Jiˇr´i Kyli´an

The world-renowned choreographer Jiří Kylián (Czechoslovakia, 1947) was artistic director of Nederlands Dans Theater for nearly a quarter century.

Kylián started his dance career when he was 9 years old at the School of the National Ballet in Prague. In 1962, he was accepted as a student at the Prague Conservatory and in 1967 he received a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School in London. He later joined the Stuttgart Ballett, led by John Cranko. Kylián made his debut as a choreographer with Paradox for the Noverre Gesellschaft. After creating three ballets for Nederlands Dans Theater (Viewers, Stoolgame, and La Cathédrale Engloutie), he became artistic director of the company in 1975. In 1978, he put Nederlands Dans Theater on the international map with Sinfonietta. That same year, together with Carel Birnie, he founded NDT 2, which serves as a bridge between school and professional company life and, giving young dancers the opportunity to develop their skills and talents. He also initiated NDT III in 1991, the company for dancers over age 40. In 1999, Kylián handed over the artistic leadership but remained associated with the dance company as the in-house choreographer until December 2009.

Kylián has created nearly 100 works. He has choreographed for the Stuttgart Ballet, the Paris Opéra Ballet, Bayerisches Staatsoper Münich, Swedish television, and the Tokyo Ballet. He has worked with many creative personalities of international stature, including composers Arne Nordheim (Ariadne, 1979), Toru Takemitsu (Dream Time, 1983), and designers Walter Nobbe (Sinfonietta, 1978), Bill 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), and Yoshiki Hishinuma (Zugvögel ,2009).

To this day, Kylián’s masterpieces are frequently performed by dance companies and schools around the world.