David Dawson (born 4 March 1972) is a British dancer and
choreographer
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...
who has received numerous honours and awards for his atmospheric and emotionally physical works. His style is based on the vocabulary of classical ballet and, though Dawson disagrees with the association,
his style is often said to be influenced by
William Forsythe.
Education and dance career
Born in London, Dawson began dancing at seven and received his early training at the Rona Hart School of Dance and the
Arts Educational School
Arts Educational Schools, or ArtsEd, is an independent performing arts school in Chiswick, West London, England.
Overview
ArtsEd provides specialist vocational training at secondary, further and higher education level in musical theatre and ...
. He went on to train at the
Royal Ballet School
The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...
,
[ in dance and choreography.
In 1991 he received the ]Alicia Markova
Dame Alicia Markova Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, DBE (1 December 1910 – 2 December 2004) was a British ballerina and a Choreography (dance), choreographer, director and teacher of classical ballet. Most noted for her ...
Award, won the Prix de Lausanne
The Prix de Lausanne () is an international dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland. The competition is for young dancers seeking to pursue a professional career in classical ballet, and many former prize winners of the competition ...
, and was offered a contract by the Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the co ...
. Under the direction of Sir Peter Wright
Sir Peter Wright CBE (born 25 November 1926) is a British ballet teacher, choreographer, director and former professional dancer. He worked as a choreographer and as the artistic director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, a classical ballet company ba ...
, he performed leading roles in classical repertoire as well as in ballets by Sir Kenneth MacMillan
Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Ea ...
, Sir Frederick Ashton
Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue.
Determined to be a dancer despite the oppositio ...
, Sir Peter Wright, and David Bintley
Sir David Julian Bintley (born 17 September 1957) is an English former ballet dancer, the artistic director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, and co-artistic director of the New National Theatre Tokyo ballet company.
Early life
Bintley was born ...
. He was nominated as Best Newcomer of the Season by 'Dance & Dancers' magazine in 1992.
In 1994, he joined the English National Ballet
English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scott ...
under the direction of Derek Deane
Derek Deane (born 18 June 1953) is a British dancer and choreographer.
Biography
Derek Deane was raised in Redruth, Cornwall and trained in the Royal Ballet School. As a dancer, he eventually became a Principal Dancer with The Royal Ballet, la ...
as a soloist. A year later, he moved to Amsterdam to perform with Wayne Eagling
Wayne Eagling (born 27 November 1950) is a Canadian ballet dancer, now retired. After more than twenty years as a popular member of The Royal Ballet in London, he became well known as an international choreographer and company director.
Early li ...
's Dutch National Ballet
The Dutch National Ballet ( Dutch: Het Nationale Ballet) is the official and largest ballet company in the Netherlands. Its forerunners were Ballet Der Lage Landen, Ballet of the Nederlandse Opera, Amsterdam Ballet, and Netherlands Ballet (Nederl ...
. Here Dawson was able to continue dancing in classical productions as well as explore more neo-classical and modern repertoire in the works of George Balanchine
George Balanchine (;
Various sources:
*
*
*
* born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...
, Rudi van Dantzig
Rudi van Dantzig (4 August 1933 – 19 January 2012) was a Dutch choreographer, company director, and writer. He was a pivotal figure in the rise to world renown of Dutch ballet in the latter half of the twentieth century. He was co-director and ...
, and Hans van Manen
Hans Arthur Gerard van Manen (; born 11 July 1932) is a Dutch ballet dancer, choreographer and photographer.
He studied under Sonia Gaskell and Françoise Adret. Van Manen wrote many ballets. He worked for the Dutch National Ballet from 1973 to ...
. Dawson worked with choreographers, and created roles, in new ballets by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Glen Tetley
Glen Tetley (February 3, 1926 – January 26, 2007) was an American ballet and modern dancer as well as a choreographer who mixed ballet and modern dance to create a new way of looking at dance, and is best known for his piece ''Pierrot Lunair ...
, Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1965 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance, which merged with American Ballet Theatre in 1988. She regrouped the compa ...
, Christopher Bruce
Christopher Bruce (born 3 October 1945 in Leicester) is a British choreographer and performer. He was the Artistic Director of the Rambert Dance Company until 2002.
Career
Bruce trained at the Rambert School and became a dancer with the Ram ...
, Wayne Eagling, Ted Brandsen, Mauro Bigonzetti
Mauro Bigonzetti (born 1960) is an Italian ballet dancer and choreographer. He trained at the ballet school of Teatro dell'Opera di Roma and entered their company in 1979.
In 1983 Bigonzetti joined the Reggio Emilia company Aterballetto, renown ...
, Itzik Gallili, Redha, and Christopher D'Amboise.
He eventually joined Ballet Frankfurt where he worked with William Forsythe, and performed for two more years before deciding to devote his time to creating new works.[ Dawson ended his dance career in 2002.][
]
Choreographic career
David Dawson's career in choreography commenced in 1997 when he choreographed his first ballet in collaboration with the Dutch National Ballet. His creative journey was spurred by the then-artistic director, Wayne Eagling, who encouraged him to participate in the company's choreographic workshop. This initial experience laid the foundation for Dawson's inaugural major creation for the company's main stage, "A Million Kisses to my Skin," which premiered in 2000.
