FOLLOWING A BIRD – TRIBUTE TO EZIO BOSSO
by Yaroslav Ivanenko
Choreography
Yaroslav Ivanenko
Music
Ezio Bosso, Kimmo Pojohnen, Max Richter
Set design
Yaroslav Ivanenko, Marie Rosenbusch
Costumes
Min Li
World premiere: 30 March 2019, Ballett Kiel
Yaroslav Ivanenko’s ballet Following a Bird is inspired by the exceptional Italian musician Ezio Bosso and, above all, brings to the stage the profound emotionality of his music. To this end, Ivanenko has combined compositions by Bosso with works by Max Richter and Kimmo Pohjonen, two contemporary composers with equally compelling music. The title of the choreography, Following a Bird, refers to the piano piece of the same name that Bosso composed after being diagnosed with an incurable illness and which he played before almost all his concerts until his death, as a symbol of the return of his creative power.
‘I wanted to translate into dance the images and moods that music can evoke. Music touches our innermost being and evokes memories and associations. These may be memories of friends and people who are very close to us. Even if these people are no longer with us, they always come back to us in this way. Or moments in our lives when we experienced something so beautiful that we will never forget it. The choreography speaks of these things that touch us.’ (Yaroslav Ivanenko)
WALKING MAD
by Johan Inger
Choreography and set design
Johan Inger
Music
Maurice Ravel, Arvo Pärt
World premiere: 17 May 2001, Nederlands Dans Theater
In Walking Mad by Swedish choreographer Johan Inger, an initially light-hearted drama unfolds to the notes of Maurice Ravel’s Bolero and Arvo Pärt’s For Alina, describing the adventures of three women, their relationships with themselves and with the men in their lives. The only prop is a large wooden wall, which is surprisingly changeable. Walking Mad was first performed by the Nederlands Dans Theater in 2001 and has since been performed in many renowned theatres. Inger himself danced for many years at the Nederlands Dans Theater, then directed the Swedish Cullberg Ballet and now works as a freelance choreographer for many companies around the world.
Ravel’s famous Boléro, with its sexual and almost kitsch history, was the inspiration that prompted me to create my own version. I immediately realised that it had to be about relationships in different forms and circumstances. I had the idea of a wall that could transform the space during this minimalist music and create small spatial and situational islands. Walking Mad It is a journey in which we encounter our fears, our desires and the lightness of being. (Johan Inger)
BALLET KIEL
In spring 2011, Yaroslav Ivanenko and his partner Heather Jurgensen took over the direction of Ballett Kiel. Ivanenko, a former dancer with the Hamburg Ballet under John Neumeier for many years, has since led the young 20-member company as ballet director and principal choreographer. Heather Jurgensen, who was a principal dancer with John Neumeier until 2008, accompanies the ensemble as Ballet Master and Deputy Director.
Ivanenko’s first creations, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker and Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters, were enthusiastically received by audiences. The ensemble’s versatility and Ivanenko’s creativity have made possible a considerable number of world premieres, which in their diversity share a desire to experiment with the vocabulary of neoclassical movement. In this way, Ivanenko repeatedly engages with new artistic partners, whose impulses he takes up and develops. Recently, dance evenings such as Flight of Fancy and The Fleeting Moment have continued this series of world premieres, and with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Ivanenko has once again transformed a piece of world literature into dance.
Ivanenko’s reinterpretations of great classical ballets such as Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet have earned him much praise and applause from critics and audiences alike and are an excellent example of his choreographic language, which combines subtle and playful elements with dynamic and acrobatic elements. In 2015/16, Ivanenko completed the Tchaikovsky cycle with Sleeping Beauty, and in 2018/19 he also brought Prokofiev’s second great ballet, Cinderella, to the stage in Kiel. Other ballet classics in his repertoire include La Sylphide, Coppélia and Giselle.
The ensemble has also attracted the attention of other choreographers, and in recent years the Ballett Kiel has worked with Lucinda Childs, Marguerite Donlon, Natalia Horecna, Georg Reischl, Darrel Toulon, Orkan Dann, Vivienne Hötger, Trey McIntyre, Antoine Jully, Wubkje Kuindersma, Johan Inger, Edvin Revazov and Kristina Paulin, among others. Ballett Kiel is currently presenting a dance evening with choreography by George Balanchine and Douglas Lee.
YAROSLAV IVANENKO
Yaroslav Ivanenko trained at the National Conservatory of Arts in Kiev and, after graduating, was hired by the National Theatre. This was followed by engagements in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In 1998, Ivanenko joined the Hamburg Ballet, where he appeared in numerous solo roles until 2010. Since the 2011/12 opera season, he has been ballet director and principal choreographer of the Kiel Ballet. In recent years, he has developed a varied repertoire with this ensemble and his own unmistakable style, characterised by athletic dynamism and neoclassical elegance. In addition to full-length narrative ballets based on literary material, such as the most recent A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and new productions of classical ballets, such as Swan Lake, he has also repeatedly created choreographies for modern dance evenings.
YOHAN INGER
Swedish dancer Johan Inger was a member of Nederlands Dans Theater 1 from 1990 to 2002. After making his debut as a choreographer in 1995, his rise was rapid: he received the Lucas Hoving Production Award for his ballets Dream Play and Walking Mad in 2001 and the Danza & Danza Award for Walking Mad in 2005. In 2003, Inger took over as artistic director of the Cullberg Ballet in Stockholm. Since 2008, he has been working as a freelance choreographer for companies around the world, including the Gothenburg Opera, Ballet Basel, Swedish National Ballet, Compania Nacional de Danza, Aterballetto, Lyon Opera Ballet, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo and, of course, Nederlands Dans Theater, where he was associate choreographer from 2009 to 2016. In 2016, he received the Benois de la Danse award for Carmen and One on One, as well as the Danza & Danza award for Bliss and, in 2020, for Don Juan as best Italian production. Since 2022, Inger has also been artistic director of Take Off Dance, a training programme for aspiring professional dancers in Seville.
‘I have never seen such an impressive opera house as the Teatro Carlo Felice, even though I have danced in many places around the world. I am therefore very happy that we have the opportunity to perform there alongside such fantastic guests.’ (Yaroslav Ivanenko)
