Czech National Ballet’s 2024/25 season: traditional choreography and experimental art
The Czech National Ballet’s 2024/25 season offers a rich repertoire of both traditional productions and experimental art. Here’s what ballet fans can look forward to.
Dancers at the Czech National Ballet have had 12 days to rehearse for their first performance of the 2024/25 Season, featuring the modern ballet “Beyond Vibrations” on September 1, after six weeks of vacation. Dance critics said there will be four premiering ballets along with familiar contemporary and classical shows, like “Kafka: The Trial” and “Romeo and Juliet”, as the company tries to straddle the line between traditional choreographies audiences love, experimental art, and representing Czech works.
“Beyond Vibrations,” a performance featuring three mini-ballets by three choreographers, first premiered in 2023 at the National Theatre and acts as a slow opening before the first world premiere of Viktor Konvalinka’s “The Sun, the Moon, and the Wind” on October 3. The traditional Slavonic fairytale will surprise audiences with reinvented characters and props not typically seen on stage, according to the Japanese First Soloist Ayaka Fujii at the National Ballet.
“I’m happy that we can start the season with Beyond Vibrations because not so long ago we performed it at the end of last season, so we are ready to show it,” said another First Soloist Adam Zvonař from Czechia.
Despite being a repeat performance, there are always things to change or improve on, said Italian soloist Francesco Scarpato from the National Ballet. “You can always add something else: about feelings, emotions, step-wise, technique, stage presence,” he said.
Additionally, some dancers are learning new roles, which First Soloist Fujii said can be stressful. The stress is not only nerves but also physical.
“Although ‘Beyond Vibrations’ is a ballet we have done before, it is hard to only have two weeks to get ready. I finished the first week of work and, it doesn’t look like it, but in the inside my body is stiff and in pain. Of course you don’t see this on stage,” said Scarpato referring to the adrenaline he gets on stage that he says acts as a painkiller.
Starting with a contemporary ballet before taking on classical roles and premiers can be easier on the body, said Scapato. Given the physical demands of the profession, it could be dangerous to start off in full swing, according to dance critic and historian Lucie Kocourková.
The first premiere, “The Sun, the Moon, and the Wind” will be on the boarder between modern and contemporary dance, meaning a combination of steps drawn from emotions and from improvisation, according to Kocourková who expects the fairytale to be light-hearted and funny.
“Creation is always exciting, but very difficult because you have to give it more time and, through communication with the choreographer, it can change a lot,” said Fujii who is looking forward to the beautiful and out of the box choreography.
In addition to having a Czech choreographer, the ballet’s composter, Ivan Acher, is also from the country—a happy coincidence as 2024 is the Year of Czech Music, said dance critic Zuzana Rafajová. While some see representing more Czech artists is a good trend for the National Ballet, Rafajová thinks it is more important to chose a repertoire based on balance and what is best for dancers in a particular company because ballet is very multi-national.
“People want ballet companies to do ballets from the 19th century, the big classics of the 20th century, modern repertoire, contemporary, and experimental. And you only have so many people to do that. To really balance the repertoire is not an easy job,” said Rafajová.
The second ballet to premiere this season will be “Scheherazade” on November 28, choreographed by Mauro Bigonzetti for the Czech National Ballet which is inspired by the collection of tales called “One Thousand and One Nights”.
The third to premiere in Czechia on February 20, “Manon”, is a classical ballet choreographed by Kenneth MacMillanon, and the final is a contemporary triple bill called “Sarkasms” by Andrey Kaydanovskiy, Hans van Manen, and Eyal Dadon on April 24.
The rest of the season will see the classics “Romeo and Juliet”, “The Nutcracker: A Christmas Carol”, “Cinderella”, “Coppélia”, and “Swan Lake”. The modern and contemporary ballets featured will be “Kafka: The Trial”, “A Streetcar Named Desire”, and “bpm”.
