Curses and blessings

Photo: Jorge Fatauros

Choreographer: Jiří Kylián, Christopher Bruce

The ballet 'Curses and Blessings', that Jiří Kylián and Christopher Bruce made for the Holland Festival, was based on the concept of two choreographies that can be performed separate, but form a whole when performed together. This principle was explored only once before by Darius Milhaud, who composed two string quartets. The music for 'Curses and Blessings' was written by Petr Eben. He composed a piece for a quire, on which Kylián’s choreography was based, and for an orchestra, that served as the starting point for Bruce’s choreography. During the creation of the ballet, the choreographers didn’t know what the other one was making. Therefore the result came as a complete surprise to both of them.