Customer Reviews

Jiri Kylian's Black & White Ballets

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was more than impressed with this DVD. Often when dance is filmed, you lose the dance...there are many close-ups (usually of the face) and many quick cuts which don't allow the viewer to feel as if she (or he) is seeing the full stage. Therefore, much of the choreography is lost. Not so here! This is an expertly filmed production that allows the viewer to forget that they are viewing a DVD and instead, it seems that the viewer is seeing the dance unfold on a stage. Kudos! If only all dance was filmed with this philosophy in mind. Additionally, the quality of the DVD is great. It isn't grainy or blurry. Rather, the quality is better than most DVD/videos. It is as close to live performance as one can get in this medium.

The reviewer from IL speaks wonderfully of Kylian's choreograhic feats, and I agree. My personal favorite is also Petite Mort, and I would buy the DVD if Petite Mort were the only offering. This work is breathtaking and inspiring.

This is an excellent DVD! Kylian's choreography is inventive and seamless. The transitions in all partnering are amazingly smooth and performed to perfection. The six ballets presented are all very diferent in style and feeling though bound together by their color theme as well as the reoccurance of a set of black baroque dresses. I enjoyed them all except for Sarabande which - though it had it's interesting moments - I found to be rather teadious. My absolute personal favourite must be Petit Mort with it's beautiful score, simple costumes and impressive and inovative movement vocabulary, very clearly drawing on classical technique but going it's own way entierly - allowing for freedom in motion. I highly reccomend this DVD and had no problem viewing it.

man, every time i see kylian's work i'm inspired to be a better dancer -- his people are so fluent in their bodies and in their art. i can only imagine that it must be so rigorous, satisfying, and challenging to learn this choreography. the physicality is exciting, the humor is intelligent, and the musicality is sensitive without becoming predictable. i enjoy this dvd very much and strongly recommend it to dancers, choreographers, amateurs, dance historians (bizarre use of costumes/props --> classical european references are strange and not altogether clear for me, but the use of these references is endearing nontheless), musicians, and other artists interested in using movement in their designs/collaborations. my personal favorite is "no more play," but webern is my favorite composer and i've choreographed a solo to this piece of music, so i'm biased

This is a collection of six dance works, all choreographed by Jiri Kylian, and all danced by the very accomplished artists of Nederlands Dans Theater. The six works are similar in genre, what I would describe generally as a combination of inventive modern movement, posturing and lifts, mixed with a few elements of classical ballet. Although the technical artistry throughout is good, only the latter two pieces held my attention; during the first four I had to struggle to keep my focus. Still, I'm glad I bought this because I enjoy all types of dance, and I view this as definitive presentation of stylized work by an important contemporary choreographer.

With all due respect for the other reviewers, my lower-than-awesome rating should NOT be construed as a "thumbs down" for this DVD, but rather as reflective of my taste for what I saw in comparison to other modern choreographers (for example, Nacho Duato's work in the "Three By Duato" disc, which I consider to be among the best for modern dance).

Kylian presents in these works a minimalist viewscape of costume and sets. The performers are very simply dressed, there is very little in the way of props, and the lighting is used most often to create shaped "platforms" upon which the dancers pose, all of which is perfectly fine; "lavish" is not a word that accords with this genre. Each work in the series ranges in run-time from 13 to 19 minutes, alternately featuring flashes of whimsical acting, some Egyptian-like poses, impressive balancing, interesting modern pas de deux, and occasionally fast-paced movement. In my opinion, there was too much of what I'd term "robotic" motion in place of fluidity. I watched intently during the first four pieces, trying hard to take in as much as possible, but alas, I tended to lose my concentration. Much better were the last two pieces, entitled "Petite Mort," featuring a series of pas de deux danced to Mozart, and "Falling Angels," showcasing some excellent choreography to an all-percussion soundtrack ("Drumming Part 1" by Reich). I thought these two were several notches above the others in terms of presentation and interpretation. Fans of Kylian will no doubt like all six.

Like the name of these ballets, the music in these six pieces was also quite a contrast: classical versus contemporary; Bach and Mozart versus Anton Webern and Steve Reich; melody versus sound effect. Sorry to say, the composition of sounds in the Webern pieces (in "Sweet Dreams" and "No More Play") may have been a factor in my not staying involved in the dancing.

Bravo: of all the dance DVD's I own, this one has THE BEST videography of them all. Especially noteworthy is the use of a mobile boom-mounted camera that captured unique vantage points to bring the viewer practically right onto the stage. The editing is absolutely first-rate, mixing wide angle, with mid-distance and close-up views, the result being that I was always looking at exactly where my eyes wanted to be. This would be a great teaching video for studying camera work.

