Bella Figura

Jiří Kylián (Czechoslovakia, 1947) began his dance career at the age of nine at the school of the National Ballet in Prague. In 1962 he was admitted as a student at the Prague Conservatory. He left Prague when he received a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School in London in 1967. He then joined the Stuttgart Ballet under the direction of John Cranko. Here Kylián made his debut as a choreographer with "Paradox" for the Noverre Society. After creating three ballets for the Nederlands Dans Theater ("Viewers", "Stoolgame" and "La Cathédrale Engloutie"), he became Artistic Director of the ensemble in 1975. In 1978 he brought the Nederlands Dans Theater to international fame with "Sinfonietta". In the same year, together with Carel Birnie, he founded NDT II, which was intended to serve as a bridge between school and professional ensemble. In 1991 he also initiated NDT III, an ensemble for older dancers over forty years of age. In 1999 Kylián handed over the artistic direction, but remained associated with NDT as a house choreographer until December 2009. Jiří Kylián has created almost 100 works, many of which are performed worldwide. Kylián has choreographed not only for the Nederlands Dans Theater, but also for the Stuttgart Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, the Bavarian State Opera Munich, Swedish Television and the Tokyo Ballet. Kylián has collaborated with many creative personalities of international stature – composers: Arne Nordheim ("Ariadne" 1979), Toru Takemitsu ("Dream Time", 1983) – stage 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), Yoshiki Hishinuma ("Zugvögel" 2009). In 2006, the film "Car-Men" was created on Czech brown coal open-cast mines together with film director Boris Paval Conen. In 2010 Kylián served as a dance mentor as part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. In 2013 he created the film "Between Entrance & Exit" together with Boris Paval Conen and NTR, which was nominated for the "Gouden Kalf" award at the Netherlands Film Festival in Utrecht. For the Aichi Triennale 2013 in Nagoya, Japan, he created the full-length dance/film production "East Shadow", which was dedicated to the victims of the tsunami in Japan. Together with Czech film director Jan Maliř he made the films "Schwarzfahrer" (2014) and his most recent film "Scalamare" (2017), which was filmed on the steps of the Monumento ai Caduti in Ancona, Italy. Over the course of his career, Kylián has received numerous international awards and honours. He is an Officer of the Orange Order, Commander of the Legion d'honneur and honorary doctorate of the Juilliard School in New York. He received three Nijinsky Awards in Monte Carlo (Best Choreographer, Best Company and Best Production), the Prix Benois de la Danse, the Honorary Medal of the President of the Czech Republic as well as the Medal of the Order for Arts and Science of the House of Orange. He was also awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Czech Ministry of Culture and the Czech Television Award for the documentary film "Forgotten Memories". During the festival "Celebrating Kylian!" the choreographer was awarded honorary citizenship of The Hague. In 2017 Kylián was awarded the lifetime achievement award "Positano Premia La Danza Léonide Massine Award". In 2019 Kylián was admitted as a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In connection with this honor, a seat for the field of "Dance" was established at the academy. In 2021 Kylián received the Gratias Agit Award and in 2024 the Order of the White Lion, the highest award of the Czech Republic.

