Munich, March 3, 2026
 
PRESS RELEASE: PREMIERE OF “COMMON GROUND”
A HUMOROUS AND TOUCHING START TO THE 2026 BALLET FESTIVAL WEEK
 
To kick off the Ballet Festival Week, ballet director Laurent Hilaire presents a new triple bill featuring works that all premiered at the Nederlands Dans Theater: Common Ground combines pieces by Jiří Kylián, Alexander Ekman, and Johan Inger. In addition to this premiere, the Bayerisches Staatsballett will present highlights from the 2025-26 season at the National Theatre from March 28 to April 4, 2026, as part of the Ballet Festival Week.

PREMIERE COMMON GROUND

The triple bill Common Ground opens this year's Ballet Festival Week on Saturday, March 28, 2026. Three works will be performed, all of which premiered at the Nederlands Dans Theater in The Hague and showcase the versatility and originality of the dance languages developed and cultivated there. In addition to Jiří Kylián's Bella Figura, works by Alexander Ekman and Johan Inger, which have already received international acclaim, will now make their debut with the Bayerisches Staatsballett.

CACTI

Alexander Ekman's work Cacti, created in 2010, takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the absurdities of today's art and culture market. The work, based on compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven, Joseph Haydn, and Franz Schubert, was created in close collaboration with a string quartet in the ballet studio. The rhythmic interplay between the dance ensemble, a speaking voice, and the musicians forms the score of the piece, which is packed with humor and irony. The Bayerisches Staatsballett is presenting the “XL” version with 27 dancers, which has only been performed in Stockholm und Berlin until now. Ekman's ballet master Ève-Marie Dalcourt is responsible for rehearsals.

IMPASSE

IMPASSE is the French term for a dead end. In a spatially corresponding stage setting, Johan Inger explores how people react to issues such as confinement, peer pressure, loss of identity, and the loss of apparent certainties. To energetic and multi-layered music penned by Ibrahim Maalouf and Amos Ben-Tal, Inger strings together episodes for the 15 dancers that, despite their fundamental hopelessness, are characterized by wit and, above all, hope. In the final rehearsal phase, Johan Inger himself will put the finishing touches to his choreography, which was created in 2020.

BELLA FIGURA

Jiří Kylián's Bella Figura from 1995 sends nine dancers on a journey through time, space, and light. Set to various Baroque music pieces, including works by Antonio Vivaldi and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, the choreographer creates a parable about beauty, aesthetics, and vulnerability that transports the audience into a state of contemplation. The work was already part of the 2025 ballet evening Wings of Memory and now returns to the stage as part of the triple bill Common Ground. While Cacti and IMPASSE mainly showcase group dancers, Bella Figura brings together quite some of the company's principal dancers such as Jakob Feyferlik, Osiel Gouneo, Violetta Keller, and Ksenia Shevtsova on stage.

DATES COMMON GROUND

Saturday, March 28, 2026, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 29, 2026, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 16, 2026, 7:30 p.m.
Monday, April 20, 2026, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 23, 2026, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 25, 2026, 7:30 p.m.

INTRODUCTORY MATINEE COMMON GROUND

On Sunday, March 22, 2026, an introductory matinee at the National Theatre will offer first insights into the new production of Common Ground. Ballet dramaturg Christoph Gaiser will talk with participants in the triple bill about the works and their artistic challenges. Excerpts from the pieces Cacti and IMPASSE will be performed by dancers from the ensemble. The event will be held primarily in English.
 
Sunday, March 22, 2026, 11:00 a.m., Introductory matinee Common Ground
National Theater

THE FURTHER FESTIVAL WEEK PROGRAM

In addition to the two performances of Common Ground, this year's Ballet Festival Week will feature the works La Sylphide, Illusions – like Swan Lake, Onegin and Waves and Circles with corps de ballet and soloists from the Bayerisches Staatsballett, each starting at 7:30 p.m.:
 
Monday, March 30, 2026, Onegin
With: Osiel Gouneo and Ksenia Shevtsova
 
Tuesday, March 31, 2026, La Sylphide
With: Laurretta Summerscales and Jakob Feyferlik
 
Wednesday, April 1, 2026, Waves and Circles
With: Osiel Gouneo in Boléro
 
Thursday, April 2, 2026, Illusions – like Swan Lake
With: Julian MacKay, Maria Baranova, and Elisabeth Tonev
 
Saturday, April 4, 2026, Waves and Circles
With: Jakob Feyferlik in Boléro