Black / White

Dance Performances: Katarzyna Kozielska “Open Door” and Serge Lifar “Suite en blanc”

Katarzyna Kozielska and Serge Lifar
Premiere in the Estonian National Opera on March 24, 2023

The unique dance production "Black / White" offers the audience a memorable and engaging experience, being enjoyable even for those who have no previous contact with ballet. The production's powerful and technically virtuosic dance language is graceful, expressive and easy to follow.

“Open Door”
Ballet by Katarzyna Kozielska
Music: Symphony in C major by Georges Bizet
World premiere on March 24, 2023 in the Estonian National Opera

Choreographer and Stage Director, Set Designer: Katarzyna Kozielska (Poland)
Costumes Designer: Marja-Liisa Pihlak
Lighting Designer: Rasmus Rembel

Katarzyna Kozielska: “The starting point for this piece was the choice of music, Bizet’s Symphony in C (1855). Researching the background and listening to the music that itself is parodic in form, inspired my imagination. A big part in moving forward were Bizet’s words to his former teacher Charles Gounod, “You are the cause, I am the consequence”. I started analysing this sentence and decided to base my creation on Sigmund Freud’s theory about identity, ego and super-ego. I have decided to move more towards theatricality and comedy, because I believe that if we were more positive about our behaviour, clumsiness and thoughts, our life would become much simpler. This story is like opening the door to new ways of thinking and understanding, but at the same time it is a chance of shutting the door to things that does not serve us anymore. The name of this evening is “Black / White”, I do not wish to add colours, but brightness”.

“Suite en blanc”
Ballet by Serge Lifar
Music: Édouard Lalo’s ballet “Namouna”
Arranged by Serge Lifar
World premiere on June 19, 1943 in Zurich

Choreographer: Serge Lifar (Ukraine / France)
Stager: Charles Jude (France)
Assistant to the Stager: Stephanie Roublot (France)
Set and Costume Designer: Maurice Moulène (France)
Lighting Designer: Charles Jude (France)

“Suite en blanc” (1943) by Serge Lifar reflects and represents the beauty of French school of dance, aesthetics and academic technicality. This ballet is one of Lifar’s rare plotless ballets designed created to the music of Édouard Lalo. This is a masterpiece created by a Master and it has been performed in world’s leading ballet theatres (Paris, London, Italy, San Francisco, Buenos Aires, Monte-Video). In this ballet, the audience is taken to a journey through the history of French ballet, on a feast of finding and cherishing a perfect movement. This is a short ballet that challenges all ballet companies around the world and being able to have it in the repertoire is an absolute sign of quality, just like the Michelin Star is in the culture of restaurants.

Presented by agreement with Foundation Serge Lifar.