Rastlos is a contemporary ballet evening by Staatsballett Hannover that brings together three very different choreographic perspectives on restlessness, uncertainty, vulnerability, and the difficulty of remaining still. Created by Juliano Nuñes, Jiří Kylián, and Lukáš Timulak, the programme approaches the idea of being “restless” through three contrasting works: Moonlight, Double You, and Masculine/Feminine.
Juliano Nuñes‘s Moonlight, created especially for Staatsballett Hannover and premiered in 2020, is set to Ludwig van Beethoven’s monumental Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, Op. 106, the Hammerklavier Sonata. Nuñes places Beethoven’s music, created during a period marked by increasing deafness, isolation, and personal difficulties, against a contemporary choreographic language. The result is a physical and poetic exploration of struggle, tension, and the forces that keep the human body in constant motion.
Jiří Kylián‘s Double You is a solo centred on human vulnerability and the willingness to take risks. The choreography presents life as a precarious balancing act, evoking the image of walking on a thin rope above an abyss while believing that the other side can still be reached. In its concentration on a single body, the piece turns movement into an intimate reflection on courage, uncertainty, and the fragility of existence.
The final work, Lukáš Timulak‘s Masculine/Feminine, approaches restlessness from a more playful perspective. Originally created for Nederlands Dans Theater in 2011, the choreography examines stereotypical ideas of masculinity and femininity through situations that are recognisable, ironic, and often humorous. The contrast between the three works gives the evening a broad spectrum of physical and emotional expression.
Originally presented as an online premiere on 8 November 2020, Rastlos reflects a period in which uncertainty and isolation had become an immediate part of everyday life. The three choreographers respond to this atmosphere from very different angles, creating an evening that moves between turbulence and stillness, intimacy and ensemble energy, seriousness and humour.
