Whereabouts Unknown

Let me share with you a short story, which I think is 
significant for this work:

The last duet is choreographed to the music of Charles 
Yves, entitled “The Unanswered Question”. 

In my opinion, this score is one of the finest musical 
compositions ever written... It stands for the mystery of 
our existence, as well as for the many “Unanswered” 
questions which accompany us from the beginning until 
the end. The choreography was made in one day, and 
the process of its creation was one of the strangest 
professional experiences I have ever had. It was on 
a Sunday, and I must admit that I have always loved 
working on Sundays. The reason for this is simple. It is 
because there is peace and quiet in the building, and 
because we are able to work undisturbed. On Sundays 
you don’t create because you have to, but because 
you want to…. It was on one of these Sundays in 
May 1993 that I have worked with two dancers - 
Jennifer Hanna and Jorma Elo. We have worked for 
many hours, and for most of the time without listening 
to the music. 

Almost for the entire time I had to think of a friend who 
died recently. At the end of the day the piece was 
finished - we ran it for the first time with the music. 
To our amazement, he length of the choreography 
matched exactly the duration of the music. 

	
	
I remember that when the dance finished, it was a very 
emotional moment for all three of us... But my experience 
went far beyond the sheer satisfaction of a well accomplished 
work. 
	
I felt, that the choreography was not made by me, but that 
I was just an instrument whose duty was to make this event 
happen... I found this experience very unusual, because I do 
not belong to any religion, which could have prepared me for 
such eventuality... But, in a strange way, it has much to do 
with my encounter with the Aboriginal people of Australia 
in 1980. There is a line in my work, which often traces the 
'whereabouts' of our existence. love to walk along the traces, 
which old civilizations have left. Artifacts, materials or ancient 
believes speak for themselves in their beauty or ugliness. 
The attempt to travel back into the ancient worlds in order 
to question ours, can be beneficial - May be...

The title of this work is: “Whereabouts Unknown”. This is the 
standard description, written under a painting which is lost 
because of theft, revolutions, wars, ignorance or simple 
negligence. Much of our cultural heritage is lost on daily bases 
and my choreography is just a very small reminder of the fact 
that it might be good to be conscious of our “Whereabouts”. 
At least for the time we live...

                    Jiří Kylián