Online programme book

RESONANCE

Mémoires d’Oubliettes – Jiří Kylián
The Statement – Crystal Pite
Woke up Blind – Marco Goecke

Welkom

Emily Molnar

Dear friends,

A warm welcome to the first NDT 1 programme of the season!

RESONANCE celebrates bold and powerful works from choreographers who are close to our heart. These creations are part of NDT’s history and our ongoing dialogue with artists whose voices continue to inspire our dancers and audiences.

Jiří Kylián’s Mémoires d’Oubliettes (2009) is a work of rare poignancy. His final creation for NDT 1 reflects on memory — what is forgotten, what endures, and how time shapes our sense of reality. With its poetic imagery and Kylián’s unmistakable language, this cherished work returns to the stage after many years, a profound moment for us as a company.

In The Statement (2016), associate choreographer Crystal Pite offers a gripping and chilling boardroom drama. Through razor-sharp gestures and theatrical tension, she explores manipulation, conviction, and the blurred lines between truth and power. Utterly captivating, the piece reveals what often lies beneath the surface of human interaction.

In Woke up Blind (2016), associate choreographer Marco Goecke pairs the soul-stirring voice of Jeff Buckley with his own visceral movement language. Urgent vibrations ripple through the dancers’ bodies as they surrender to Buckley’s soaring vocals and accelerating guitar lines. The result is a world of fragility and longing, timeless in its raw humanity.

Special thanks to Jiří, Crystal, Marco, our wonderful collaborators, dancers, and the entire NDT team — and to you, for being here to share this moment with us.

Enjoy!

Emily Molnar
Artistic Director

'Mémoires d’Oubliettes' - Jiří Kylián. Photo: Joris-Jan Bos.

Cast information

VIEW TONIGHT’S PERFORMING CAST

This performance has one interval and one short break. During the break, between The Statement and Woke up Blind, the audience remains seated in the auditorium.

Mémoires d’Oubliettes

Jiří Kylián

'Mémoires d’Oubliettes' - Jiří Kylián. Dancers: Surimu Fukushi, Yukino Takaura. Photo: Joris-Jan Bos.

STAGED BY
César Faria Fernandes & Lorraine Blouin

MUSIC
Dirk Haubrich (new composition)
Fragmenten uit Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question en Samuel Beckett: Worstward Ho

LIGHT DESIGN
Kees Tjebbes

SET DESIGN
Jiří Kylián, inspired by Yoko Seyama

COSTUMES
Joke Visser

VIDEO DESIGN
Jason Akira Somma

COMPUTERIZED PROJECTION
Tatsuo Unemi, Daniel Bisig

VOICES
Sabine Kupferberg, Jiří Kylián

NDT REHEARSAL DIRECTOR
Tamako Akiyama

WORLD PREMIERE
28 October 2009, Lucent Danstheater, The Hague

DURATION
28 minutes

'Mémoires d’Oubliettes' - Jiří Kylián. Dancers: Scott Fowler, Nicole Ward. Photo: Joris-Jan Bos.

DANCERS

CAST A
Nicole Ward, Scott Fowler, Sophie Whittome, Emmitt Cawley, Yukino Takaura, Surimu Fukushi

CAST B
Genevieve O’Keeffe, Chuck Jones, Paloma Lassere, Theophilus Vesely, Pamela Campos, Conner Bormann

The renewed version of Mémoires d’Oubliettes was made possible in part by Ammodo.

Jiří Kylián

Choreographer

ABOUT THE WORK

“What do we remember? What do we want to forget?”

Kylián’s magnificent farewell piece Mémoires d’Oubliettes (2009), was the last work he created for NDT 1. With nostalgic sounds and whispers, this compelling work references Kylián’s signature style and poetic language, full of elusive emotions. It explores the nature of memory—what is forgotten, what remains, and how time influences our perception of reality. Performing this cherished piece again after all these years is a meaningful moment for us as a company.
It is a gift we hope you’ll enjoy as much as we will.

**Surimu Fukushi ABOUT Mémoires d’Oubliettes:**

“I’m happy to dance a role originally created with Kenta Kojiri. Watching him perform when I was a ballet student sparked my interest in contemporary dance, so this opportunity feels especially meaningful.

I find it both interesting and challenging to move through memories while being present in the moment. There are memories of choreography, rehearsals, physical memories held in my body, and experiences from my entire life.
These can create anticipation and sometimes even lead me into imagined futures.
At the same time, there’s the present moment — body sensations, my dance partner, sound, space, imagery, and the presence of a live audience.
I’m looking forward to experiencing all of this and sharing these slices of time with you.”

