One of A Kind

About

One of a Kind was premiered on 6 May 1998 at the Lucent Danstheater in The Hague by the  Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) 1, helmed by Jiří Kylián. Commissioned by the Dutch government to mark the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the Constitution of the Netherlands, the piece was revived in The Hague in 2023, with the performance attended by King Willem-Alexander and his mother, Princess Beatrix (formerly Queen). In 2019, the remarkable work was staged in Stuttgart, upon the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Kylián’s joining John Cranko’s Stuttgarter Ballett. Today, One of a Kind forms part of the ballet repertoire of prominent theatres worldwide. A sought-after choreographer, Kylián’s works have been performed on numerous other special and festive occasions, among them the gala inauguration in 2008 of the Norwegian Opera House in Oslo. In 2002, Kylián’s NDT featured in the culture programme during the NATO summit in Prague, hosted by President Václav Havel and attended by 42 heads of state. The Czech National Ballet will be presenting One of a Kind at the National Theatre in celebration of Kylián’s 80th birthday. 

Jiří Kylián says of One of a Kind and its inspiration: “Yes, we are individuals enjoying all the freedoms encoded in our Constitution. But how do we interpret these freedoms when confronted with the freedoms of others? How far does our tolerance stretch? How can an individual exist in a group of other individuals? Complications arise from people’s diversity and the complexity of each individual. We might perhaps write a million ‘constitutions’, yet will never be able to encompass all the needs and satisfy all the ambitions of everyone. Every single one of us is a unique human being. Nonetheless, our singularity must be integrated into our society. Our existence is based on dependence on each other, and we must learn how to make compromises.”

With his creative genius and dance artistry admired all over the world, Kylián is a towering contemporary figure. Over the past decade or so, he has also focused on film and fine arts. Highly refined aesthetic vision, extraordinary musicality, peculiar “flowing”  choreography, abstraction of profound content are synonymous with the Kylián phenomenon. 

The opening night will launch the global celebrations of the Kylián anniversary. The Czech National Ballet has also prepared ND+ accompanying events, a large-scale exhibition, podcast, special videos and workshops dedicated to Kylián’s movement idiom and aesthetic style.

The Czech National Ballet soloists and corps de ballet

Premiere performances: 25 and 26 February 2027 at the National Theatre

Creatives

Choreography Jiří Kylián

Music Brett Dean, Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa, David Hykes, Benjamin Britten, Chiel Meijering, David Lumsdaine, John Cage

Sound direction Dick Heuff

Costume design Joke Visser

Sets Atsushi Kitagawara

Light design Michael Simon