David Dawson

Voices

World première : 26 September 2021
Staatsballett Berlin
For more information visit www.staatsballett-berlin.de

Choreography David Dawson
Music Max Richter
Choreographic Assistants / 
Raphael Coumes-Marquet
Rebecca Gladstone 
Costume Design Yumiko Takeshima
Light Design Bert Dalhuijsen

Ballet Masters Christine Camillo / Yannick Sempey

 

Created and developed during one of the pandemic’s darkest moments, Dawson, together with his cast, embarked on an introspective journey, allowing a communal spirit of trust come to fruition in the protected, shielded, and safe confines of the rehearsal studio. From this unity, genuine hope arises which in turn is conveyed to the audience as a universal human sentiment as inspired by Max Richter’s composition VOICES (2020). For many years, Max Richter devoted himself to studying the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948, polyphonically paraphrasing the declaration’s opening words: »All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.« These words are the guiding principle to his scenic compositions, counteracting the bleak climate of current global events they were created in with his own future vision of a better and fairer world whose implementation lies in the hands of us all.

‘Max Richter’s profound score of Voices is an incredibly powerful force for positivity and I wanted to try to contribute to that sense of positivity and awareness through the language of dance. The human body. I was inspired to think about the idea of ideals, and that the dance could try to exist beside the music and the text as a third ideal. To begin a search for a sense of complete harmony and beauty. The movement and shape. A new human kind(ness). To capture the essence of the feeling that this piece gives to me. The Sehnsucht.

This work aims to visualise the awakening of a new era where we can try to begin to move forward toward better days and create the world we want to live in. These difficult times that we are experiencing shape us, give us an opportunity to reflect and progress, and help us to see the world again in its truth. This is when change can really happen. I look at our world and see a new energy, a resurgence of authenticity becoming the new normal. It is an evolution, and a new world is being created by a new generation. A new place for humanity to have the chance to be the best it can be as we all learn more about our infinite capacity and potential.’ – David Dawson

VOICES trailer

photo credit: Yann Revazov

photo credit: Filipa Cavaco

photo credit: Paulio Sovari

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