David Dawson

Biography

British choreographer David Dawson is one of the leading dancemakers working in classical ballet today. His choreographic style transforms classical ballet in new ways and his signature works have been praised by critics and audiences worldwide. Between 2004 and 2012 he was Resident Choreographer for Dutch National Ballet, Semperoper Ballett and Royal Ballet of Flanders. He has been Associate Artist with Dutch National Ballet since 2015 and in 2025, he was appointed Resident Choreographer with The National Ballet of Canada.

David has received many awards and accolades. He was honoured with the Prix Benois de la Danse Award for choreography for The Grey Area and created Reverence for the Mariinsky Ballet, for which he was awarded the Golden Mask Award, becoming the first British choreographer to create a ballet for this legendary company. He received the Choo San Goh Award for The Gentle Chapters and was nominated for The Golden Swan Award for both 00:00 and Overture. For his re-imagining of Faun(e), he was nominated for the UK Critics’ Circle National Dance Award and the Prix Benois de la Danse Choreography Award. Most recently his Four Last Songs was nominated for the UK Critics’ Circle National Dance Award.

Born in London, David trained at the Rona Hart School of Dance, Arts Educational School and The Royal Ballet School. In 1991, he won the professional prize at the Prix de Lausanne and the same year, he joined the Birmingham Royal Ballet. He went on to perform with English National Ballet, Dutch National Ballet and Ballet Frankfurt before deciding to devote his time to creating his own new works.

David has created over 40 ballets that have been performed in more than 30 countries including his full-length creations of Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, Tristan + Isolde and Giselle. Other significant works include Symphony No.2, Legacy Variations, Affairs of the Heart, Voices, Requiem, Anima Animus, Metamorphosis, The Four Seasons, Citizen Nowhere, Empire Noir, On the Nature of Daylight and his highly acclaimed A Million Kisses to my Skin. 

His creations are part of the repertoires of many companies including Berlin StaatsBallett, Boston Ballet, Ballet National de Marseilles, Bayerisches Staatsballett, The National Ballet of Canada, Dutch National Ballet, English National Ballet, Teatro alla Scala, Lyon Opéra Ballet, National Ballet of Japan, Mariinsky Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Paris Opéra Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet, Ballett am Rhein, Teatro dell Opera di Roma, The Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Stuttgart Ballett and Vienna State Opera Ballet.