Dance Brno 2019: International dance festival of contemporary and classical ballet

26 April 2019, 1:00
Dance Brno 2019: International dance festival of contemporary and classical ballet

This year's Dance Brno 2019 is a follow-up to last year's Dance Brno 100 and the Tanec Brno festival, which has been organized by the NdB Ballet for over 25 years. The current edition will present one of the leading Baltic groups, namely the Lithuanian National Ballet. The programme will be complemented by the Slovenian National Theatre Ballet in Maribor and the Italian contemporary dance ensemble Spellbound Contemporary Ballet. The Czech dance scene will be represented by the ballet company of the South Bohemian Theatre from České Budějovice.

The festival is organized by the National Theatre Brno. Dance performances will take place at the Mahen and Janáček Theatres. The festival will be held from 7 May to 24 June 2019.

Programme of Dance Brno 2019:

South Bohemian Theatre Ballet: Keys of Nowhere

7 May 2019 at 7 pm at the Mahen Theatre

Choreography: Petr Zuska

Music: Antonín Dvořák and Leoš Janáček

This full-feature dance theatre show relies on a sharp contrast between two very different musical works. These are compositions of two incomparable ingenious Czech composers, Dvořák's Requiem and Janáček's piano lyricism. In the first case it is"high" spiritual symphonic-vocal music, in the second case a "mere" and seemingly lonely piano. Petr Zuska's full-feature "choreographic variation" has been inspired by his recent visit to the house of his grandparents, nowadays already completely abandoned. It was inhabited for the past few decades by a lonely woman, who later died there in complete solitude.

Lithuanian National Ballet Vilnius: Der Prozess

20 June 2019 at 7 pm at the Janáček Theatre

Choreography: Martynas Rimeikis

Music: Mindaugas Urbaitis 

Der Prozess, based on Franz Kafka's novel of the same name, is the first full-feature work of the young Lithuanian choreographer Martynas Rimeikis. Along with the impressive original music and the cold scene representing a monumental guillotine, the author tells a strong story confronting the individuality of man with the official system.

Spellbound Contemporary Ballet: Rossini Ouverture

22 June 2019 at 7 pm at the Janáček Theatre

Choreography and Direction: Mauro Astolfi

Music: Gioachino Rossini

Stage Concept: Mauro Astolfi I Marco Policastro

Lighting Design: Marco Policastro

Stage Design: Filippo Mancini / CHIEDISCENA SCENOGRAFIE
Costumes: Verdiana Angelucci

The Spellbound Contemporary Ballet ensemble was founded in 1994 by choreographer Mauro Astolfi. Two years later, cultural manager Valentina Marini joined him, and since then the ensemble has begun to advance internationally. With an unmistakable style and a high-quality dance ensemble considered the best in this generation, Spellbound ranks among the most distinctive modern Italian ensembles with significant international reach. This is demonstrated by its participation in major festivals in Europe, Asia and America. In the ROSSINI OUVERTURES production, Spellbound sets out on a dream journey lined with many memories and characters who tell a story about a man, lonely, cheerful, sad and brave. These memories and characters inhabit a symbolic and mysterious structure that is hardly more than a great archive, the secret house of Rossini, which preserved, catalogued and transformed into a collection his charm, his food and his loves. A house that blends the tastes and colours of a busy life that is not free from fear and trouble and is marked by a long illness, but always was exciting, sensual and physical. Rossini's life was full of life. For choreographer Mauro Astolfi, the introduction of ROSSINI OUVERTURES is a way to pay tribute to this magnificent artist.

Ballet of Slovenian National Theatre Maribor: Mountain

24 June 2019 at 7 pm at the Janáček Theatre

Choreography: Edward Clug

Music: Balanescu (string quartet)

In the choreography called Mountain, originally created for the Dortmund ballet, choreographer Edward Clug, for the first time in his career, turns to his roots and the musical heritage of his native Romania, exploring the meaning of fateful events in our lives and the power of rituals in society. The musical motif for him came from sophisticated and carefully adjusted ethnic elements in the works of the legendary Balanescu string quartet.

South Bohemian Theatre Ballet / photo from archive of the festival

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