About the work
"Wings and Feathers" is a double bill by the Semperoper Ballett Dresden, premiered on 8 November 2025. It unites "Colossus" by the Australian choreographer Stephanie Lake and "Vertical Road" by the British choreographer Akram Khan. The title "Wings and Feathers" is a quotation from a poem by the Persian mystic Rumi (1207–1273) that inspired Akram Khan's "Vertical Road". Both pieces revolve around the relationship between the individual and the community.
Plot
Stephanie Lake's "Colossus", acclaimed worldwide since its 2018 premiere, is a work of literally colossal proportions: more than 50 students of the Palucca University of Dance and members of the Semperoper Ballett dance together as equals, shaping ever-new, highly complex images out of the mass. Akram Khan's "Vertical Road" (originally 2010, revived in a reworked version in 2023) is a spiritually charged, Rumi-inspired work about the path from the earthly to the transcendent. Stephanie Lake has been Artist in Residence of the Semperoper Ballett since the 2025/26 season.
Cultural significance
The evening brings together two internationally outstanding contemporary choreographers and places the collective power of dance at its centre. With "Colossus" and the involvement of the Palucca University, the Semperoper Ballett underlines its ambition to combine large ensemble formats with talent development; Stephanie Lake's residency anchors one of the most important voices of Australian dance permanently in Dresden. Akram Khan's contribution brings his globally influential fusion of Kathak and contemporary dance to the Dresden stage.