[2] Jiří Kylián was born in 1947 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, to his father Václav who was a banker and to his mother Markéta, who was as a young teenager a dancer-child protégée.

Here, he encountered one of his mentors, teacher and former dancer Zora Šemberová, "who left a deep mark in Jiří's professional development".

His style included exploration of the limitations and capabilities of space, body parts, entrances and exits, contrasts, and humor.

[7] Aboriginal ceremonial dances are used as blueprints within the work Stamping Ground, which included among its original cast Nacho Duato and Jim Vincent.

The dancers arch their backs and dance expressively, reflecting both the music and the haunting painting that influenced the work.

These duets end up as a large ensemble and then the women are left on the shore, stretching their arms again like birds that cannot fly.

Petite Mort was composed for the 1991 Salzburg Festival on the second centenary of Mozart's death with six men, six women, and six foils.