Mozart birthday jiri kylian biography

TODAY 75 YEARS AGO, Jiří Kylián was born in Prague. His first childhood love was the circus, before he began ballet lessons at the age of nine. He initially received his professional dance education in his hometown before a scholarship took him to the Royal Ballet School in London. There he met John Cranko, who offered him a contract with the Stuttgart Ballet. In the midst of the unrest of the Prague Spring in 1968, Kylián moved to Stuttgart, where he became not only a dancer but also a choreographer. He created his first piece for the Noverre Society before Cranko commissioned him to create more. These early pieces brought him to the attention of the Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) in The Hague. In 1975 he was invited to take part in the directorship of the contemporary company; two years later he was appointed sole director of NDT. In the 20 years of his leadership, his works contributed significantly to NDT becoming a