Flight Pattern

Flight Pattern is a one-act contemporary ballet by Crystal Pite, set to the first movement of Henryk Górecki's Symphony No.3. It premiered at the Royal Opera House, London on 16 March 2017, making Pite the first woman to choreograph for The Royal Ballet's main stage in 18 years.[1] The ballet won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production.

This article is about the ballet. For the photographic sculpture installation, see Flight Patterns.
Flight Pattern
ChoreographerCrystal Pite
MusicHenryk Górecki
Premiere16 March 2017 (2017-03-16)
Royal Opera House
Original ballet companyThe Royal Ballet
DesignJay Gower Taylor
Nancy Bryant
Genrecontemporary ballet
Websitewww.roh.org.uk/productions/flight-pattern-by-crystal-pite

Production
Crystal Pite

According to Pite, she started with choosing the music, which was the first movement of Henryk Górecki's Symphony No.3, also known as the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.[2] The symphony is believed to be Górecki's response to the Holocaust, which he had denied. Pite said when she listened to the music, she associated it with the European migrant crisis, for which she was "disappointed" with the international response, and on choreographing a ballet about the crisis, she said it was her "only way of coping with the world at the moment".[1][3]

Flight Pattern is performed by 36 dancers, with no principal dancers, but has a lead couple originated by Marcelino Sambé and Kristen McNally.[3] (Sambé was promoted to principal in June 2019)[4] According to McNally, Pite did not know what ranks the dancers were, and chose the dancers she liked.[5] Jay Gower Taylor and Nancy Bryant were brought to design the sets and costumes respectively.[6]

Flight Pattern was most recently revived in May 2019, with McNally and Sambé reprising their roles.[7] One of the performances was relayed in cinemas and released on a DVD.[8][9]

Critical reviews

Flight Pattern received rave reviews. The Independent commented that "Pite’s skill and authority are remarkable, but her refugees are presented on a single tragic note."[6] The Telegraph said "never more than in the marginally more upbeat, expansive passage that seems to reflect the characters’ miraculously indefatigable optimism."[3] The Guardian wrote that it is a "sombre and deeply affecting work", but noted Pite's style differ from The Royal Ballet's, and questioned "should the company be staging work whose style is so far removed from classical ballet?"[10]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Recipients and nominees Result Ref.
2017 National Dance Awards Best Classical Choreography Crystal Pite Nominated [11]
Outstanding Female Performance (Classical) Kristen McNally Nominated [11]
2018 Laurence Olivier Awards Best New Dance Production Flight Pattern Won [12]
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References
  1. Winship, Lyndsey (28 February 2017). "Crystal Pite on responding to the refugee crisis, working at the Royal Ballet and the purpose of art". Evening Standard.
  2. Friscia, Suzannah (17 March 2017). "Inside Crystal Pite's First Work for The Royal Ballet". Pointe Magazine.
  3. Monahan, Mark (17 March 2017). "Crystal Pite's Flight Pattern is an emotional odyssey that passes in the blink of an eye - Royal Ballet mixed bill, review". The Telegraph.
  4. "The Royal Ballet's Marcelino Sambé promoted to Principal dancer". Royal Opera House. 7 June 2019. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019.
  5. "Kristen McNally". Ballet Association. 4 January 2018.
  6. Anderson, Zoë (19 March 2017). "Flight Pattern, The Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House, London, review: It has immense scale and ambition". The Independent.
  7. Winship, Lyndsey (9 May 2019). "Royal Ballet: Within the Golden Hour / Medusa / Flight Pattern review – monsters and melancholy". The Guardian.
  8. Lansky, Chava (16 November 2018). "Watch The Royal Ballet in Cinemas All Year Long". Pointe Magazine.
  9. "Within the Golden Hour / Medusa / Flight Pattern DVD (The Royal Ballet)". Royal Opera House. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  10. Jennings, Luke (19 March 2017). "Royal Ballet triple bill review – five stars for Crystal Pite". The Guardian.
  11. "2017 National Dance Awards – Announcement of Nominations". DanceTabs. 21 November 2017.
  12. "Olivier Awards 2018: Winners in full". BBC News. 9 April 2018.
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