Archimboldo 2000 Whenever we decide to celebrate a jubilee, we inevitably turn our eyes to the past. We look back in order to critically evaluate our legacy, contemplating about what was, what was not, what could have been or what should have never happened. This could be a sentimental journey – and often it is – but not in our case, because we were blessed with a very diverse, sometimes very turbulent and dramatic past. We look back at a colorful spectrum, a rainbow consisting of sun and rain. Today, there is no time for evaluation of what we have achieved. Today we want to celebrate and leave the evaluation to the future.But I inevitably ask myself one single question: “If you have to give a concise account of what you were trying to do in the last 25 years, what would you say?” My answer is: “We have tried to build bridges”. Bridges over “troubled waters”, bridges inside ourselves, bridges trying to connect people of the most diverse origins... Bridges are such a wonderful symbol of crossing to a new territory, symbol of meeting people from the “other side”. Constructing a bridge is traditionally always a cause for celebration. I cannot omit to mention my feeling of deep sadness when I heard of the catastrophic and deliberate destruction of the famous bridge of Mostar during the Bosnian war in former Yugoslavia. Finally, but probably essentially – we have tried to build bridges between ourselves and our audiences. This production - “Arcimboldo 2000” represents such a crossing. It is a work in which many creative people of all 3 companies of Netherlands Dans Theater took part. In this production, I wished to make clear that the “entertainers” and the “viewers” are covered by one roof and that they share the same space for a while. This was the message I wanted to convey to our audience: this performance was created for you. It was our “present”, not only to the thousands of people who have shown an unbroken support for our art, but also for newcomers. We want to take them on a trip of “initiation”. But, please note – bridges are built for someone, who must make the crossing by himself and of his free will...
This project bears the name of a charismatic artist, wizard, alchemist, and an entertainer of the royal courts of Vienna and Prague. He was originally engaged as portraitist, but soon his diverse talents and interests were discovered, and his tasks and activities have changed accordingly. He became a “royal entertainer” on a grand scale.Being engaged at the royal court of Prague by Rudolf II, the Czech King and Roman Emperor – was certainly the right place for Archimboldo. The surreal atmosphere of Prague under the rule of Rudolf II was legendary. The King’s love for art, alchemy, astronomy, astrology and science was well known (and is very well documented). Accordingly, Prague has become a very important cultural center of Europe. It became a “greenhouse”, not only for art and science, but also for fraud, intrigue and decadence.Arcimboldo must have felt very much at home in this atmosphere. He became the master of ceremony. He was in charge of all royal festivities ordered by the emperor: banquets, tournaments, competitions, fireworks or water games – all devised for pure entertainment.As I mentioned before, our production is designed and should be understood as a present to our public – it should be, and I hope it will be - “Entertainment”. Celebrating this jubilee: 40 years of existence of NDT and my own commitment to this company for 24 years as its artistic director, doesn’t mean only looking back but much more importantly looking into the future.In my eyes, this unique institution should not expand any further, but should always be a sensitive instrument registering even the smallest changes of people’s behavior, social sensitivities and the inexplicable wanderings of human souls. These themes and many others should be carefully examined and portrayed through our art as a mirror of the passing time under the motto: "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery – but today is a gift, that is why we call it “the present”. Jiří Kylián