PERFORMANCE DETAIL

Mozart’s Requiem is often seen as a symbol of a final ending. Choreographer Lea Bessoudo Greck, however, approaches it differently. For her, the music to which she created Requiem is not a funeral ritual. Here, death is not an end but a chance for renewal—where the body, movement, and music become vehicles of transformation. 

“My main idea is to present Requiem as a journey, a passage from one place to another. It is a transition from a mechanical, cold world to a voluptuous, more relaxed one. At the beginning, we find ourselves in a place where everything truly feels like an end. Through dance, the choreography expresses a transformation into what follows death,” explains choreographer Lea Bessoudo Greck.

The idea of a symbolic threshold is reflected in Bruno Sultan’s set design, in the costumes by visual artist Pavel Knolle, and in the musical concept itself. At first, the Requiem is heard in an unexpected instrumental arrangement; later, the choir joins in. 

“From the beginning, I had a strong and clear image: a door — a portal that allows passage from one world to another. I also imagined a line of people standing in front of that door, waiting as if in a waiting room. This sense of transition or symbolic crossing guided the choreography, the stage design, and the musical arrangement,” adds Lea Bessoudo Greck.

Requiem was created for NDM Ballet’s production More Than Mozart! and will be presented in a world premiere on 5 March 2026.