Light of
Passage

The refugee crisis is one of the greatest humanitarian crises of our lifetime. In the award-winning Flight Pattern from 2017, Crystal Pite portrays a human catastrophe, with her distinct language of movement and in a fearless and empathetic manner. Parallel to the expansion of the work from one to three acts, Europe once again finds itself in a situation that was the springboard for Flight Pattern, with millions of people being forced to leave their homes. 

A refugee crisis is also a children’s crisis: every five seconds, a new child is forced to flee. The newly created second act is rooted in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and gives refugee children a voice. The performance space is filled with dancers of all ages from the Norwegian National Ballet. 

Grand, brutal ensemble performance 

Flight Pattern was Pite’s very first work for The Royal Ballet in London. This accomplishment made this Canadian choreographer the first woman in 18 years to choreograph for the ballet house’s main stage when the work premiered in 2017. 

The large-scale ensemble work was met with great enthusiasm among critics and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production. Based on the one-act Flight Pattern, Górecki’s entire ‘Symphony of Sorrowful Songs’ is being danced in a rare Pite full-length production. 

Fearless and empathetic Górecki 

Górecki’s music is often associated with the Holocaust and explores themes about motherhood and the separation of families. Pite gives these themes new meaning in a work that moves from the big picture of displaced communities to focus on the emotions of individuals. The large ensemble cast moves as one body, packed together in tight rows, until one distraught couple is marked out from the crowd through a poignant pas de deux. 

The performance is a co-production with The Royal Ballet in London.