Crystal Pite on her ballet Flight Pattern (The Royal Ballet)

Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite has been acclaimed as &of the most talented and intriguing choreographers working today&(New York Times). Flight Pattern, created in 2017, is her first work for The Royal Ballet. Critically-acclaimed at its premiere, Flight Pattern is a poignant response to one of the biggest humanitarian crises facing current society. This large-scale ensemble work, which takes a powerful and sombre look at the ongoing refugee crisis, is set to music from Górecki&&of Sorrowful Songs&Górecki&music, often associated with the Holocaust, explores themes of motherhood and the separation of families. Pite gives these themes new meaning in a work that moves from the big picture of displaced communities to focus on the emotions of individuals: the large ensemble cast moves as one body, packed together in tight rows, until one distraught couple are marked out from the crowd through a poignant pas de deux.