Prokofiev’s famous ballet. It was in 1967, that he had received a scholarship to study at the "Royal Ballet School" in London, the true cultural center of the world of that time. This scholarship was organized by Jennie Lee, the Arts Minister of UK at that time.

Stuttgart Ballett
There he met the choreographer John Cranko, who offered him a contract, to become a member of the highly acclaimed "Stuttgart Ballett". In the meantime, Czechoslovakia started its process of reformation of the communist regime under the leadership of Alexander Dubcek. After Kylian’s return to Czechoslovakia in August 1968, the invasion of the "Warsaw-Pact " forces began. The “Prague spring” was crushed! On the 28th of August, he left for Germany. The Stuttgart Ballett under the direction of Cranko, was one of the most celebrated companies of that time. It was in the "Noverre Gesellschaft" (the testing ground for young talent, which organized annual choreographic workshops), for which Kylian made his first work entitled "Paradox". His first work for the main company, was” Kommen und Gehen", created with Marcia Haydée and Richard Cragun in 1971. In the early 70’s, Cranko had invited Glen Tetley to become a resident choreographer in Stuttgart. Tetley's work made an enormous impression on Kylián. Tetley was an intellectual, just as Cranko was, but his approach to dance was totally different. His understanding of movement, and its relation to space, was a revelation to Kylián.

In 1973, after a very successful tour to the U.S.A., Cranko's sudden death at the age of 46, left the Stuttgart Ballet in disarray. The company scrambled to preserve Cranko's legacy and at the same time tried to find its way into the future. Kylián had stayed in Stuttgart under various directions including Glen Tetley's, in order to help bridge the difficult time after that terrible loss. In 1974 he created ”Return to a Strange Land”, dedicated to John’s memory.

Netherlands Dance Theatre
In the early seventies the Netherlands Dance Theatre was on tour in Stuttgart. They saw Kylián's work, and they were interested. After creating two works for NDT -“ Stoolgame" and "La Cathédrale Engloutie" the offer to become artistic co-director (together with Hans Knill untill 1977) of NDT had arrived. The “international success of Sinfonietta", which Kylián created to music of Leoš Janácek for the "Charleston Festival" opened many new doors to NDT, which were closed until that time. Many creations followed. Large ensemble works like “Symphony of Psalms” 1978 as well as for intimate pieces celebrating individuality - “Silent Cries”, 1986, dedicated to his longtime partner Sabine Kupferberg.

Many international tours have taken place: diverse places including the Prague National Theater, the Metropolitan Opera House, the Paris Opera or a Kibbutz Theater in Israel. NDT’s guest appearance in communist Czechoslovakia, in the "Prague Spring Festival" in 1980, was an important breakthrough of political dimension. Not only was the success overwhelming, but more importantly, the public with its long standing ovation, decided to send a message to the authorities stating that anybody should have the freedom to make a career abroad, return home, and be allowed to show his work without any restrictions.

In the early eighties, Kylián’s longtime interest in the culture of the Australian aboriginal people inspired the largest tribal gathering ever held in Australia. This powerful experience left a profound mark on him, and had a direct or indirect influence on many creations that followed (”Stamping Ground” 1983).

Netherlands Dance Theatre II
Realizing the importance of education of young dancers, Carel Birnie and Jirí Kylián have decided to create a “Junior company” - NDT II. For this company he created works like ”27’52” or “Sleepless” or "Gods and Dogs”.

At this time some of the most interesting creators produced their works on NDT: Young talented choreographers from around the world: William Forsythe, Mats Ek, Christopher Bruce, Ohad Naharin and many others. Internationally recognized contemporary masters (Hans van Manen, Glen Tetley....). Last, but certainly not least, the encouragement of creativity within the company's own ranks became very important:

Nacho Duato, Paul Lightfoot & Sol León, Patrick Delcroix, Johan Inger, Medhi Walerski, Jorma Elo, Cora Bos-Kroese, Václav Kuneš, Ed Wubbe, Philip Taylor, Lionel Hoche, Lukáš Timulák, Mário Radacovský, Jo Kanamori, Alexander Ekman and many others.

Netherlands Dance Theatre III
It was in 1990, that Kylián decided to create a small group for dancers, who find themselves in the precarious age between "forty and death". The world premiere of NDT III, the “Senior Company” was created by Hans van Manen, Mats Ek, William Forsythe and Jirí Kylián. The original dancers were: Sabine Kupferberg, Alida Chase, Gérard Lemaitre and Niklas Ek. The importance of this new development in dance was instantly recognized by the public, as well as by the media. Many choreographers of international stature have understood the importance of this new development, and have generously contributed to its rich and diverse repertoire: Hans van Manen, William Forsythe, Mats Ek, Maurice Béjart, Maguy Marin, Ohad Naharin, Jennifer Muller, Christopher Bruce, Martha Clarke, Carolyn Carlson, Nacho Duato, Paul Lightfoot, Robert Wilson, Erik Vos, Patrick Delcroix, Johan Inger, Shusaku Takeuchi, Susanne Linke, Paulo Ribeiro, Meryl Tankard, Michael Schumacher and many others...

Netherlands Dance Theatre Structure
With its unique, three-dimensional structure, NDT I - mature dancers, NDT II - young dancers, NDT III - senior dancers, and with the building of its own theatre, 1987, (designed by Rem Koolhaas), NDT has become different from any other dance company in the world, and was recognized as such by being given various prestigious awards.

