Czech choreographer Jiri Kylian's ballet masterpiece entitled ‘The Little Death’ premiered for the first time in Kazakhstan at the Astana Opera theater. The one-act ballet is a true ode to the worship of love, with black and white decorations enhancing the effect of the performance. It is well known that staging Jiri Kylian’s productions is a great honor for any theater, and for ballet troupes it is also an acknowledgement of their high level of skill. According to Altynai Assylmuratova, the artistic director of the Astana Opera Ballet Company, this choreographic piece will become a unique masterpiece in the repertoire of the capital's theater.
“My primary aim was to gather the best ballet productions of all time in this theater, starting with Petipa’s classical ballet, moving on to the 20th century productions, and introducing contemporary ballets of the 21st century. Ballet dancers, as well as the audience, should develop comprehensively, obtaining new knowledge and experience. We have already experienced the classics and neoclassics, and now we are getting familiar with modern Western choreographers, especially of such a high class as Jiri Kylian,” said Assylmuratova.
“As a choreographer, I want the dancers to feel the music and listen to it very carefully. Movement and music are inseparable from each other. They need to be perceived as one whole. Dancers need to have a great sense of music. First, they need to immerse themselves in it before they can start dancing,” Stefan Zeromski, choreographer and Jiri Kylian’s assistant, said.
