Bella Figura is a contemporary ballet choreographed by Jiří Kylián to music by Lukas Foss, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Alessandro Marcello, Antonio Vivaldi and Giuseppe Torelli.
"[1] Luke Jennings and Deborah Bull wrote, "The dance itself is a series of flicker-book images with every page impeccable – upper bodies sharply torsioned, arms cleaving space, leg-lines racily hyperextended.
"[2] Like many of Kylián's works, Bella Figura makes references to the Baroque, evident in the choreography, music and lighting design, the latter inspired by Caravaggio's chiaroscuro.
[4] In 1995, Kylián, Nederlands Dans Theater's artistic director, was commissioned by NRC Handelsblad's editor-in-chief to choreograph a ballet for the newspaper's 25th anniversary.
[3] Bella Figura features both contemporary compositions by Lukas Foss, and Baroque music, by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Alessandro Marcello, Antonio Vivaldi and Giuseppe Torelli,[2] with sound design by Dick Heuff and Jorn Mineur.