Help getting started
The ballet job market is changing, competition is increasingly fierce and it is getting harder and harder for fresh dance school graduates without experience to find work. Junior companies can help, as we know from several international theatres, for exam-ple NDT2 or the Bayerisches Junior Ballett München. In the Czech Republic, Prague-based Bohemia Balet partly serves this purpose, though any further development in this direction is limited by fi-nancial realities. A more substantial role is being played by Balet NDB 2, founded four years ago at the National Theatre in Brno. In addition to assisting the main ballet ensemble in staging larger ti-tles, they are building their repertoire on the more intimate Reduta Theatre stage. Every season, they produce two mix-bills, where emerging choreographers have an opportunity to showcase themselves alongside experienced resident artists. One only pro-gramme constituted a premiere in the true sense of the word last year, featuring the work of resident choreographers. Those worth mentioning include Radačovský’s Dispute, with music by Yann Tiersen and, notably, Inside, in which Markéta Pimek Habalová tackled Kesey’s One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest with great light-ness and imagery. The twelve-member Balet NDB 2 proved itself to be an energetic and much-need project, packed with excellent young artists. It may not be an isolated case for much longer, since the Moravian Theatre has announced a new international project named Junior Ballet Olomouc for the 2026/2027 season.
At the beginning, peak, and maturing of ballet
When we take a look at the recent Czech ballet season, we see quite the variety, including repertoire classics, original full-length creations, and programmes featuring works by both Czech artists and pro-ven international choreographers. We see safe bets in terms of the productions chosen, but experimenta-tion with less common source materials and forms. However, what last season excelled in was creating space for both emerging artists and experienced artists whose peak may now be behind them. It was also a significant year in that it brought to a close two notable tenures – Lukáš Slavický in České Budějovice and Lenka Dřímalová in Ostrava.
Liliom, choreography: John Neumeier. Czech National Ballet.
Photo: Serghei Gherciu.