Overall, I would recommend this DVD to collectors of dance performances, or to students of dance/choreography, especially fans of Kylian.

Jiri Kylian is one of the best choreographers alive and this is one of his most accomplished works.

The image quality is good and so is the audio, in terms of DVD production. I would have liked an interview a commentary or some other info on the pieces, but then again the important part of the work is there, and that is the dance display.

In terms of range of interpretation, Kylian is master, while some other choreographers have a single emotion or a very focused subject portrayed throughout a piece, his work encompasses a variety of expressions that can sometimes make you laugh and at other times drive you to introspection. He plays with light and shadow to give them their proper role as characters on stage and to somehow act as a territory for the development of the scenes, since there are no clear stage lines and depths. One thing that I particularly find marvelous is that the movement never or rarely feels improvised as in some contemporary dance proposals, and the quality of performance is flawless, brusqueness is true brusqueness and a sinewy arm is soft and carefully blended with another arm. The action, when there are a lot of elements on stage is not hard to follow, and the graphic aspect of the dance is well balanced at the micro and macro level, so it respects the viewers choice of perspective without the sense of losing a vital piece of the work.

All in all, it is a must in every dance lover's video library.

This was my first introduction to the Nederlands Dans Theater, and showcased more of Jiri Kylian's work than I had seen before. As a dancer trained in classical ballet, this DVD was fascinating to me. I loved the first piece "Six Dances" which made full use of quick and unusual movements, silly comedic elements, musicality, humorous facial expressivity...and very large black dresses with swords. I found the second piece "Sweet Dreams" to be interesting, but admittedly, I tend to skip over this one more often than I watch it. Not sure why Kylian likes his green apples so much, and I'd hate to be the dancer who has to be tossed around with one in her mouth all the time while wearing a corset. I also invariably skip over "Sarabande" if only because I find the repetitive screaming and "ambient noise" (is that a toilet flushing?) a bit wearisome and annoying after more than 2 minutes. These two pieces are why I gave it four stars and not five. "No More Play" was more interesting, and I think the movement and music in this piece were better suited to one another than in the previous pieces.

"Petite Mort" on the other hand was my absolute favorite. Now this is one I'd love to dance one day. This is where Kylian's more robotic modern movements give way to contemporary fluidity in the pas de deux sequences. This also shows off the dancers strength and physicality to the highest degree. They are simply beautiful to watch. "Falling Angels" is hypnotic; I loved the intro where the dancers moved as if walking in slow motion.

Excellent lighting that gives interesting false perspectives (it's always nice to see Light become a featured element), and the absolute best camera work ever used on a dance performace. I felt as if it had been filmed and edited by Kylian himself; the lens always knew the best place to be. Continually dynamic without losing any sense of the fullness of the pieces themselves.

I also want to comment on the dancers of NDT. It was the most refreshing thing to see a company full of dancers with healthy builds, particularly in regards to the women. No stick figures that make one wonder if the dancer in question has an eating disorder. These women are strong, curvy, and athletic. For this reason alone, I would highly recommend that any and all young girls in ballet see this DVD.

If there was one single thing I had to identify as the highest representation of the artistic ability of human beings, it would be this collection of Kylian's work. I have yet to see its equal. It is the perfect synthesis of design, movement, and music. I show this work to all my lighting design students every year and it continues to be a source of inspiration.

I don't understand the first reviewer. Kylian is maybe the best choreographer today. He knows how to merge modern and classical dances to achieve the best results. Who is able to make a choreography on Webern music ? Kylian of course!

The DVD is well made; although the video is interlaced the playback on my computer monitor (natively progressive)is excellent. I wait for new Kylian's performances on DVD.

The Nederlands Dance Theater is a first rate company with attractive and accomplished dancers. The DVD's videography was also well done and a joy to watch. The program was polished and often inventive, but becomes pretentious and finally disappointing. Lighting and aerobics seem to be replacing art. Mr. Kylian does have a sense of humor, especially in the first piece, which I enjoyed the most. Interesting, but it didn't quite measure up to the level that I might want to share it with anyone. And what is it with those big antebellum dresses on wires that that keep dropping in and out of the pieces? I will be very interested in further offerings from this company. Bob

Something is wrong with the compression of this DVD. The movements are slow and jerky. Was this an amateur job? I'm so utterly disappointed, since I'm a huge Jiri Kylian fan. Someone needs to notify the makers of this DVD immediately to recompress the video in a viewable format!