Dutch National Ballet Presents the World Premiere of REQUIEM

Dutch National Ballet presents the world premiere of Requiem, a new ballet by Associate Artist David Dawson set on a new Requiem composed by Gavin Bryars for orchestra, choir and solo vocalists.

David Dawson: "A Requiem is usually for the lives that have already passed - to remember, but I feel this Requiem is also for all of us now, today - to think. I think a lot about the way we treat and relate to our world, and to each other. But it is not a narrative work, it is inspired by the behaviour of the soul and what is pure about being. It is a Requiem for our time."

Gavin Bryars: "This is by far my most personal Requiem. Davids idea to portray dancers as angels, as beings between heaven and earth strongly appeals to me. It is a beautiful image that offers a certain comfort: musicians and singers that make the dancers float through the space."

Requiem will be presented as a double bill together with Citizen Nowhere, the critically acclaimed ballet Dawson created in 2017 for Dutch National Ballet. Dancer Edo Wijnen was nominated for a Dutch Swan award for most impressive dance performance for his role in Citizen Nowhere.

Requiem will be presented in Dutch National Opera & Ballet, in Amsterdam, from Saturday 9 February to Friday 1 March 2019.

David Dawson's Requiem is a monumental new work that explores the essence of faith as a fundamental belief in life. Assuming no answers, Requiem seeks to find the human and spiritual connections between past generations and those of the eternal future. In observation of time and life passing Dawson considers 'what we have learned and what we are leaving behind.' His choreography explores the behaviour of angels and the concept of separating the soul from the body while imagining an existence free from the fear of death. Considering 'the body as a tool for the soul to inhabit its higher self,' Requiem is an acknowledgment that the human miracle exists.

Composer Gavin Bryars and David Dawson studied the impact and structure of earlier requiems for this new composition, but ultimately it, like the choreography, is a product of their own life experiences and personal vision.

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