Connectome / Raven Girl

Alastair Marriott, choreographer and Principal Character Artist of The Royal Ballet, created Connectome in 2014. He took inspiration from neuroscientist Dr Sebastian Seung’s theories on how personality is determined not by genes but by our neural connections – the map of the brain, or ‘connectome’. Marriott tells the story of a lone woman whose identity is shaped by the connections she makes and her interactions with those around her. Set to music by Arvo Pärt and with spectacular designs by Es Devlin and video designer Luke Halls, Connectome is an elegiac work of loss, in which Marriott’s choreographic language of extended classical ballet yields images of astonishing beauty.

Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet Wayne McGregor created Raven Girl in 2013. For this dark, modern fairytale he collaborated with Audrey Niffenegger, visual artist and award-winning author of The Time-Traveller’s Wife. Together they tell an unsettling tale that looks back to the fairytale ballets of the past but with a distinctly modern psychological depth and elements of surrealism. Gabriel Yared (The English Patient) provides the score, with immersive video designs by Ravi Deepres, gothic-inspired designs by Vicki Mortimer and atmospheric lighting by Lucy Carter and Simon Bennison.

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