Qualia

Qualia
2003

Company
The Royal Ballet

Duration
30 minutes

Concept, Direction and Choreography
Wayne McGregor

Original Music
Scanner

Design
Wayne McGregor and Vicki Mortimer

Lighting Design
Lucy Carter

Video
Ravi Deepres

Originally danced by
Christina Arestis, Leanne Benjamin, Helen Crawford, Lauren Cuthbertson, Cindy Jourdain, Laura Morera, Sian Murphy, Samantha Raine, Christina Elida Salerno, Jaimie Tapper, Ricardo Cervera, Paul Kay, Adam Linder, Tim Matiakis, Ernst Meisner, Ludovic Ondiviela, Ivan Putrov, Edward Watson and Thomas Whitehead

Premiere date and venue
3 December 2003, Royal Opera House, London, UK

✮✮✮✮✮
'McGREGOR SEEMS TO PUT HIS DANCERS IN TOUCH WITH A FUTURE THE REST OF US HAVEN'T REALLY GLIMPSED.'

- Judith Mackrell, The Guardian

Qualia, meaning a raw and sensory experience, marked Wayne McGregor's debut on The Royal Opera House stage in London in 2003. The thirty-minute work was performed by The Royal Ballet to great critical acclaim.

Qualia features a sensorial pas de deux, originally created on The Royal Ballet dancers Edward Watson and Leanne Benjamin, that has since been performed at galas around the world including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Italy, Japan, UK, and USA.

Qualia was originally commissioned by The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden.

Images of The Royal Ballet in the original production of Qualia, 2003: Bill Cooper.
Images of Melissa Hamilton and Eric Underwood performing the pas de deux from Qualia at the Youth America Grand Prix 'Stars of Today Meet Stars of Tomorrow' Gala, 2015: © VAM/Visual Arts Masters.