Dancer: Surimu Fukushi. Photo: Sacha Grootjans.

Sophie Whittome ABOUT Mémoires d’Oubliettes:

“During the process of learning and interpreting this work, I have thought primarily of time.

This work, to me, is physical poetry. It uses the language of the subconscious to rummage through old and unborn remembrances. In response, I cannot provide anything definitive, but can only unearth several questions and hunches:

I think it is the human condition to oscillate between forgetting and remembering the brutal and clean nature of time.

Time moves quietly and obliterates that which is in her wake. Our small efforts can change the rate at which this occurs, but she is the steady, equalising winner. We rage and fury and sing and love in the face of this fact.

We are sometimes aware of this fact and sometimes we are not.
We are sometimes freed by this fact and sometimes we are not.

In our efforts to remember and be remembered— carve marks into earth, make noise while we can, hone our crafts— are we valiant or pitiful? Both?”

Dancers: Yukino Takaura and Sophie Whittome. Photo: Sacha Grootjans.

The Statement

Crystal Pite

'The Statement' - Crystal Pite. Photo: Rahi Rezvani

STAGED BY
Spencer Dickhaus

ASSISTANT TO THE STAGER
Jon Bond

MUSIC
Owen Belton

PLAYWRIGHT
Jonathon Young

VOCAL PERFORMANCE
Meg Roe, Colleen Wheeler, Andrew Wheeler, Jonathon Young

LIGHT DESIGN
Tom Visser

SET DESIGN
Jay Gower Taylor

COSTUMES
Crystal Pite, Joke Visser

NDT REHEARSAL DIRECTOR
Lucas Crandall

WORLD PREMIERE
4 February 2016, Zuiderstrandtheater, The Hague

DURATION
20 minutes

'The Statement' - Crystal Pite. Dancers: Zenon Zubyk, Anna Bekirova. Photo: Rahi Rezvani

DanCers

CAST A
Scott Fowler, Omani Ormskirk, Zenon Zubyk, Anna Bekirova

CAST B
Conner Bormann, Genevieve O’Keeffe, Barry Gans, Nicole Ishimaru

'The Statement' - Crystal Pite. Dancers: Scott Fowler, Zenon Zubyk, Omani Ormskirk, Anna Bekirova. Photo: Rahi Rezvani

Crystal Pite

Associate choreographer

EXCERPT FROM THE STATEMENT

D
So that must be stated, on the
record, but that doesn’t mean that
it’s the way it happened. Right?
It doesn’t mean that Upstairs
doesn’t know the full extent of
their involvement.

Physical reactions from A, B and C.

B
Okay…

D
Nonetheless, I’m here to get a
statement explaining how your
department acted independently. I
don’t care if it’s the case or not
the case. I get the statement then
we can talk. Then we can deal.
It’s the only way forward.

A
We were tasked with making this
conflict. We were tasked.

B
Wait. Wait!

A
We were told one side would come at
the other –

B
Wait. Wait!

D
This is not helping.

A
And that the two sides were to
“take each other down”. That they
would “cancel each other out” and
that “space would open up”. “For
growth”. That’s the language they
used!

B
Can we take this off record? Can we
take a break?

A
No! I want this stated!

D
Hold on!

A
We were told it was a necessary,
uh, uh, what do you call it?

C
Evil.

A
A necessary evil!

– By Jonathon Young, created with Crystal Pite

'The Statement' - Crystal Pite. Photo: Rahi Rezvani

Jonathon Young

Jonathon is a Canadian theatre artist based in Toronto. He is Playwright-in-Residence with Kidd Pivot, co-founder of Electric Company Theatre, and an award-winning actor who works across Canada in theatre, film, and television.

With choreographer Crystal Pite, Jonathon creates acclaimed productions for Kidd Pivot, including Assembly Hall, Revisor, and Betroffenheit. These works have toured internationally and each received an Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production. Revisor and Betroffenheit were filmed by the *BBC, and Betroffenheit also received the Golden Prague Award and the Rose d’Or in Berlin.

In 2025, Jonathon collaborated with choreographer Guillaume Côte and ballet dancer Sara Mearns to create Don’t Go Home at New York City Center.

Since founding Electric Company Theatre in 1996, Jonathon has co-written and developed more than twenty original productions. His work is known for blending imagination, emotional depth, and theatrical innovation. Jonathon is also a recipient of the UK National Dance Award.

Anna Bekirova ABOUT The Statement:

“On a shiny table Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young display themes of corruption, greed, power, manipulation and control. Some of our most slippery and dark human traits.

What do these cost us? What does it cost us collectively and globally?