Jiří Kylián (Czechoslovakia, 1947) began his dance career at the age of nine at the school of the National Ballet in Prague. In 1962 he was admitted as a student at the Prague Conservatory. He left Prague when he received a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School in London in 1967. He then joined the Stuttgart Ballet under the direction of John Cranko. Here Kylián made his debut as a choreographer with "Paradox" for the Noverre Society. After creating three ballets for the Nederlands Dans Theater ("Viewers", "Stoolgame" and "La Cathédrale Engloutie"), he became Artistic Director of the ensemble in 1975. In 1978 he brought the Nederlands Dans Theater to international fame with "Sinfonietta". In the same year, together with Carel Birnie, he founded NDT II, which was intended to serve as a bridge between school and professional ensemble. In 1991 he also initiated NDT III, an ensemble for older dancers over forty years of age. In 1999 Kylián handed over the artistic direction, but remained associated with NDT as a house choreographer until December 2009. Jiří Kylián has created almost 100 works, many of which are performed worldwide. Kylián has choreographed not only for the Nederlands Dans Theater, but also for the Stuttgart Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, the Bavarian State Opera Munich, Swedish Television and the Tokyo Ballet. Kylián has collaborated with many creative personalities of international stature – composers: Arne Nordheim ("Ariadne" 1979), Toru Takemitsu ("Dream Time", 1983) – stage 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), Yoshiki Hishinuma ("Zugvögel" 2009). In 2006, the film "Car-Men" was created on Czech brown coal open-cast mines together with film director Boris Paval Conen. In 2010 Kylián served as a dance mentor as part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. In 2013 he created the film "Between Entrance & Exit" together with Boris Paval Conen and NTR, which was nominated for the "Gouden Kalf" award at the Netherlands Film Festival in Utrecht. For the Aichi Triennale 2013 in Nagoya, Japan, he created the full-length dance/film production "East Shadow", which was dedicated to the victims of the tsunami in Japan. Together with Czech film director Jan Maliř he made the films "Schwarzfahrer" (2014) and his most recent film "Scalamare" (2017), which was filmed on the steps of the Monumento ai Caduti in Ancona, Italy. Over the course of his career, Kylián has received numerous international awards and honours. He is an Officer of the Orange Order, Commander of the Legion d'honneur and honorary doctorate of the Juilliard School in New York. He received three Nijinsky Awards in Monte Carlo (Best Choreographer, Best Company and Best Production), the Prix Benois de la Danse, the Honorary Medal of the President of the Czech Republic as well as the Medal of the Order for Arts and Science of the House of Orange. He was also awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Czech Ministry of Culture and the Czech Television Award for the documentary film "Forgotten Memories". During the festival "Celebrating Kylian!" the choreographer was awarded honorary citizenship of The Hague. In 2017 Kylián was awarded the lifetime achievement award "Positano Premia La Danza Léonide Massine Award". In 2019 Kylián was admitted as a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In connection with this honor, a seat for the field of "Dance" was established at the academy. In 2021 Kylián received the Gratias Agit Award and in 2024 the Order of the White Lion, the highest award of the Czech Republic.

Joke Visser arbeitete zehn Jahre als freischaffende Kostümdesignerin für das Holländische Nationalballett, das Nederlands Dans The­a­ter und die Holländische Opernvereinigung, bevor sie 1987 fest beim Nederlands Dans Theater angestellt wurde. Bereits zwei Jahre später übernahm sie die Leitung der dortigen Kostümabteilung. Seitdem hat sie alle Kostüme für Jirí Kyliáns Produktionen geschaffen. In den vergangenen Jahren kreierte sie die Kostüme für Bella Figura, Wings of Wax,  A Way A Lone, One of a Kind, Indigo Rose, Half Past, Doux Mensonges», Arcimboldo 2000, Click-Pause-Silence, Birth-Day, 27’52˝, Claude Pascal, When Time Takes Time, Far too close, Last Touch, Sleepless, Toss of a Dice, Chapeau, Tar and Feathers, Vanishing Twin, Gods and Dogs und Mémoires d’oubliettes. Neben ihrer Arbeit für weitere Choreografen betreut sie die Kostümausstattung der Kylián-Ballette weltweit.

Nach seinem Studium an der Kunstakademie Brüssel arbeitete Kees Tjebbes mit verschiedenen Theatern und Compagnien zusammen, darunter das Toneelgroep Theater, Introdans, Scapino Ballet Rotterdam und Nederlands Dans Theater. Bei Introdans und dem Scapino Ballet Rotterdam kreierte er das Lichtdesign für Neuproduktionen von Ed Wubbe, Nils Christe und Itzik Galili. Ausserdem arbeitete er mit Choreografen wie Mats Ek, William Forsythe und Ohad Naharin zusammen. Seit er 2000 für Jiří Kyliáns Click – Pause - Silence das Licht gestaltete, wirkt er bei fast allen Tanzproduktionen des Choreografen mit, u. a. bei 27’52’’, Claude Pascal, When Time Takes Time, Far too close, Last Touch, Sleepless, Toss of a Dice, Chapeau, Tar and Feathers, Vanishing Twin, Gods and Dogs und Mémoires d’oubliettes für das Nederlands Dans Theater sowie Il faut qu’une porte für das Ballett der Opéra de Paris. Er ist zudem als Lichtdesigner für sämtliche weltweit neu- oder wiederaufgeführten Kylián-Produktionen verantwortlich, arbeitet aber auch mit Choreografen wie Ken Ossola, Stephan Thoss, Crystal Pite, Yuri Possokhof und Didy Veldman zusammen.

