Natalia Osipova
Pure Dance WORLD PREMIERE
Wednesday 12 - Sunday 16 September
Superstar ballerina Natalia Osipova returns to Sadler’s Wells with a hand-picked programme that combines classical ballet and contemporary repertoire, featuring a very special guest.
American Ballet Theatre principal David Hallberg will join Osipova in both Antony Tudor’s Leaves Are Fading, and a brand new and specially commissioned work by Alexei Ratmansky.
The evening also includes Israeli choreographer Roy Assaf’s Six Years Later and a new work by Iván Pérez created for this programme.
“A spirit of joy, of technical bravura, of sheerest delight” Financial Times on Natalia Osipova
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo THE PEACOCK
Tuesday 11 - Saturday 22 September 2
The award-winning all-male comedy ballet company, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (simply “The Trocks” to their friends) storms back to The Peacock with two programmes of side-splitting send-ups and hilarious homages to classical ballet.
Programme A includes Swan Lake (Act II), Trovatiara and The Little Humpback Horse. Programme B features Les Sylphides, Napoli and Raymonda’s Wedding.
Dark Field Analysis UK PREMIERE
Wednesday 12 - Friday 14 September
A rising name known for creating striking sensorial illusions, Jefta van Dinther draws on the intensity of being alive by placing us in relation to other forms of life. Organic blends with synthetic, human with animal. A conversation about blood unfolds between two naked men, serving as an analogy for looking inwards and outwards: into and beyond ourselves.
English National Ballet
Lest We Forget
Thursday 20 - Saturday 29 September
To commemorate 100 years since the end of the First World War, English National Ballet revives its “moving and ambitious” (The Independent) triptych reflecting the experiences of those who fought, and those who stayed behind.
The programme features works by two Sadler’s Wells Associate Artists: Russell Maliphant’s Second Breath and Akram Khan’s award-winning Dust. Also presented is Liam Scarlett’s No Man’s Land, an evocative piece that intertwines the destinies of the soldiers and munition workers.
“True to its title – it stays with you long after curtain-down” Daily Telegraph
New English Ballet Theatre THE PEACOCK
The Four Seasons / Remembrance
Thursday 27 - Saturday 29 September
A visual and musical feast of passion, hope and remembrance in a new ballet double bill. The Four Seasons is dynamically recomposed by Jenna Lee in a bold, stylish ballet and Remembrance is choreographed by world-renowned Wayne Eagling. Inspired by the story of Dame Marie Rambert’s life during the Great War, this ballet commemorates the armistice and is set to Handel’s Ode for St Cecilia’s Day played live by The English Concert.
Taj Express THE PEACOCK
Tuesday 2 - Saturday 20 October
Vaibhavi and Shruti Merchant’s glitzy Bollywood extravaganza is set to dazzle once more as it returns to The Peacock. Featuring music by Academy Award-winning composer A.R. Rahman, and Bollywood composers, Salim and Sulaiman Merchant and Monty Sharma, Taj Express showcases a fusion of classical Indian and contemporary dance in a celebration of the world’s most prolific film industry.
William Forsythe A Quiet Evening of Dance WORLD PREMIERE
Thursday 4 - Saturday 6 October
William Forsythe is one of the foremost choreographers of his generation. For this unusual configuration of new and existing work, Forsythe creates an intimate, pure evening of choreography, stripped down to its essence. The works range from sparse analytic condensation to baroque-inspired counterpoint. The intricate phrasing of the dancers’ breath is the primary accompaniment for a distillation of the geometric origins of classical ballet.
The evening is performed by seven of Forsythe’s most trusted collaborators who promise to provide insight into the workings of ballet and the mind of the man who has dedicated his work to this task.
A Quiet Evening of Dance is nominated for the FEDORA - VAN CLEEF & ARPELS Prize for Ballet 2018
Young Associates LILIAN BAYLIS STUDIO
Mixed Bill WORLD PREMIERE
This exciting mixed bill is the first opportunity to see the work of the inaugural Young Associates, Sadler’s Wells’ new programme that aims to both celebrate and support young artists under the age of 25, as they embark on their choreographic careers.
