Crystal Pite
Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite is a former company member of Ballet British Columbia and William Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt.
In a choreographic career spanning 35 years, Pite has created more than sixty works for companies such as The Royal Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater, The Paris Opera Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada and her own company Kidd Pivot.. She is known for works that courageously address themes such as trauma, addiction, conflict, consciousness and mortality; her bold and original vision has earned her international acclaim and inspired an entire generation of dance artists.
She is an Associate Artist at three institutions: Nederlands Dans Theater, Sadler’s Wells (London) and Canada’s National Arts Centre. She holds an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Simon Fraser University and is a Member of the Order of Canada.
Jiří Pokorný
Jiří Pokorný is a Czech choreographer based in The Hague, Netherlands. He graduated from the Prague Dance Conservatory in 2000 and went on to dance with Laterna magika in Prague. Three years later, he joined Nederlands Dans Theater 2 (NDT2) in The Hague and continued his career with NDT1. After seven years with the NDT, he joined the Vancouver-based contemporary dance company Kidd Pivot, led by the Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite. Jiří has worked with creators of such renown as Jiří Kylián, Mats Ek, Ohad Naharin, Paul Lightfoot and Sol León. He has performed at prestigious theatres worldwide, including the Paris Opera, Sadler’s Wells in London, Teatro Real in Madrid, Teatro Liceu in Barcelona, Joyce Theater in New York, and many more.
In 2013, Jiří began creating his own works as a freelance choreographer, and since then he has collaborated with companies across Europe and North America. He has created pieces for the NDT, Aterballetto in Italy, Basel Ballet, Nationaltheater Mannheim, Budapest Dance Theatre, Chamber Ballet Prague, North West Dance Project in Portland (US) and Korzo Theater in The Hague, to name but a few.
He has also worked as a dance educator, teaching at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and the Juilliard School in New York, as well as within the Arts Umbrella in Vancouver, the NDT Summer Intensive and the Architanz studio classes in Tokyo.
Jiří directs his own educational programme for young choreographers, the Pioneer Project, at the Korzo Theater in The Hague.