Michael Simon arbeitet seit 1983 als Bühnenbildner und Lichtdesigner für Oper, Tanz und Schauspiel unter anderem für William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Pierre Audi, Christof Nel, Peter Greena­way, Stefan Pucher und Stefan Bachmann in Amsterdam, Berlin, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Madrid, Paris, New York, Oslo, Peking, Tokio und Zürich. Als Regisseur kooperierte er zuerst mit Heiner Goebbels 1990 am TAT Frankfurt, bevor er ab 1992 in den Sparten Schauspiel und Oper an Theatern in Basel, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Dresden, Frankfurt, Freiburg, Graz, Hannover, Karlsruhe, München, Paris und Wien inszenierte. 2017 arbeitete er in China für das National Center of Performing Arts, Beijing: Lear (Regie: Li Liuyi) und für das National Ballet Dunhuang, Choreografie: Fei Bo. Von 1998 bis 2004 war er Professor für Szenografie an der Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe. Seit 2008 leitet Michael Simon die Bühnenbildausbildung an der ZHdK Zürich.

Joke Visser arbeitete zehn Jahre als freischaffende Kostümdesignerin für das Holländische Nationalballett, das Nederlands Dans The­a­ter und die Holländische Opernvereinigung, bevor sie 1987 fest beim Nederlands Dans Theater angestellt wurde. Bereits zwei Jahre später übernahm sie die Leitung der dortigen Kostümabteilung. Seitdem hat sie alle Kostüme für Jirí Kyliáns Produktionen geschaffen. In den vergangenen Jahren kreierte sie die Kostüme für Bella Figura, Wings of Wax,  A Way A Lone, One of a Kind, Indigo Rose, Half Past, Doux Mensonges», Arcimboldo 2000, Click-Pause-Silence, Birth-Day, 27’52˝, Claude Pascal, When Time Takes Time, Far too close, Last Touch, Sleepless, Toss of a Dice, Chapeau, Tar and Feathers, Vanishing Twin, Gods and Dogs und Mémoires d’oubliettes. Neben ihrer Arbeit für weitere Choreografen betreut sie die Kostümausstattung der Kylián-Ballette weltweit.

Michael Simon arbeitet seit 1983 als Bühnenbildner und Lichtdesigner für Oper, Tanz und Schauspiel unter anderem für William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Pierre Audi, Christof Nel, Peter Greena­way, Stefan Pucher und Stefan Bachmann in Amsterdam, Berlin, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Madrid, Paris, New York, Oslo, Peking, Tokio und Zürich. Als Regisseur kooperierte er zuerst mit Heiner Goebbels 1990 am TAT Frankfurt, bevor er ab 1992 in den Sparten Schauspiel und Oper an Theatern in Basel, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Dresden, Frankfurt, Freiburg, Graz, Hannover, Karlsruhe, München, Paris und Wien inszenierte. 2017 arbeitete er in China für das National Center of Performing Arts, Beijing: Lear (Regie: Li Liuyi) und für das National Ballet Dunhuang, Choreografie: Fei Bo. Von 1998 bis 2004 war er Professor für Szenografie an der Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe. Seit 2008 leitet Michael Simon die Bühnenbildausbildung an der ZHdK Zürich.