In this piece I get to step into a character with a mischievous mind of her own while at the same time being manipulated and controlled to her very fingertips.

Someone seemingly without morality or empathy. How deep do we dig until we hit the inevitable place of the crushing weight of our decisions? How much choice will we have then? And who pays the biggest toll for our actions? Inside this boardroom the answers to these questions seem a distant reality, but I invite you to take a closer look.”

Anna in rehearsal. Photo: Sacha Grootjans

'The Statement' - Crystal Pite. Dancer: Zenon Zubyk. Photo: Rahi Rezvani

Woke up Blind

Marco Goecke

'Woke up Blind' - Marco Goecke. Dancers: Chuck Jones, Barry Gans. Photo: Rahi Rezvani

STAGED BY
Ralitza Malehounova, Nicole Kohlmann

DRAMATURG
Nadja Kadel

MUSIC
You and I written by Jeff Buckley, used by permission of Mary Guibert, Successor-in-Interest to the Estate of Jeff Buckley
The Way Young Lovers Do, performed by Jeff Buckley, written by Van Morrison, Caledonia Soul Music (BMI) and WC Music Corp (ASCAP)

LIGHT DESIGN
Udo Haberland

DECOR AND COSTUMES
Marco Goecke

NDT REHEARSAL DIRECTOR
Francesca Caroti

WORLD PREMIERE
4 February 2016, Zuiderstrandtheater, The Hague

DURATION
16 minutes

'Woke up Blind' - Marco Goecke. Dancers: Nicole Ishimaru, Surimu Fukushi. Photo: Rahi Rezvani

DANCERS

CAST A
Paloma Lassere, Nicole Ishimaru, Chuck Jones, Theophilus Vesely, Barry Gans, Surimu Fukushi, Luca Tessarini

CAST B
Omani Ormskirk, Pamela Campos, Kele Roberson, Alexander Andison, Conner Chew, Emmitt Cawley, Zenon Zubyk

Marco Goecke

Associate choreographer

ABOUT THE WORK

When seeing Woke up Blind (2016), it’s almost impossible not to be swept away by Jeff Buckley’s soulful voice and the intricate, emotionally charged movement of associate choreographer Marco Goecke. With brilliant composition, our dancers are drawn into an acoustic world, surrendering themselves to the unknown like young lovers. Urgent vibrations ripple through their bodies, capturing a raw tension and vulnerability, while Buckley’s guitar licks act as an accelerating heartbeat. Goecke’s Woke up Blind is a timeless work that unveils the essence of our emotions.

'Woke up Blind' - Marco Goecke. Dancer: Luca-Andrea Lino Tessarini. Photo: Rahi Rezvani

Luca Tessarini ABOUT Woke up Blind:

“Woke up Blind was the first piece I stumbled into when I joined NDT 1 – fresh out of the classical ballet world, ten years younger and at least ten fears heavier. Now I return to it from another angle, and it’s like dancing with an old friend who insists on keeping secrets, revealing only what I’m ready to hear.

This work is a storm and a whisper at once. Its challenges are merciless, its essence intoxicating. you can’t simply perform it – you have to surrender, wrestle, reinvent yourself every single time the lights start fading in. And strangely, that reinvention is the gift: freedom disguised as difficulty, a reminder that our artform lives in change. It has to!

What I cherish most is how individuality is not only allowed in Marco’s works, but it’s demanded. He continues to create a space where we can be utterly ourselves while still breathing together as one. We follow a direction, not a dictation. I look around and fall in love with my colleagues over and over again – they are otherworldly, and my admiration for them is permanent, etched into me. I hope this night carries you, for this moment in time, away from the here and now.

and so for ourselves we have been
tonight for you
we dance
reckless and tender
the way young lovers do: goodnight.”

Dancers Pamela Campos and Luca Tessarini. Photo: Sacha Grootjans.

Paloma Lassere ABOUT Woke up Blind:

“When I dance Woke up Blind, it feels like being moved from the inside — where tenderness meets chaos and the music takes over. Jeff Buckley’s voice fills that space between strength and fragility, guiding me through love, surrender, and intensity. Expressing all of this through movement is both emotional and physical — the speed and precision make it a real challenge for the body, demanding presence, control, and total release at once.

I first danced this piece four years ago with another company. Returning to it now feels like rediscovering a part of myself. The choreography is the same, but I am not. I move through it differently, more present, more raw, more true. It touches something deep inside me, where vulnerability becomes strength.

I’m profoundly grateful to Marco Goecke and his team for their trust, kindness, and love. Their presence makes this journey even more alive.”