Tag Archive: Jiri Jelínek

True to Himself

December 13, 2015 0 Comments

True to Himself
Jiří Jelínek
Gelsenkirchen, Germany
November, 2015

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2015 by Ilona Landgraf

1. Jiří Jelinek © Stuttgart Ballet Jiří Jelínek’s dance career has been a journey. Born and trained in Prague he literally danced at the other end of the world, that is in Australia. Crisscrossing the world he gained invaluable experience with various companies and diverse repertories. Recently he danced with the Ballett im Revier in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. I took the rare opportunity to meet him the day after his last show in a café in Gelsenkirchen to talk about his career and his life.

Jelínek started to dance at the age of seven. A boy full of energy, he loved to move; he was very often outside, running around, playing and quarreling with his friends. The dance lessons in a children’s group was one hobby of several. “Then, when I was ten years old my mother urged me to audition for the Dance Conservatory in Prague. They took me and in the following four years I learned the basics.” (more…)

An Indomitable Woman

November 26, 2015 0 Comments

“Charlotte Salomon: Death and the Painter”
Ballett im Revier
Musiktheater im Revier
Gelsenkirchen, Germany
November 20, 2015

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2015 by Ilona Landgraf

1. K.Alexi, “Charlotte Salomon: Death and the Painter” by B.Breiner, photo C.RaduIt is just Bridget Breiner’s third season at the helm of the Ballett im Revier in Gelsenkirchen. But for the second time she has already been awarded the German theater prize “Faust” for best choreography. Breiner, who started her career as a dancer with the Bavarian State Ballet, later joined the Semperoper Ballet Dresden before dancing several years as principal with Stuttgart Ballet. In 2012 she took over as artistic director of the Ballett im Revier following Bernd Schindowski who had held the post for more than thirty years.

Getting the “Faust” twice is quite an achievement as Breiner’s company is small: around fifteen dancers including guests. “Ruß”, Breiner’s version of the Cinderella story, was the first work awarded in 2013. Just recently her latest work, “Charlotte Salomon: Death and the Painter”, received its laurels as well. (more…)