Jiří Kylián (Czechoslovakia, 1947) began his dance career at the age of nine at the school of the National Ballet in Prague. In 1962 he was admitted as a student at the Prague Conservatory. He left Prague when he received a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School in London in 1967. He then joined the Stuttgart Ballet under the direction of John Cranko. Here Kylián made his debut as a choreographer with "Paradox" for the Noverre Society. After creating three ballets for the Nederlands Dans Theater ("Viewers", "Stoolgame" and "La Cathédrale Engloutie"), he became Artistic Director of the ensemble in 1975. In 1978 he brought the Nederlands Dans Theater to international fame with "Sinfonietta". In the same year, together with Carel Birnie, he founded NDT II, which was intended to serve as a bridge between school and professional ensemble. In 1991 he also initiated NDT III, an ensemble for older dancers over forty years of age. In 1999 Kylián handed over the artistic direction, but remained associated with NDT as a house choreographer until December 2009. Jiří Kylián has created almost 100 works, many of which are performed worldwide. Kylián has choreographed not only for the Nederlands Dans Theater, but also for the Stuttgart Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, the Bavarian State Opera Munich, Swedish Television and the Tokyo Ballet. Kylián has collaborated with many creative personalities of international stature – composers: Arne Nordheim ("Ariadne" 1979), Toru Takemitsu ("Dream Time", 1983) – stage 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), Yoshiki Hishinuma ("Zugvögel" 2009). In 2006, the film "Car-Men" was created on Czech brown coal open-cast mines together with film director Boris Paval Conen. In 2010 Kylián served as a dance mentor as part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. In 2013 he created the film "Between Entrance & Exit" together with Boris Paval Conen and NTR, which was nominated for the "Gouden Kalf" award at the Netherlands Film Festival in Utrecht. For the Aichi Triennale 2013 in Nagoya, Japan, he created the full-length dance/film production "East Shadow", which was dedicated to the victims of the tsunami in Japan. Together with Czech film director Jan Maliř he made the films "Schwarzfahrer" (2014) and his most recent film "Scalamare" (2017), which was filmed on the steps of the Monumento ai Caduti in Ancona, Italy. Over the course of his career, Kylián has received numerous international awards and honours. He is an Officer of the Orange Order, Commander of the Legion d'honneur and honorary doctorate of the Juilliard School in New York. He received three Nijinsky Awards in Monte Carlo (Best Choreographer, Best Company and Best Production), the Prix Benois de la Danse, the Honorary Medal of the President of the Czech Republic as well as the Medal of the Order for Arts and Science of the House of Orange. He was also awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Czech Ministry of Culture and the Czech Television Award for the documentary film "Forgotten Memories". During the festival "Celebrating Kylian!" the choreographer was awarded honorary citizenship of The Hague. In 2017 Kylián was awarded the lifetime achievement award "Positano Premia La Danza Léonide Massine Award". In 2019 Kylián was admitted as a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In connection with this honor, a seat for the field of "Dance" was established at the academy. In 2021 Kylián received the Gratias Agit Award and in 2024 the Order of the White Lion, the highest award of the Czech Republic.

Joke Visser arbeitete zehn Jahre als freischaffende Kostümdesignerin für das Holländische Nationalballett, das Nederlands Dans The­a­ter und die Holländische Opernvereinigung, bevor sie 1987 fest beim Nederlands Dans Theater angestellt wurde. Bereits zwei Jahre später übernahm sie die Leitung der dortigen Kostümabteilung. Seitdem hat sie alle Kostüme für Jirí Kyliáns Produktionen geschaffen. In den vergangenen Jahren kreierte sie die Kostüme für Bella Figura, Wings of Wax,  A Way A Lone, One of a Kind, Indigo Rose, Half Past, Doux Mensonges», Arcimboldo 2000, Click-Pause-Silence, Birth-Day, 27’52˝, Claude Pascal, When Time Takes Time, Far too close, Last Touch, Sleepless, Toss of a Dice, Chapeau, Tar and Feathers, Vanishing Twin, Gods and Dogs und Mémoires d’oubliettes. Neben ihrer Arbeit für weitere Choreografen betreut sie die Kostümausstattung der Kylián-Ballette weltweit.

Jiří Kylián (Czechoslovakia, 1947) began his dance career at the age of nine at the school of the National Ballet in Prague. In 1962 he was admitted as a student at the Prague Conservatory. He left Prague when he received a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School in London in 1967. He then joined the Stuttgart Ballet under the direction of John Cranko. Here Kylián made his debut as a choreographer with "Paradox" for the Noverre Society. After creating three ballets for the Nederlands Dans Theater ("Viewers", "Stoolgame" and "La Cathédrale Engloutie"), he became Artistic Director of the ensemble in 1975. In 1978 he brought the Nederlands Dans Theater to international fame with "Sinfonietta". In the same year, together with Carel Birnie, he founded NDT II, which was intended to serve as a bridge between school and professional ensemble. In 1991 he also initiated NDT III, an ensemble for older dancers over forty years of age. In 1999 Kylián handed over the artistic direction, but remained associated with NDT as a house choreographer until December 2009. Jiří Kylián has created almost 100 works, many of which are performed worldwide. Kylián has choreographed not only for the Nederlands Dans Theater, but also for the Stuttgart Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, the Bavarian State Opera Munich, Swedish Television and the Tokyo Ballet. Kylián has collaborated with many creative personalities of international stature – composers: Arne Nordheim ("Ariadne" 1979), Toru Takemitsu ("Dream Time", 1983) – stage 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), Yoshiki Hishinuma ("Zugvögel" 2009). In 2006, the film "Car-Men" was created on Czech brown coal open-cast mines together with film director Boris Paval Conen. In 2010 Kylián served as a dance mentor as part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. In 2013 he created the film "Between Entrance & Exit" together with Boris Paval Conen and NTR, which was nominated for the "Gouden Kalf" award at the Netherlands Film Festival in Utrecht. For the Aichi Triennale 2013 in Nagoya, Japan, he created the full-length dance/film production "East Shadow", which was dedicated to the victims of the tsunami in Japan. Together with Czech film director Jan Maliř he made the films "Schwarzfahrer" (2014) and his most recent film "Scalamare" (2017), which was filmed on the steps of the Monumento ai Caduti in Ancona, Italy. Over the course of his career, Kylián has received numerous international awards and honours. He is an Officer of the Orange Order, Commander of the Legion d'honneur and honorary doctorate of the Juilliard School in New York. He received three Nijinsky Awards in Monte Carlo (Best Choreographer, Best Company and Best Production), the Prix Benois de la Danse, the Honorary Medal of the President of the Czech Republic as well as the Medal of the Order for Arts and Science of the House of Orange. He was also awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Czech Ministry of Culture and the Czech Television Award for the documentary film "Forgotten Memories". During the festival "Celebrating Kylian!" the choreographer was awarded honorary citizenship of The Hague. In 2017 Kylián was awarded the lifetime achievement award "Positano Premia La Danza Léonide Massine Award". In 2019 Kylián was admitted as a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In connection with this honor, a seat for the field of "Dance" was established at the academy. In 2021 Kylián received the Gratias Agit Award and in 2024 the Order of the White Lion, the highest award of the Czech Republic.

