Overgrown Path

Photo: Hans Gerritsen
On this photo: Chris Jensen

Choreographer: Jiří Kylián

Jiří Kylián's choreography is based on Leoš Janácek's intimate piano cycle, which gradually evolved over a number of years spanning the time before and after 1902, in the most tragic period of his life.

Looking backwards is like wandering along an overgrown path: memories are run with time, the values and emotions of events have changed with the passing of the years. Some minor events stand out more sharply, the emotional urgency of others have faded. Kylián's choreography allows these backgrounds to be strongly present without depicting Janácek's life story.

This ballet generally deals with the subject of life and death, two elements which could not exist without one another.

'Overgrown Path' is dedicated to Antony Tudor (1908-1987), whom Kylián has called "one of the greatest choreographers of today".