Petite Mort | Jiri Kylian and Netherlands Dans Theater [OFFICIAL]

Subscribe to Cultureband! Click to buy/rent Jiri Kylian’s Black and White Ballets: Petite Mort is featured in the dance program Jiri Kylian’s Black and White Ballets, available at Falling Angels was premiered by Nederlands Dans Theater in 1991. It has since been performed by companies around the world including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Dresden SemperOper Ballett, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Houston Ballet and many others. Petite Mort is featured in the dance program Jiri Kylian’s Black and White Ballets, available at From : “Petite Mort” is a poetic, and strangely significant way of describing the ecstasy of a sexual intercourse. In French, and in some other languages, this sensation is described as “small death”. And it maybe so, that in the moment of pleasure ( or in the moment of potentially creating a new life ) we are reminded of the fact that our lives are of a relatively short duration, and that death is never too far from us. In my work, I have based my choreography on two slow movements from the two most famous piano concertos by Mozart. I have cut them away from the fast movements, leaving them as mutilated torsos, lying helplessly in front of the listener and beholder. They lie there, just like some ancient torso’s, without arms and legs, unable to walk or embrace. There is no doubt, that it is perverse to do such a thing. But yet we do. And I am no exception. We live in a world in which nothing is sacred. Since the time in which Mozart’s music was created, and today, many wars were fought and much blood had to flow under the “Bridge of Time”. And, it was mostly men swaying swords in show of their potency and power. And it is always a “Mort”, which accompanies our lives, sometimes it is “Petite“, sometimes it is “Grand“, but it is the most faithful companion we have, from the dawn of our existence till the end. Jiří Kylián - Den Haag September 23, 2007 Cultureband is the first multichannel network for cultural programming, including dance, opera, visual art, museums and theater. Cultureband is operated by TenduTV. Whether you want to watch a ballet performance on demand, or find the latest art exhibit, Cultureband will help refined audiences discover the quality programming available to them. Arts and Culture on iTunes: Follow us on social media!