Slow Rush

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.

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.

Stephanie Lake is originally from Canada and grew up in Tasmania. The multi-award-winning choreographer and dancer now lives in Melbourne and is Artistic Director of the Stephanie Lake Company as well as Resident Choreographer of the Australian Ballet. Her major works include "Manifesto", "Colossus", "Replica", "Pile of Bones" and "AORTA", which have been performed internationally at renowned venues such as the Théâtre National de Chaillot in Paris, the Dublin Dance Festival and the Hong Kong Arts Festival. Stephanie has received numerous awards, including the Helpmann Award and two Australian Dance Awards. Stephanie is a recipient of the Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship and the Australia Council Fellowship for Dance. She has created works for various companies, including Sydney Dance Company, Chunky Move and Queensland Ballet. In addition, she has worked in theatre, film, visual arts and music videos. Recent projects include large-scale public initiatives such as "Moving 100" and "Multiply" in 2020. Stephanie Lake is a member of the advisory board of the Victorian College of the Arts and an ambassador for the youth dance company "Stompin" in Tasmania. Her career as a dancer spanned over twenty years, during which she toured with renowned companies. Since the 2025/26 season, Stephanie Lake has been Artist in Residence for the Semperoper Ballett.

Bregje van Balen was born in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and trained as a dancer at the National Ballet Academy in Amsterdam. She was a member of Nederlands Dans Theater for eighteen years. Even during her active career as a dancer, she repeatedly worked as a costume designer, and after retiring from the stage she completed her studies at the Baruch Fashion Academy in Amsterdam. She has created costume designs for dance and theatre, including for Nederlands Dans Theater, the Norwegian National Ballet, the Gothenburg Ballet, Hamburg Ballett, Introdans, Aterballetto, the Győr Ballet, the Royal Swedish Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, the Bolshoi Theatre, the Stanislavsky Theatre in Moscow, the Opéra de Lyon, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, Staatstheater Mainz, Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, the dance company of St. Gallen, Bern Ballett, and the Nationaltheater Mannheim. She has worked with choreographers such as Patrick Delcroix, Jorma Elo, Medhi Walerski, Cathy Marston, Alexander Ekman, Johan Inger, and Jo Strømgren. At Zurich Opera House she most recently created the costumes for parts of the triple bills "Timekeepers" and "Countertime" as well as for "Atonement" and "Clara".

Martin Gebhardt was lighting designer and Head of Lighting for John Neumeier’s Hamburg Ballet. From 2002 onward he collaborated with Heinz Spoerli and the Ballett Zürich. Ballet productions of both companies took him to renowned theatres across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. At Zurich Opera House he created the lighting design for productions by Jürgen Flimm, David Alden, Jan Philipp Gloger, Grischa Asagaroff, Matthias Hartmann, David Pountney, Moshe Leiser/Patrice Caurier, Damiano Michieletto, and Achim Freyer. At the Salzburg Festival he designed the lighting for "La bohème" and for a new version of Spoerli’s "Der Tod und das Mädchen". Since the 2012/13 season Martin Gebhardt has been Head of Lighting at Zurich Opera House. He maintains a close collaboration with choreographer Christian Spuck (including "Winterreise", "Nussknacker und Mausekönig", "Messa da Requiem", "Anna Karenina", "Woyzeck", "Der Sandmann", "Leonce und Lena", "Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern"). He has also worked as lighting designer for choreographers Edward Clug (including "Strings", "Le Sacre du printemps" and "Faust" in Zurich), Alexei Ratmansky, Wayne McGregor, Marco Goecke, and Douglas Lee. He collaborated with Christoph Marthaler and Anna Viebrock on Handel’s "Sale" and Rossini’s "Il viaggio a Reims" in Zurich as well as on "Lulu" at the Hamburg State Opera, and with Jossi Wieler and Sergio Morabito at the Grand Théâtre de Genève for "Les Huguenots". In 2023 he designed the lighting for Spuck’s ballet "Bovary" at the Staatsballett Berlin and in 2024 for Rossini’s "Tancredi" at the Bregenz Festival. He was also the lighting designer for Cathy Marston’s "Atonement" at Zurich Opera House.

Michael Küster is from Germany. After studying German studies, art, and speech science at the University of Halle, he worked as a presenter, author, and speaker at various broadcasting stations in Germany. There, he hosted numerous classical music programs and live broadcasts of major concert events, including those from the Metropolitan Opera New York, the Semperoper Dresden, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus.
Since 2002, he has been a dramaturg at the Zurich Opera House, working with directors such as Matthias Hartmann, David Alden, Robert Carsen, Moshe Leiser/Patrice Caurier, Damiano Michieletto, David Pountney, Johannes Schaaf, and Graham Vick.
As dramaturg of Ballett Zürich, Michael Küster has collaborated since 2012 with Cathy Marston, Marco Goecke, Marcos Morau, Kim Brandstrup, Edward Clug, Alexei Ratmansky, William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, and Hans van Manen. Together with Christian Spuck, he worked on productions including «Winterreise» («Prix Benois de la Danse»), «Romeo and Juliet», «Messa da Requiem», and «The Sleeping Beauty».
At La Scala in Milan, Michael Küster was dramaturg for Matthias Hartmann’s opera productions of «Der Freischütz», «Idomeneo», and «The Queen of Spades».