David Bowie’s personas inspire new dance production

A dance production inspired by David Bowie has been announced, featuring new choral arrangements of songs from throughout his career.

Titled Subject to Change: A Dance for David Bowie, it will be choreographed by Spanish choreographer Marcos Morau.

It premieres in Luxembourg in spring 2028, plays Sadler’s Wells in London in autumn 2028 and reaches Tokyo in spring 2029.

The score interweaves Bowie’s songs with choral sounds from around the world and a Spanish vocalist. Morau says in an interview with The Guardian that he wants to explore what happens when Bowie’s songs move to other voices, cultures and generations.

“I like to think that a work of art remains alive as long as we are able to transform it, and that perhaps the best way to remain faithful to Bowie is to dare to change him,” he says.

The structure follows Bowie’s personas, including Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Halloween Jack and the Thin White Duke. Each brought a new sound, a new look and a different physicality.

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The promotional image features the 1973 “Tokyo Pop” jumpsuit that Bowie wore as Ziggy.

On Bowie’s tendency to change up his appearance, Morau said: “Bowie turned change into a way of remaining true to himself. That inspires me deeply. I believe every new work should force us to let go of some certainty. Art shouldn’t serve to confirm who we are, but rather to accept that life transforms us, that we change over time, and that our own contradictions help us grow.”

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Last year, notes for an unfinished 18th-century musical set in London titled The Spectator were reported found in Bowie’s locked New York study after his death in 2016. They have since been donated to the V&A.

Bowie’s persona-driven career ran from ‘Space Oddity’ in 1969 through ‘Aladdin Sane’ in 1973 to the Berlin albums of the late 1970s. It ended with ‘Blackstar’, released on his 69th birthday on January 8, 2016; he died two days later.

Amira Waworuntu is Mixmag Asia’s Managing Editor, follow her on Instagram.

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