Interview in the French magazine Danser

Interview with Artistic Director of The Czech National Ballet Filip Barankiewicz in the French magazine Danser.

Interview sample:

Could you tell us about the current season and the upcoming shows of the company?

As the Artistic Director, I have long been trying to develop the dialogue between The Czech National Ballet and the global dance scene, and this is manifested primarily through collaboration with international choreographers, coaches, stage directors and designers.

The Czech National Ballet boasts a variegated repertoire, encompassing traditional classical and modern dance works alike, imbued with a special artistic spirit. It includes productions of major globally celebrated narrative ballets, retelling great stories (John Cranko’s adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake and Onegin; Márcia Haydée’s The Sleeping Beauty; Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée; and Youri Vàmos’s The Nutcracker – A Christmas Carol), fascinating mixed bills composed of choreographies by contemporary creators shifting the boundaries of modern-day aesthetics – Eyal Dadon, Yemi A.D., Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar, William Forsythe, Edward Clug, Wayne McGregor, Jiří Kylián, as well as feature-length contemporary ballets – Leonce & Lena by Christian Spuck and Kafka's : The Trial by Mauro Bigonzetti.

The first premiere during current 2022/23 season is John Neumeier’s adaptation of play A Streetcar Named Desire, to music by Sergey Prokofiev and Alfred Schnittke. The very first work by the legendary choreographer to appear in the Czech National Ballet repertoire, it retells Williams’s psychological drama, one of the most critically acclaimed and frequently performed play.

The revival of the adaptation of the widely popular ballet Cinderella by the distinguished chief-choreographer at Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo - Jean-Christophe Maillot. Having revivals attests to another of the Czech National Ballet’s penchants: bringing back on stage acclaimed high-quality works of lasting importance and appeal. In his take on the fabulous story of Cinderella, the creator brings to bear his singular, refined style, reflecting the beauty of modern aesthetics and giving vent to extraordinary energy, permeating all its components: music, visual design, choreography and direction.

The theatre season will culminate with the premiere of La Sylphide. Johan Kobborg as choreographer will stage the oldest Romantic ballet after August Bournonville. This season we perform 140 shows in Prague. We tour to Cagliari with Cranko’s Romeo and Juliette, to Bonn with Kafka: The Trail by Mauro Bigonzetti and to Hamburg with A Streetcar named Desire by John Neumeier.

Coming year - a lineup of performances that we think accurately represent the state of our growth with our richness of our vibrant repertoire of the past, breath-taking emotions, dramatic as strong as sensitive artistry and moving forward with inspiring creativity.

The season 2023/24 shall be represented by our two premieres and a unique project.

The triple bill BEYOND VIBRATIONS is made up of works by innovative artist, bringing to bear great stylistic diversity: Krzysztof Pastor’s Moving Rooms, Hans Van Manen’s Frank Bridge Variations and Marco Goecke’s Fly Paper Bird. This will be the very first time that Czech National Ballet dancers and audience will encounter works by Pastor and Goecke.

Ronald Hynd’s Coppélia, after Marius Petipa’s version, will extend our collection of story ballets. Linking up to our experience, the production will confirm the validity of the classical ballet legacy.

Holo Harmonies: The Cross-Border Live Experience is a new work by Mauro Bigonzetti. On a one and only evening, 1 December 2023, it will afford the astonishing chance to discover novel dance and music experience created simultaneously at the State Opera in Prague and the Theater Baden-Baden pioneering Hologram technology.

You can find the entire article on-line here on the Danser magazine website.

More information about repertoire and productions of The Czech National Ballet:
Repertoire of The Czech National Ballet in season 2022/2023
Repertoire of The Czech National Ballet in season 2023/2024