Work and Legacy
In the years between 1973 and today Kylián has created more than 100 ballets for NDT. He has made original works for the Stuttgart Ballet, Paris Operaballet, Bayerisches Staatsballett München and the Tokyo Ballet. His creations are danced by more than 100 companies and schools world-wide. He has worked with many creative personalities of international stature:

Composers: Designers:
 * ''Arne Nordheim ("Ariadne", 1997)
 * ''Toru Takemitsu ("Dream Time", 1983)
 * ''Dirk Haubrich (created 16 scores for the latest creations by Kylián)
 * ''Walter Nobbe ("Sinfonietta", 1978),
 * ''Wiliam Katz ("Symphony of Psalms", 1978),
 * ''John Macfarlane ("Forgotten Land", 1980),
 * ''Michael Simon ("Stepping Stones", 1991),
 * ''Atsushi Kitagawara ("One of a Kind", 1998),
 * ''Susumu Shingu ("Toss of a Dice", 2005),
 * ''Yoshiki Hishinuma ("Zugvögel", 2009),
 * ''Joke Visser (created costumes for more than forty of Kylián's works)
 * ''Kees Tjebbes (made light designs for many of his creations)

Together with Film Director Boris Paval Conen, he created films Car-Men and “Between Entrance and Exit”.

Acclaimed works:

Forgotten Land (1981)
Forgotten Land 1981 explores memories, events and people that over time are lost or forgotten and how people sometimes vainly try to recover them, or a sense of them in order to regain their former power and value. The work itself is inspired and based on a painting of women on a beach by the Norwegian Expressionist painter Edvard Munch. The work mainly involves duets who move their arms in various stretched positions, as if they were reaching out for something. The dancers arch their backs and dance expressively, reflecting both the music and the haunting painting that influenced the work. Kylián makes a statement of lost homelands, lost lovers and lost times and there are also duets that reflect violent moods. These duets end up as a large ensemble and then the women are left on the shore, stretching their arms again like birds that cannot fly.

Complete list of works
List of works from 1970 to 2014
 * Viewers (1973)
 * Stoolgame (1974)
 * Blue Skin (1974)
 * La cathédrale engloutie (1975)
 * Transfigured Night (1975)
 * Torso (1975)
 * Nuages (1976)
 * Elegia (1976)
 * Symphony in D (1976)
 * November Steps (1977)
 * Ariadne (1977)
 * Kinderspelen (1978)
 * Sinfonietta (1978)
 * Rainbow Snake (1978)
 * Symphony of Psalms (1978)
 * Mša glagolskaja (Glagolitic Mass) (1979)
 * Dream Dances (1979)
 * Soldatenmis (1980)
 * Overgrown Path (1980)
 * Forgotten Land (1981)
 * Nomaden (1982)
 * Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (1982)
 * Svadebka (1982)
 * Stamping Ground (1983)
 * Dreamtime (1983)
 * Curses and Blessings, with Christopher Bruce (1983)
 * Wiegelied (1983)
 * Return to the Strange Land (1984)
 * Valencia (1984)
 * L'enfant et les sortilèges (1984)
 * Heart's Labyrinth 1 (1984)
 * Heart's Labyrinth 2 (1985)
 * Piccolo Mondo (1985)
 * Silent Cries (1986)
 * L'Histoire du soldat (1986)
 * ''Sechs Tanze (1986)
 * Heart's Labyrinth 3 (1987)
 * Frankenstein! (1987)
 * Evening Songs (1987)
 * St joris rijdt uit (1987)
 * Kaguyahime (1988)
 * No More Play (1988)
 * Tanzschul (1989)
 * Falling Angels (1989)
 * Sweet Dreams (1990)
 * sSrabande (1990)
 * Un ballo (1991)
 * Petite Mort (1991)
 * Obscure Temptations (1991)
 * Stepping Stones (1991)
 * As If Never Been (1992)
 * No Sleep Till Dawn of Day (1992)
 * Whereabouts Unknown (1993)
 * Tiger Lily (1993)
 * Double You (1993)
 * Arcimboldo (1994)
 * Bella Figura (1995)
 * Anna and the Ostriches (1996)
 * Compass (1996)
 * If Only ... (1996)
 * Trompe-l'oeil (1996)
 * Wings of Wax (1997)
 * A way a lone (1998)
 * One of a Kind (1998)
 * Indigo Rose (1998)
 * Doux Mensonges (1999)
 * Click-Pause-Silence (2000) Nederlands Dans Theater I
 * Birth-day (2001)
 * Blackbird (2001)
 * 27&prime;52&Prime; (2002) Nederlands Dans Theater II
 * Claude Pascal (2002) Nederlands Dans Theater I
 * When Time Takes Time (2002) Nederlands Dans Theater III
 * Far too close (2003) Nederlands Dans Theater III
 * Last Touch (2003) Nederlands Dans Theater I
 * Il faut q'une porte (2004)
 * Sleepless (2004) Nederlands Dans Theater II
 * Toss of a Dice (2005) Nederlands Dans Theater I
 * Chapeau (2005) Nederlands Dans Theater II
 * Tar and Feathers (2006) Nederlands Dans Theater I
 * Vanishing Twin (2008) Nederlands Dans Theater I
 * Gods and Dogs (2008) Nederlands Dans Theater II

Awards
In 1993 and 1999, he was awarded the Prix Benois de la Danse as choreographer, one of the two only to receive it twice. In 2000 he received a Laurence Olivier Award for his artistic excellence and outstanding direction of Nederlands Dans Theater I's season at Sadler's Wells (the company itself also received an Olivier for Symphony of Psalms. In 2008 Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands bestowed the prestigious (Medal of honour for art and science) upon him.