Repertoire
Stepping Stones
Jirí Kylián's experience with the Aboriginal people of the northern coast of Australia, where in 1980 he participated in a two-week dance festival, was an important source of inspiration for this work. Kylián was impressed by the enormous freedom that the movement of the indigenous population presented and the importance that this community gave to dance. Kylián considers this work as a choreographic study based on respect for the transmission of cultural traditions from parents to children, as a tribute to the past. This experience was reflected in his works Nomads (1981) and (1983) as well as in other creations.
Stepping Stones is an enigmatic piece that at the same time possesses extraordinary lucidity, as a critic from the Stuttgarter Zeitung wrote after its premiere, rightly adding: “I wish contemporary choreographers of such extraordinary talent were found more often.”
- World premiere by: the Stuttgart Ballet, Stuttgart (Germany) November 23th 1991
- Premiere by Compañía Nacional de Danza: at Teatro de la Zarzuela, Madrid (Spain) December 8th 1993
During the summer of 1980 I had the opportunity to witness one of the largest gatherings of Aboriginal dancers and musicians in Australia. I was deeply impressed by the extremely important role that dance seemed to play in their lives. My curiosity led me to ask an old man the reason for this; His answer was clear and simple: “because that’s how my father taught me, and that’s how I should pass it on to my son.” This man saw in dance an important link in the infinite chain of evolution. For this reason, he considered himself directly responsible for transmitting this heritage, in order to preserve his culture.
Since then, my work has to some extent reflected this view of existence. No matter how art can discover the origins of any culture: Australian aborigines, rituals, rhythms…; My interest will always be the same: the traces left by ancient civilizations. Traditions that show the way forward from a living past. And while academic research focuses on the structures of reason, the world of intuition and subconscious currents imminent in dance has the opportunity to discover and penetrate a different although narrow path that leads us, from the individual origin, until a common future.
Stepping Stones is one of those choreographic studies that venture a personal and instant vision of a topic as broad as the heritage of humanity. My excuse for having made this effort, perhaps in vain, could be expressed in words using the same reasoning that the Aboriginal elder gave me.
Jirí Kylián
Información
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Choreography:Jirí Kylián
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Music:John Cage (1912-1992). Anton Webern (1883-1945)
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Set Design:Michael Simon
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Costume Design:Joke Visser
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Lighting Design:Michael Simon
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Running time:24' 30''