Joop Caboort stammt aus Den Haag. Seit seinem 21. Lebensjahr ist er dem Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) verbunden, wo er sämtliche Stationen der technischen Abteilung durchlief. 1970 wurde er Technischer Direktor des NDT und noch im gleichen Jahr wurde zum Haus-Lichtdesigner ernannt. Er entwarf das Lichtdesign für mehr als 200 Tanzproduktionen von Choreographen wie Hans van Manen, Jennifer Muller, Louis Falco, Glen Tetley, Nacho Duato und vor allem Jirí Kylián. Er arbeitete mit Bühnenbildnern wie Jean-Paul Vroom, William Katz, Walter Nobbe, Nadine Baylis, John Macfarlane und Michael Simon zusammen.

Jiří Kylián (Czechoslovakia, 1947) began his dance career at the age of nine at the school of the National Ballet in Prague. In 1962 he was admitted as a student at the Prague Conservatory. He left Prague when he received a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School in London in 1967. He then joined the Stuttgart Ballet under the direction of John Cranko. Here Kylián made his debut as a choreographer with "Paradox" for the Noverre Society. After creating three ballets for the Nederlands Dans Theater ("Viewers", "Stoolgame" and "La Cathédrale Engloutie"), he became Artistic Director of the ensemble in 1975. In 1978 he brought the Nederlands Dans Theater to international fame with "Sinfonietta". In the same year, together with Carel Birnie, he founded NDT II, which was intended to serve as a bridge between school and professional ensemble. In 1991 he also initiated NDT III, an ensemble for older dancers over forty years of age. In 1999 Kylián handed over the artistic direction, but remained associated with NDT as a house choreographer until December 2009. Jiří Kylián has created almost 100 works, many of which are performed worldwide. Kylián has choreographed not only for the Nederlands Dans Theater, but also for the Stuttgart Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, the Bavarian State Opera Munich, Swedish Television and the Tokyo Ballet. Kylián has collaborated with many creative personalities of international stature – composers: Arne Nordheim ("Ariadne" 1979), Toru Takemitsu ("Dream Time", 1983) – stage 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), Yoshiki Hishinuma ("Zugvögel" 2009). In 2006, the film "Car-Men" was created on Czech brown coal open-cast mines together with film director Boris Paval Conen. In 2010 Kylián served as a dance mentor as part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. In 2013 he created the film "Between Entrance & Exit" together with Boris Paval Conen and NTR, which was nominated for the "Gouden Kalf" award at the Netherlands Film Festival in Utrecht. For the Aichi Triennale 2013 in Nagoya, Japan, he created the full-length dance/film production "East Shadow", which was dedicated to the victims of the tsunami in Japan. Together with Czech film director Jan Maliř he made the films "Schwarzfahrer" (2014) and his most recent film "Scalamare" (2017), which was filmed on the steps of the Monumento ai Caduti in Ancona, Italy. Over the course of his career, Kylián has received numerous international awards and honours. He is an Officer of the Orange Order, Commander of the Legion d'honneur and honorary doctorate of the Juilliard School in New York. He received three Nijinsky Awards in Monte Carlo (Best Choreographer, Best Company and Best Production), the Prix Benois de la Danse, the Honorary Medal of the President of the Czech Republic as well as the Medal of the Order for Arts and Science of the House of Orange. He was also awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Czech Ministry of Culture and the Czech Television Award for the documentary film "Forgotten Memories". During the festival "Celebrating Kylian!" the choreographer was awarded honorary citizenship of The Hague. In 2017 Kylián was awarded the lifetime achievement award "Positano Premia La Danza Léonide Massine Award". In 2019 Kylián was admitted as a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In connection with this honor, a seat for the field of "Dance" was established at the academy. In 2021 Kylián received the Gratias Agit Award and in 2024 the Order of the White Lion, the highest award of the Czech Republic.

