Tonight's programme, Kaguyahime
(Japanese for The Moon Princess), is a dance workforthe Netherlands Dance
Company by its Czech directorand choreographer Jiri Kylian.
It is inspired by his visits to Japan and by the folktale of the moon princess, who wants to bring peace and beauty to the world but succeeds only in bringingthe opposite. With its theme of the impossibility of absolute beauty and purity in an imperfect world, it is not a traditional fairy tale ballet, but the rhythm of the piece is typical of Japanese storytelling, where the main elements are presented in a very concise way, while minor details are meticulously elaborated upon.
Kylian says he first fell under the spell cast by Kaguyahime for two reasons. "That the fantastic and the realistic exist at the same time, and the fascination that Japanese culture holds for me".
The music is by composer Maki Ishii , who blends the acoustic worlds of east and west. A group of internationally acclaimed musicians, conducted by Ishii, uses the modern percussion of the west and the large traditional drums of Japan to help create a piece of powerful dance theatre.
Suitors MARTIN MOLLER , KEN OSSOLA, JOHAN INGER , PATRICK DELCROIX , GLENN EDGERTON Village Girls KARINE GUIZZO , BRIGITTE MARTIN ,
LISA DRAKE , SUSAN LARAGHY , CAROLINA ARMENTA Knights of Mikado JORMAELO, BRUCE MICHELSON Nobility SOL LEON , NANCY EUVERINK, CORA
KROESE. PHILIPPA BUCKINGHAM, LORRAINE BLOUIN , OWEN MONTAGUE , IVAN DUBREUIL, ZANE BOOKER
Director Hans Hulscher