Jiří Kylián (born 21 March 1947) is a Czech former dancer and contemporary dance choreographer.

Biography

Family 
Jiří Kylián was born in 1947 in Prague – Czechoslovakia, as one of two sons to his father Václav who was a banker and to his mother Markéta, who was as a young teenager a dancer-child protégée.

Education 
During the years 1962-1967 Kylián studied at the Prague Conservatory. One teacher of the Conservatory, who left a deep mark on Kylián´s professional development, was Zora Šemberová, known for her world´s first interpretation of Juliet (1938) in Prokofiev’s famous ballet.
In 1967 Kylián had received a scholarship to study at the "Royal Ballet School" in London,

Stuttgart Ballet 
He met John Cranko, choreographer,  there, who offered him a contract, to become a member of his acclaimed "Stuttgart Ballett". Before taking up his contract, Kylián shortly returned to Prague, but on  August 21st, 1968, the invasion of the communist  "Warsaw-Pact " forces began. On the 28th of August, after taking part in many demonstrations against the occupation, Kylián left for Germany.

In Stuttgart Cranko asked Kylián to create choreographies for the company. His first work was "Kommen und Gehen", created with Marcia Haydée and Richard Cragun. In the early 70’s Cranko invited Glen Tetley to become resident choreographer in Stuttgart. Tetley´s work made a great impression on Kylián, namely Tetley’s understanding of movement, and its relation to space, was a revelation for Kylián.

Netherlands Dance Theatre 
In early seventies, Kylián was invited to create his first choreography for the Netherlands Dance Theatre ("Viewers-1973").  Having created two more works for NDT ("Stoolgame" 1974 and "La Cathédrale Engloutie" 1975) the offer to become artistic director of NDT together with Hans Knill, was extented to him.

The creation of "Sinfonietta", to music of Kylian´s  co-patriot Leoš Janáček for the "Charleston Festival" in the USA in 1978 led to international recognition of the company.  Subsequently many important international tours of NDT have taken place incl. Metropolitan Opera House in New York, the Paris Opera etc.

During Kyliáns engagement in NDT (1975-2009), he has created more than 75 choreographies for the company. Further pieces he made for other worldwide companies, such as the Stuttgart Ballet, the Opéra de Paris, the Munich Bayerisches Staatsballett, and the Tokyo Ballet.

Realizing the importance of education of young dancers, Jiří Kylián and Carel Birnie, the managing director of NDT, have decided in 1978 to create a new company - NDT II, in which young people would get the opportunity to develop their skills and talents. After many years of directorship, Kylián saw the departure of many fine and interesting performers. It was in 1991   that he decided to create a small group for dancers, who find themselves in the precarious age between "forty and death". The world premiere of this “Senior Company” was created by choreographers: Hans van Manen, Mats Ek, William Forsythe and Jiří Kylián. The original dancers were: Sabine Kupferberg, Alida Chase, Gérard Lemaitre and Niklas Ek. The importance of this new development in dance was instantly recognized by the public as well as by the media.

This unique,  three-dimensional structure, NDT I – mature dancers, NDT II – young dancers, NDT III – senior dancers, residing in its own theater, designed and built by architect Rem Koolhaas in 1987, placed NDT in a totally new category. It has become different from any other dance company in the world, and was recognized as such by being given various prestigious awards.

Further activities 
In the recent years Kylián’s creativity is focused on film, video and photography. The films “Carmen”, “Schwarzfahrer”, “Between Entrance and Exit”, “Scalamare” and the photo installation “Free fall” were all created in collaboration with his lifelong partner and muse Sabine Kupferberg.

In 1988 Kylián established the Kylian Foundation in The Hague (originally named as “Kylián Choreographic Archive”). In 2008 the Kylian Production BV was set up in the Netherlands and in  2017 Kylián Fund Prague was founded in the Czech Republic.

