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The premiere of The Little Mermaid

11/10/2016

Ballet

The new premiere of The Little Mermaid is coming! On November 10, at the Estates Theatre!

“Far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower, and as clear as crystal, it is very deep, so deep that no cable could reach the bottom: many church steeples, piled one upon another, would not reach from the ground beneath to the surface of the water above.”

Thus begins the story of the Little Mermaid’s true love for the terrestrial Prince, for whom she sacrifices the most precious things she has – her voice and her life. As in the case of his other stories, the famed Danish author Hans Christian Andersen based his 1836 fairy tale not only on imagination and fantasy, he also drew inspiration from his own tumultuous life. The Little Mermaid reflects his deep longing for love, as well as the feeling of futility resulting from the conviction that no one will learn about this emotion and the subsequent sacrifice.   

The forcible tale has also inspired the choreographer Jan Kodet and the renowned stage directors’ tandem SKUTR – Martin Kukučka and Lukáš Trpišovský – to write a scenario for a new ballet production. The music was created by the contemporary Czech composer Zbyněk Matějů, who approached the subject with great sensitivity. In a unique way, Jan Kodet presents the individual images in line with contemporary dance art, with even an ordinary hand gesture, a glance or a standstill turning into a magical motion element. The bold visual aspect of the production is enhanced by the sets designed by Jakub Kopecký. The highly inspired costumes of Saša Grusková are permeated with her conception of the underwater and earthly worlds, with regard to the individual characters and the dancers’ dynamic movement.   

Photos from rehearsal: Martin Divíšek

 

 

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