In their Sadler’s Wells debuts, burgeoning choreographers Anthony Matsena, Wilhelmina Ojanen, Ruby Portus and Christopher Thomas showcase the innovative talent and original voices that mark them out as ones to watch.
Julie Cunningham / Alesandra Seutin / Botis Seva
Reckonings WORLD PREMIERE
Thursday 11 - Saturday 13 October
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the current theatre, Sadler’s Wells presents three commissions by a new generation of UK based dance-makers: Julie Cunningham, Alesandra Seutin and Botis Seva.
Julie Cunningham recently launched Julie Cunningham Company after 15 years of dancing with the renowned Merce Cunningham Dance Company and Michael Clark Company. Alesandra Seutin founded Vocab Dance Company in 2007 and has been making work, performing and teaching internationally for over a decade. Botis Seva and his collective Far From the Norm have previously performed at Sadler’s Wells with Breakin’ Convention, and curated a Wild Card evening. Using the foundations of hip hop, Seva has created a physical dance language of his own.
Reckonings showcases distinctive voices who help us see the world in a different light.
Dance Umbrella
Dimitris Papaioannou
The Great Tamer
Tuesday 16 & Wednesday 17 October
Trained at the Athens School of Fine Arts, Dimitris Papaioannou draws on the Greek classics and his visual arts background in this investigation of life and death.
Inspired by the words of Homer and the work of the old masters, from El Greco to Rembrandt, Papaioannou builds macabre still lifes, dreamlike images and nightmarish creations with 10 performers, magical stagecraft and a shifting floor. Papaioannou’s return to Dance Umbrella, following Primal Matter in 2016, marks his first of two works to be performed at Sadler’s Wells, with his New Piece I for Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch in February 2019.
“Exquisite food for the senses. Addictive to the eye” El País
Jasmin Vardimon
Medusa
Monday 22 - Wednesday 24 October
Jasmin Vardimon Company celebrates its 20th anniversary year with Medusa, a new production reflecting on the powerful feminine symbol, the myth and its connotations in our contemporary life.
Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Jasmin Vardimon’s work looks at the gendered historical significance and the philosophical idea of “reflection” associated with the snake-haired gorgon. Inspired by the coast of Spain where the word “medusa” means jellyfish, Medusa will also explore the environmental fate that awaits our seas. Bringing together an international cast, Vardimon shows off her physical choreographic style in this theatrical piece.
Dein Perry's Tap Dogs THE PEACOCK
Tuesday 23 October - Saturday 10 November
Dein Perry's multi award-winning Tap Dogs returns to the London stage, showcasing high voltage, rugged, raw talent.
The global smash hit has appeared in over 330 cities on six continents and has been seen live by over 12 million people. A worldwide television audience of over 3.4 billion saw 1,000 Tap Dogs performing in the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Olympics.
“Positively electrifying” The New York Observer
Birmingham Royal Ballet
Fire & Fury
Tuesday 30 & Wednesday 31 October
In this double bill, Birmingham Royal Ballet returns to Sadler’s Wells with The King Dances, in which David Bintley reimagines ballet’s first searing steps, taken by King Louis XIV of France as he danced the role of the sun god.
In his new work for the company, Juanjo Arqués draws inspiration from Turner’s The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons in a ballet that looks at contemporary political conflict.
“A regal performance with heart and dazzle” The Guardian on The King Dances
Birmingham Royal Ballet
La Fille mal gardée (The Wayward Daughter)
Thursday 1 - Saturday 3 November
In Frederick Ashton’s country tale, Lise and her mother clash in a foot-stomping, cabbage-throwing battle of wills. Lise wants to marry her penniless sweetheart. Her shrewd
mother prefers the prospects of the umbrella-obsessed Alain, a rich landowner’s son.
This comic ballet is filled with dancing chickens, a ribbon dance, clog-dancing and a Shetland pony.
“Sweet and funny and replete with set-pieces” The Sunday Telegraph
Matthias Sperling LILIAN BAYLIS STUDIO
Now That We Know
Thursday 1 & Friday 2 November
What will change if science discovers how our bodies give rise to our minds? Choreographer and performer Matthias Sperling furthers his investigation into the relationship between mind and body in a performance lecture exploring a hypothetical future in which this connection is clarified.
