Crystal Pite's LIGHT OF PASSAGE Returns To The Royal Ballet In February

Light of Passage, Crystal Pite's meditation on safe movement, displacement, community and mortality, returns to the Main Stage of the Royal Opera House this February. 

Pite's first full-length work for The Royal Ballet when it premiered in 2022, Light of Passage is the extension of Flight Pattern which Pite created for The Royal Ballet in 2017. Set to Henryk Górecki's Symphony no 3 (‘Symphony of Sorrowful Songs'), this moving work is a reminder of the power of human connection in turbulent times.  

The Company received the Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production for Flight Pattern in 2018 and a further nomination in the same category for Light of Passage in 2023. This revival follows the return of The Statement by Pite, presented as part of the Encounters programme earlier this Season to great critical acclaim. 

Light of Passage is a multi-generational work and a showcase for the whole Company. The first act focuses upon a large corps of 36 dancers who come together to create Pite's distinctive movement style. In this revival, Royal Ballet Soloist Joshua Junker will make his debut in one of the leading roles, dancing alongside Kristen McNally, Marcelino Sambé and Ashley Dean, who all reprise their roles from the work's premiere in 2022. The second act revolves around the safe protection of children in their journey into adulthood, and the third involves dancers from Sadler's Wells' Company of Elders who explore the passage from life into death. 

Zoi Tsokanou returns to conduct the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in Gorecki's ever-popular Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, with soprano Francesca Chiejina performing as the solo female voice. Light of Passage is enlivened by striking scenic design by Jay Gower Taylor, costume design by Nancy Bryant and lighting design by Tom Visser. 

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