Today’s premiere of Bolero is the work of three creators – Dan Datca, Mario Radačovský, and Johan Inger. The three different movement manuscripts deal with human relationships, fundamental questions of human existence, and questions about one’s own identity. With this title, the Brno National Theater Ballet continues to present contemporary ballet repertoire and original works, now in the form of one-act ballets, unlike last season.
The opening choreography of the evening is Johan Inger’s Walking Mad to music by Ravel’s Bolero, which we have included back in the repertoire after a covid absence in the revival. This ballet, which also features music by minimalist master Arvo Pärt, brings waves of emotion, first laughter and then tears. The dancers share the stage with a movable wall that divides the space, allowing for a variety of scenes and interactions. This wall is also an object that the dancers can move, lean against, hang from, walk through, or sit on. At the same time, it symbolizes the obstacles that people put up in their relationships with each other.
The choreography, named Mountain Call, was tailored for our company by former demi-soloist Dan Datcu. Through Romanian folklore, he focuses on the themes of marriage, life, and death in three scenes. Accompanied by the music of Maria Tanas and performed in an unconventional way by Alexander Balanescu and his quartet, it highlights the importance of cultural identity, human customs, and rituals. It looks for contrasts and similarities between generations and explores the connection between traditions and today’s man, who is slowly becoming alienated from the natural world due to rapid development. “The classes in the ballet studio were full of beautiful surprises and hard work, with the dancers willing to absorb my identity through the steps and ideas I suggested during the weeks of rehearsals. The performance explores everyday and forgotten rituals and provokes discussion on what was then and what is now,” says Dan Datcu on the process of creation.
Mario Radachovsky’s latest choreography Unanswered Question explores a hot topic of our time – the search for gender identity. He observes that today’s society is very sensitive to questions of the traditional view of the status of men and women, and the often-discussed questions regarding the gender of individuals fill the media space, as if this topic were not an intimate and private matter for each of us. “Personally, as a member of the majority society, I feel I am in a strange situation where I am drawn into it without even asking for it. Minorities in general finally feel free after centuries of oppression. I am convinced that it is important to find a balance,” says Mário Radačovský. The premiere is announced for Friday 23 September 2022 at 7pm at the Janáček Theater.
Music: Balanescu Quartet
Choreography: Dan Datcu
Scenery: Marek Hollý
Costumes: Alexandra Grusková
Lighting design: Dan Datcu, Marek Hollý
Ballet Master: Ivan Příkaský
Original premiere: 23 September 2022, National Theater Brno, Janáček Theater
Unanswered Question
Music: Armand Amar, Claude Debussy, Alice Fredenham, Pierre Lapointe, Peter Bic Project, Yann Tiersen
Choreography: Mário Radačovský
Scenery: Marek Hollý
Costumes: Alexandra Grusková
Lighting design: Mário Radačovský, Marek Hollý
Ballet Master: Jana Pribylová
Original premiere: 23 September 2022, National Theater Brno, Janáček Theater
Walking Mad
Music: Marice Ravel (Bolero), Arvo Pärt (Für Alina for piano,© Universal Edition AG, Wien)
Choreography: Johan Inger
Set and costumes: Johan Inger
Lighting design: Erik Berglund
Study design: Carl Inger
Ballet Master: Gustavo Beserra Quintans
Original premiere: 17 May 2001, NDT, Lucent Danstheater, Den Haag
Czech premiere: 11 May 2019, National Theater Brno, Janáček Theater
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