Masters of Movement

Three choreographers, three visions 

David Dawson, Krzysztof Pastor, and Alexei Ratmansky are three visionary artists, each enriching ballet with their own distinctive style. 

British choreographer David Dawson created Empire Noir (2015) as his first work following his appointment as Associate Artist at Dutch National Ballet. He described it as “about choreography, about dancers and how they relate to one another.” The result is an explosive ballet, centred on the near-manic urgency that can emerge in dreams. A rollercoaster of virtuosity. 

A master choreographer 

The third ballet in Masters of Movement is a European premiere by the world-renowned Russian-Ukrainian-American choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, who has been our second Associate Artist – alongside Dawson – since 2024. Praised by The New York Times as a “stellar, haunting work”, Solitude portrays the isolation of a father following the loss of his child, set against the backdrop of the war between Russia and Ukraine. In a stark, dark setting, bodies exist on the edge, leaning and bending precariously as they struggle to maintain balance. The grief and solitude are palpable from the very beginning in this deeply affecting work set to music by Gustav Mahler.

A new ballet for a large cast 

Like Dawson, Polish choreographer Krzysztof Pastor was a longtime dancer with Dutch National Ballet, where both began their choreographic careers. Both later became resident choreographers before pursuing international success. Pastor now mainly focuses on his role as artistic director of the Polish National Ballet, but is creating a large-scale new work for Dutch National Ballet for the first time since 2014. Refraction explores the idea of the bending and transformation of energy and movement. In the first and third sections, sixteen dancers move together and apart, creating waves that bend, reflect and multiply. In the second section, a duet reflects the hypnotic rhythm of Philip Glass’s Violin Concerto No. 1.