Selected works (choreography)

Theatre works from 1973 to 2019:
 Paradox (1970) Stuttgarter Ballett
 Kommen und gehen (1970) Stuttgarter Ballett
 Incantations (1971) Stuttgarter Ballett
 Der Einzelgänger (1972) Stuttgarter Ballett
 Der stumme Orpheus (1972) Stuttgarter Ballett
 Viewers (1973) Nederlands Dans Theater
 Blaue Haut / Blue skin (1974) Stuttgarter Ballett
 Der Morgen danach (1974) Stuttgarter Ballett
 Stoolgame (1974) Nederlands Dans Theater
 La Cathédrale engloutie (1975) Nederlands Dans Theater
 Rückkehr ins fremde Land / Return to a strange land (1975) Stuttgarter Ballett
 Verklärte Nacht / Transfigured night (1975) Nederlands Dans Theater
 Torso (1975) Nederlands Dans Theater
 Nuages (1976) Stuttgarter Ballett
 Elegia (1976) Nederlands Dans Theater
 Symphony in d (1976) Nederlands Dans Theater
 November steps (1977) Nederlands Dans Theater
 Ariadne (1977) Nederlands Dans Theater
 Kinderspelen (1978) Nederlands Dans Theater
 Sinfonietta (1978) Nederlands Dans Theater
 Intimate pages (1978) Sabine Kupferberg
 Rainbow snake (1978) Nederlands Dans Theater
 Psalmensymfonie / Symphony of Psalms (1978) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Glagolitic Mass (1979) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Dream dances (1979) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Soldatenmis / Field Mass (1980) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Overgrown path (1980) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Forgotten land / Vergessenes Land (1981) Stuttgarter Ballett
 Nomaden / Nomads (1981) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Svadebka (1982) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen / Songs of a Wayfarer (1982) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Stamping Ground (1983) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Dream time (1983) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Curses and blessings (1983) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Wiegenlied (1983) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I and II)
 Return to a strange land (1984) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Valencia (1984) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 L'enfant et les sortilèges (1984) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Heart's labyrinth ( 1984) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Heart's labyrinth II (1985) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Piccolo mondo (1985) Scapino Ballet
 Silent cries (1986) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 L'Histoire du soldat (1986) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Sechs Tänze / Six dances (1986) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Frankenstein !! (1987) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Sint joris rijdt uit (1987) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Evening songs (1987) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Kaguyahime (1988) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 No more play (1988) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Tanz-schul (1989) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Falling angels (1989) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Sweet dreams (1990) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Sarabande (1990) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Feuillet d'automne (1990) Ballet de l'Opéra National de Paris
 Un ballo (1991) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT II)
 Petite mort (1991) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Obscure temptations (1991) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT III)
 Stepping stones (1991) Stuttgarter Ballett
 As if never been (1992) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 No sleep till dawn of day (1992) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT III)
 Whereabouts unknown (1993) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Tiger lily (1994) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Perfect conception (1994) The Tokyo Ballet
 Double you (1994) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT III)
 Arcimboldo (1994) Nederlands Dans Theater I / II / III
 Bella Figura (1995) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Anna and the ostriches (1996) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Tears of laughter (1996) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT III)
 Trompe-l'œil (1996) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT II)
 If only… (1996) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT III)
 Compass (1996) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT III)
 Wings of wax (1997) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 A way a lone (1998) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT III)
 One of a kind (1998) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Indigo rose (1998) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT II)
 Half past (1999) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Doux mensonges (1999) Ballet de l'Opéra National de Paris
 Arcimboldo 2000 (2000) Nederlands Dans Theater I / II / III
 Click – pause – silence (2000) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Birth-day (2001) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT III)
 Blackbird (2001) Saitama Arts Theater
 Claude Pascal (2002) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 When time takes time (2002) Saitama Arts Theater and Nederlands Dans Theater III
 Far too close (2002) Saitama Arts Theater and Nederlands Dans Theater III
 Last touch (2003) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Il faut qu'une porte (2004) Ballet de l'Opéra National de Paris
 Sleepless (2004) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT II)
 Toss of a dice (2005) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Chapeau (2005) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT II)
 Tar and feathers (2006) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Vanishing twin (2008) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Last touch first (2008) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)
 Gods and dogs (2008) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT II)
 Zugvögel (2009) Bayerisches Staatsballett München
 Mémoires d'oubliettes (2009) Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT I)     (Kyliáns last piece for the NDT) 
 Anonymous (2011) Kylworks
 East shadow (2013) Aichi Mini Theatre
 Fortune cookies (2014) Kylworks

