This three-part ballet evening, which features works by Hans van Manen, William Forsythe and Jacopo Godani, brings together three generations of choreographers and builds a bridge between the 20^th and 21^st centuries.

One of the luminaries of 20^th-century ballet is Hans van Manen, who will celebrate his 85^th birthday in 2017. With Kammerballett (Chamber Ballet), created in 1995, Ballett Zürich continues its long-standing collaboration with the Dutch choreographer. Set to a musical mix of John Cage, Domenico Scarlatti and Kara Karayev, this choreography, originally created for the Nederlands Dans Theater, also couples cool detachment with elegance, and humanity with wit.

William Forsythe’s Quintett is also considered a classic work of modern ballet. The American choreographer’s undoubtedly most personal work was created in 1993 for his dying wife, the dancer Tracy Kai-Maier, and is not only an epitaph for a great dancer, but also pays homage to dance and to life itself. In counterpoint to the heartbeat of Gavin Bryars’ music, the dancers unleash an energy that is initially slow, but which soon begins to swirl – a seamless flow of duets, solos and trios that combine complexity with exhilaration.

The Italian dancer and choreographer Jacopo Godani danced as a soloist at Frankfurt Ballet under the direction of William Forsythe for many years, and subsequently created choreographies for numerous international companies. In 2015 he took on the inheritance of the Forsythe Company, which he continues to lead as the “Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company” and intends to infuse with a new artistic identity. For the first time, he has now created a world premiere for Ballett Zürich.