Jiří Kylián (Czechoslovakia, 1947) began his dance career at the age of nine at the school of the National Ballet in Prague. In 1962 he was admitted as a student at the Prague Conservatory. He left Prague when he received a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School in London in 1967. He then joined the Stuttgart Ballet under the direction of John Cranko. Here Kylián made his debut as a choreographer with "Paradox" for the Noverre Society. After creating three ballets for the Nederlands Dans Theater ("Viewers", "Stoolgame" and "La Cathédrale Engloutie"), he became Artistic Director of the ensemble in 1975. In 1978 he brought the Nederlands Dans Theater to international fame with "Sinfonietta". In the same year, together with Carel Birnie, he founded NDT II, which was intended to serve as a bridge between school and professional ensemble. In 1991 he also initiated NDT III, an ensemble for older dancers over forty years of age. In 1999 Kylián handed over the artistic direction, but remained associated with NDT as a house choreographer until December 2009. Jiří Kylián has created almost 100 works, many of which are performed worldwide. Kylián has choreographed not only for the Nederlands Dans Theater, but also for the Stuttgart Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, the Bavarian State Opera Munich, Swedish Television and the Tokyo Ballet. Kylián has collaborated with many creative personalities of international stature – composers: Arne Nordheim ("Ariadne" 1979), Toru Takemitsu ("Dream Time", 1983) – stage 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), Yoshiki Hishinuma ("Zugvögel" 2009). In 2006, the film "Car-Men" was created on Czech brown coal open-cast mines together with film director Boris Paval Conen. In 2010 Kylián served as a dance mentor as part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. In 2013 he created the film "Between Entrance & Exit" together with Boris Paval Conen and NTR, which was nominated for the "Gouden Kalf" award at the Netherlands Film Festival in Utrecht. For the Aichi Triennale 2013 in Nagoya, Japan, he created the full-length dance/film production "East Shadow", which was dedicated to the victims of the tsunami in Japan. Together with Czech film director Jan Maliř he made the films "Schwarzfahrer" (2014) and his most recent film "Scalamare" (2017), which was filmed on the steps of the Monumento ai Caduti in Ancona, Italy. Over the course of his career, Kylián has received numerous international awards and honours. He is an Officer of the Orange Order, Commander of the Legion d'honneur and honorary doctorate of the Juilliard School in New York. He received three Nijinsky Awards in Monte Carlo (Best Choreographer, Best Company and Best Production), the Prix Benois de la Danse, the Honorary Medal of the President of the Czech Republic as well as the Medal of the Order for Arts and Science of the House of Orange. He was also awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Czech Ministry of Culture and the Czech Television Award for the documentary film "Forgotten Memories". During the festival "Celebrating Kylian!" the choreographer was awarded honorary citizenship of The Hague. In 2017 Kylián was awarded the lifetime achievement award "Positano Premia La Danza Léonide Massine Award". In 2019 Kylián was admitted as a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In connection with this honor, a seat for the field of "Dance" was established at the academy. In 2021 Kylián received the Gratias Agit Award and in 2024 the Order of the White Lion, the highest award of the Czech Republic.

Joop Caboort stammt aus Den Haag. Seit seinem 21. Lebensjahr ist er dem Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) verbunden, wo er sämtliche Stationen der technischen Abteilung durchlief. 1970 wurde er Technischer Direktor des NDT und noch im gleichen Jahr wurde zum Haus-Lichtdesigner ernannt. Er entwarf das Lichtdesign für mehr als 200 Tanzproduktionen von Choreographen wie Hans van Manen, Jennifer Muller, Louis Falco, Glen Tetley, Nacho Duato und vor allem Jirí Kylián. Er arbeitete mit Bühnenbildnern wie Jean-Paul Vroom, William Katz, Walter Nobbe, Nadine Baylis, John Macfarlane und Michael Simon zusammen.