Blue Skin "Blue Skin" is a choreography from 1974. I was 26 years young and a member of John Cranko's Stuttgart Ballet. In this famous company based in Baden-Württemberg, there were dancers of various national and ethnic origins. John Cranko himself was a wayfarer. He was born in 1927 in Rustenburg, South Africa and his young years were marked by "apartheid" and all its terrible consequences. Stuttgart Ballet has had a great and long running tradition. It became a major cultural force under the guidance of Jean George Noverre in the 18th century. However, it celebrated its greatest successes under the directorship of John Cranko who lead the company from 1961 until his tragic death in 1973. The company's immense revival was made possible because of the "economic miracle" of West Germany, which was just recovering from its catastrophic involvement in World War II fueled by antisemitism and racial hatred. In spite of this, there was plenty of optimism and a substantial amount of moral support supplied by the USA and the Western countries of Europe, strenuously claiming the superiority of the capitalist regime over communism. It was the time of the "cold war" in which many impossible things became possible. Even some ex-nazi politicians could find new carreers within the new formed West German democracy. This complacency was sharply criticized and confronted by the anti establishment uprising called "Red army faction". It was an anarchist organization also known as the "Baader-Meinhof group" and I must admit that although I was a refugee who fled the communist regime, I felt a certain degree of sympathy for this movement. But my sympathy finished abruptly when members of this organization killed my Scottish friend Iain Mac Leod. I realized that it was time for Sabine, my wife, and I to leave Germany.
"Blue Skin" was made somewhat earlier - at a time when I was not really concerned with this unsettling political scene. I just left Czechoslovakia and I was happy that I didn't have to put up with any of the restrictions posed by the communist regime. But it was obvious that, even in the early seventies, racial misunderstandings and even hatred still existed. This made a deep impression on me. In spite of that, it was not my intention to create a work criticizing racial divisions. It was designed to make people aware that we all have the same ancestors and that we all are the tenants of the same planet. It was perhaps just my naïve attempt to understand the specific qualities of different ethnic groups. Inevitably, "Blue Skin" lead to my further interest in ethnic cultures and enabled me to visit and explore the culture of the Australian aboriginals. "Blue Skin" is an idealistic work believing in total equality of all inhabitants of this planet. Towards the end of the piece ultraviolet light was projected onto the dancers changing their skin color and making them completely the same and therefore equal. Yes, I am aware that this is a complete "utopia", but I am also aware that "utopia" has an important and valid place within our society. In fact it always did. Without "utopia" we will be deprived of our dreams and without our dreams there will be no future..! Jiří Kylián - May 21, 2020