- Choreography: Jiri Kylian
- Music: Leos Janacek
October 19, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30
Combining classical ballet, modern dance and dreamlike acrobatics, six dancers, in the simplest of costumes, dance to the heart rending music of a piano.
Return to a Strange Land was first created in 1975 as a tribute to Jiri Kylian’s mentor, the great choreographer and director of The Stuttgart Ballet, John Cranko. Cranko had passed away suddenly during a company flight back to Germany from the United States. The tragic death of their leader deeply affected the Stuttgart company. Kylian, then a dancer and budding choreographer with The Stuttgart, likened their return home without Cranko to a “return to a strange land.” The ballet is set to four haunting pieces for solo piano by Leos Janacek.
In 1980, The Joffrey Ballet became the first American company to present the works of the Czechoslovakian choreographer Jiri Kylian with Return to a Strange Land. Kylian and his company, The Netherlands Dance Theater, had taken the United States by storm with their first American tour in the late 1970s. Kylian’s choreography had a completely individual look, with its melding of classical ballet and modern dance, making it a perfect fit for The Joffrey dancers’ versatile style. Over the years, The Joffrey has amassed one of the largest collections of Kylian’s work in the United States.
All programming is subject to change.
Live music performed by The Chicago Sinfonietta.
