"Falling Angels" by Jiri Kylian

Jiri Kylian's 1989 choreography, Falling Angels', the last piece to his black and white' six-part series ballet, attempts to communicate the concerns surrounding gender roles and to convey the dominant theme of sexuality during the 1980s. Accompanied by Steve Reich’s energetic and moving piece for percussion, with its highly associative title "Drumming Part 1". 'Falling Angels', is multilayered choreographic work which is representative for Jirj Kylian's choreographic style showcasing the socio-historic context of his work.

In 1980 Jiri Kylian created 'Falling Angels' a piece that was made based off of the roles of women in the 1980s and Kylian's personal intent for this small section of works that is part of 'The Black and White Ballet.

' In 1960 he viewed Rambert dance company this inspired him to use more than one style of dance, including folk dance, romantic classical, neoclassical, and parts of jazz making his work 'very eclectic.' These styles are shown in his work 'Falling Angels.' The intent of falling angels is to illustrate a women's attempt to execute perfection but surrender to various phases of the female psyche and aspirations including pregnancy, subduction, birth, motherhood and self- awareness.

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His intent is made evident to the viewers through the deliberate use of eight female dancers illustrating an absence of a male figure within the space.

The purpose of this selected cast is to exaggerate the composer's specific focus on female occupations and expectations within society. His piece is aimed to differentiate from the purity' of dance and performance. This can be seen through the various gestures throughout the work.

The piece begins with a black stage as each performer appears gradually in the light, the positions of the dancers within space allows Kylian to execute the mass of females in which experiencing the severe emotions of exclusion and pressure during the era of change. The performers are situated in separate pools of light, their arms pop up to then break at the elbow to signify the broken wings of a falling angel', exacerbating the distance and exclusion of society.