Dawson's remarkable talent as a choreographer was soon recognized on the international stage. In 2003, he received the prestigious Prix Benois de la Danse for his outstanding choreographic work. Additionally, he earned a nomination for the UK Critics' Circle National Dance Award in the category of Best Classical Choreographer, thanks to his production titled "The Grey Area." Notably, Dawson became the first British choreographer to craft a ballet, "Reverence," for the Mariinsky (Kirov) Ballet, an achievement that was honored with Russia's highest theater prize for visual art, the Golden Mask Award for Best Choreographer.
Throughout his career, Dawson continued to garner accolades and nominations. He was the recipient of the Choo San Goh Award for Choreography, a testament to his exceptional work in "The Gentle Chapters." Further recognition came with a nomination for the prestigious dance prize of the Netherlands, The Golden Swan Award, as Best Choreographer for "00:00." His reimagining of "Faun(e)" for the English National Ballet's Ballets Russes Festival at Sadler's Wells in London led to nominations for the UK Critics' Circle National Dance Award and the Prix Benois de la Danse Choreography Award in 2010. Notably, David Dawson and his work "Faun(e)" were featured in the BBC documentary titled "For Art's Sake: The Story of the Ballets Russes."
Dawson's impact extended internationally, with numerous ballet creations to his name. His full-length "Giselle" had its world premiere at the Dresden Semperoper, showcasing his versatility and creativity. Among his notable works are "day4," "On the Nature of Daylight," "The World According to Us," "Morning Ground," "Das Verschwundene, The Disappeared," "A Sweet Spell of Oblivion," "dancingmadlybackwards," "timelapse/(Mnemosyne)," and "The Third Light."
Between 2004 and 2012, David Dawson held the role of resident choreographer for three renowned ballet companies: the Dutch National Ballet, the Dresden Semperoper Ballet, and the Royal Ballet of Flanders. His choreographic masterpieces have graced stages in over 25 countries and have been incorporated into the repertoires of numerous ballet companies worldwide.
Creations
*2015 - ''Empire Noir''
*2015 - ''Tristan + Isolde''
*2013 - ''The Human Seasons''
*2013 - ''Opus.11''
*2013 - ''5''
*2013 - ''Overture''
*2012 - ''day4''
*2011 - ''somewhere music is playing...''
*2011 - ''timelapse/(Mnemosyne)''
*2010 - ''dancingmadlybackwards''
*2010 - ''The Third Light''
*2009 - ''Faun(e)''
*2009 - ''The World According to Us''
*2008 - ''Giselle''
*2007 - ''On the Nature of Daylight''
*2007 - ''A Sweet Spell of Oblivion''
*2006 - ''Das Verschwundene, The Disappeared''
*2006 - ''The Gentle Chapters''
*2005 - ''Reverence''
*2004 - ''Morning Ground''
*2004 - ''00:00''
*2002 - ''The Grey Area''
*2000 - ''A Million Kisses to my Skin''
*1999 - ''Psychic Whack''
*1998 - ''Step, Study''
*1998 - ''Scenes from an Interview''
*1997 - ''Born Slippy''
Honours
*2014 - UK Critics' Circle National Dance Nominee as Best Classical Choreographer for the creation of ''The Human Seasons'' (The winners will be announced at a lunchtime ceremony to be held at a central London venue on Monday, 26 January 2015)
*2013 - Golden Swan Award Nominee for Best New Production in The Netherlands for the creation of ''Overture''
* 2010 - Prix Benois de la Danse Choreography Nominee as Best Choreographer for the creation of ''Faun(e)''
*2010 - UK Critics’ Circle National Dance Award Nominee as Best Classical Choreographer for the creation of ''Faun(e)''
*2006 - Golden Mask Award (Russian Federation) Winner as Best Choreographer for the creation of ''Reverence''
*2006 - Choo San Goh Choreography Award Winner for the creation of ''The Gentle Chapters''
*2005 - UK Critics’ Circle National Dance Award Nominee as Best Classical Choreographer for ''The Grey Area''
*2003 - Prix Benois de la Danse Choreography Winner for Best Choreographer for the creation of ''The Grey Area''
*2003 - Golden Swan Award Nominee for Best New Production in The Netherlands for the creation of ''00:00''
*1992 - Best Newcomer of the Season Nominee by Dance & Dancers magazine
*1991 - Prix de Lausanne Winner
*1991 - Alicia Markova Award Winner
References
External links
Official Website
* Британский хореограф Дэвид Доусон (Russian Version)
David Dawson on Twitter
Dutch National Ballet trailer of David Dawson's newest creation timelapse/(Mnemosyne)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, David
British ballet choreographers
Prix de Lausanne winners
Prix Benois de la Danse winners
1972 births
Living people