About the work
Gods and Dogs is a one-act ballet by Jiří Kylián, premiered in 2008 (in the version listed here, 2014) and originally created for Nederlands Dans Theater. To music by Beethoven (string quartet) and electronic sounds by Dirk Haubrich, it explores the thin line between normality and madness.
Plot
Gods and Dogs is a plotless, atmospherically dense work for eight dancers. Behind a shimmering curtain of hanging chains, the bodies move in flowing, often abruptly breaking movements that shift between attraction and isolation, control and slipping away. Kylián is concerned with the moment when the familiar tips into the threatening—the question of when behaviour shifts from "normal" to "deviant." A fleetingly appearing dog-like creature heightens the sense of the uncanny.
Cultural significance
Gods and Dogs is among the most haunting late works of Jiří Kylián, one of the most influential choreographers of contemporary dance. The combination of Beethoven's classicism with electronic distortion and Kylián's flowing, precise movement language creates an atmosphere of hypnotic ambiguity. The work belongs to the international repertoire of contemporary companies and exemplifies Kylián's psychologically profound style.