Birth-Day.

Summary: Birth-Day was inspired, in part, by Sabine Kupferberg, who is one of the performers, as well as Kylian's wife. The music is by Mozart, and the dancers wear period costumes and wigs. The premise is that this is Sabine's birthday, but for Kylian, there is a dark side to this: another birthday means another year closer to death. Birth-day, then, is unavoidably a piece about ageing and mortality, although it also is a very funny work, as it presents episodes with which any person can identify. A frantic Charlie Chaplin-ish effect was created by having the dancers perform to slowed-down versions of the music, and then returning the music (and the film) to a normal speed. There's an endearingly naughty bed scene for two of the dancers, and another in which two more dancers prepare a birthday cake and become rather abusive. Another episode, set to Mozart's Symphony #33, gives a whole new meaning to "fan dance." Birth-day is haunting, charming, and often laugh-out-loud funny, and so it is a great introduction to Kylian's work. .

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