Selected Awards
During his career, Kylian has received many prestigeous, international awards and honours, such as:
 1983 Carina Ari Medal, Stockholm
 1986  VSCD Dutch Theaters Award for Choreography, Maastricht
 1989  Sonia Gaskell Prijs, Amsterdam
 1991 Dutch Theatre Critics Award
   Premio Internazionale Gino Tani, Rome
 1993, 1999 Benois de la Danse, Moscow
 1994 Dance Magazine Award New York 
 1995 Award for Outstanding Achievement of Cultural Merits by Soka Gakkai, Japan 
 1995 Premio di Teatro di Roma/City of Roma 
 1995 Decoration of the Royal Dutch order of Oranje-Nassau 
 German Critics Award for the creation of NDT III
 1997 Honorary Doctorate, Juilliard School of the Arts, New York 
 1997 Edinburgh Festival Critics Award
 1997 Joost van den Vondel Prijs  from The Alfred Töpfer Stiftung, Hamburg
 1997 Golden Medal for Outstanding Merit from President Václav Havel, Prague 
 1998 Honorary Prize for Dance and Choreography  from the Institut del Teatre Barcelona
 1999 Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Paris
 1999 First Cultural Award of the City of The Hague
 2000 Sir Laurence Olivier Award, London 
 2000 Arch Angel Award, Edinburgh International Festival 
 2000 Honorary Doctorate, Music Academy of Prague 
 2000 Three „Nijinsky award“, Monte Carlo; in the following categories: as choreographer, for choreography, for company (for unique structure of NDT: NDT I, NDT II, NDT III) 
 2001 Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Paris 
 2001 Porselli Award, Reggio Emilia
 2002 VSCD Dutch Theaters Oeuvre Award, Maastricht
 2004 Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur’, Paris 
 2004 La Medaille d’Or de la cité de Lyon
 2005 Knights Cross from the President Kwasniewski of Poland
 2006  Jiří Kylián Ring - an award in a form of a ring,  which the new recipient can pass on to any artist in the ‘Dance Field’. The recipients will receive a sum of €5.000 provided by the Kylian Foundation (2006)
 2006 Premio Dansa Valencia
 2006 Thalia Award – College Special Award (Czech Republic) 
 2007 Silver Medal of the City of Prague
 2008 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, Biennale Venezia 
 2008 Highest cultural award for ‘Art and Science’ of the order of Oranje Nassau by Queen Beatrix
 2011 Award for exceptional achievement in the field of Dance and Choreography, Czech Ministry of Culture, Prague 
 2011 Golden Prague Award for the film Mémoires d’Oubliettes, Prague
 2013 Dvořák Award, Prague
 2015 László Seregy Award, Budapest
 2015 Jovan Cirilov Award, Belgrade
 2016 Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences Award
 2017 Honorary Citizenship of the city of The Hague 
 2017 Premio Positano alla Carriera Lifetime Achievement Award, Positano
 2018 Honorary Citizenship of the city of Prague
 2018 Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, Member of Institute Français, Académie des Beaux Arts, Paris 
 2019 Benois de la Danse Lifetime Achievement Award, Moscow
 2019  Golden Prague Lifetime Achievement Award, Prague

Films
Films from 2006 to 2017:
 Car-Men  (2006) 
 Between Entrance & Exit  (2013)
 Schwarzfahrer  (2014)
 Scalamare (2017)

Further reading
 Isabelle Lanzová, Dorota Gremlicová, Elvíra Němečková, Roman Vašek: Různé břehy / Choreograf Jiří Kylián mezi Haagem a Prahou, issued by Institut umění – Divadelní ústav (IDU) v Praze (2011), Prague, Czech Rep., 
 Raimon Àvila: Jiři Kylián : somniador de danses, Barcelona : Institut del Teatre de la Diputació de Barcelona, Spain, 2003, 
 
 Dana Paseková: Jiří Kylián, NAMU 2001, issued by Akademie múzických umění v Praze, Praha, Czech Rep.,  2001, 
 Jiří Hlaváč: Jiří Kylián, Doctor Honoris Causa, issued by Akademie múzických umění v Praze, Czech Rep., 15.12.2000,  
 Marie-Noël Rio: Bon qu'à ça, Les Éditions du Sonneur, Paris, 2016 (translated into Czech by Michal Lázňovský sen., issued  by National Theatre in Prague in 2019 under name Budižkněčemu)

References

Other websites
 Jiří Kylián in Czech National Theater Archive
 Jiří Kylián on Česko-Slovenská filmová databáze (Czechoslovak film database)
 Jiří Kylián on Filmová databáze (Film database)
 
 
 Nederlands Dans Theater – Finale from Petite Mort
 Aspen Santa Fe Ballet – Stamping Ground (Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival 2011)

Living people
1947 births
Choreographers
People from Prague