Originally presented in 2016, this work of science fiction takes a choreographic perspective in freely imagining plausible, absurd, thrilling or worrying scenarios. It will be accompanied by a symposium with invited speakers to launch the “Institute of Neurochoreography”.
Rambert
Two
Tuesday 6 - Saturday 10 November
Made up of some of the world’s most exhilarating early career dancers, Rambert2 presents artistic director of Sydney Dance Company Rafael Bonachela’s E2 7SD, Killer Pig by Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Sharon Eyal and a new creation by Rambert’s guest artistic director Benoit Swan Pouffer.
Alongside this new ensemble are the final London performances of a classic, as Rambert performs Christopher Bruce’s tribute to the victims of political oppression, Ghost Dances.
Aakash Odedra Company LILIAN BAYLIS STUDIO
#JeSuis
Wednesday 7 & Thursday 8 November
Aakash Odedra returns with his first group piece created for an international ensemble of talented young Turkish dancers. #JeSuis explores personal stories of conflict, media manipulation, displacement and identity. Tapping into different dance languages and qualities, this timely, emotive work asks: what makes a home when millions are on the move?
Mark Morris Dance Group & Silkroad Ensemble
Layla and Majnun UK PREMIERE
Tuesday 13 - Saturday 17 November
Crafted by American choreographer Mark Morris in collaboration with Silkroad Ensemble - the musical collective founded by Yo-Yo Ma – and the British artist Howard Hodgkin, Layla and Majnun is based on the Azerbaijani opera by Uzeyir Hajibeyli, the story itself an ancient tragedy of Majnun (meaning “possessed”), driven mad over his love of Layla.
16 dancers tailor their movements to improvised mugham music, sung by the celebrated father and daughter vocalists Alim Qasimov and Fargana Qasimova. Members of Silkroad Ensemble also perform on stage with traditional Asian instruments alongside Western strings and percussion.
***** “One of the most moving dances Morris has made” Financial Times
Wilkie Branson LILIAN BAYLIS STUDIO
TOM WORLD PREMIERE
Set in a hinterland between the civilised world and the wilderness, TOM tells the story of one man’s journey to rediscover who he really is.
TOM is a dance-for-camera installation created by award-winning choreographer, film-maker and New Wave Associate Wilkie Branson. In this new work, Branson explores storytelling using the hip hop language of b-boying, combining it with cutting-edge technologies including animation, projection mapping and sound design.
Darbar Festival 2018
Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 November
Last year, the UK’s annual festival dedicated to Indian classical music expanded its remit to include dance, featuring performances from Sadler’s Wells favourites Akram Khan, Mavin Khoo and Seeta Patel alongside international superstars like Mythili Prakash and Aditi Mangaldas.
With Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Akram Khan once again taking up the mantle as curator of this special programme, Darbar brings the best of classical Indian dance to Sadler’s Wells.
“The festival that opened a window not only on to an art form but on to a worldview” The Guardian
Birmingham Repertory Theatre THE PEACOCK
The Snowman™
Thursday 22 November - Sunday 6 January 2019
Based on the much-loved book and film, The Snowman stage adaptation is now as firm a fixture of Christmas as mince pies and fairy-lights. Swooping back into The Peacock for its 21st consecutive year, this festive show has transported generations of children to a wintery wonderland to discover exquisite dancing, live music – including Walking in the Air – a boy and his magical snowman.
Friendship is kindled as the two embark on a starry-skied adventure to the North Pole, where they meet dancing penguins, Father Christmas, Ice Princess, and escape the clutches of Jack Frost.
Raymond Briggs’ enchanting book celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2018, while the stage show will be performed at Birmingham Repertory Theatre for the 25th consecutive year.
“Go see The Snowman, and melt” The Times
Copyright © Snowman Enterprises Limited 2018. THE SNOWMAN™ is a trademark of Snowman Enterprises Limited.
Nitin Sawhney / Sébastien Ramirez & Honji Wang
Dystopian Dream UK PREMIERE
Tuesday 27 & Wednesday 28 November
Dystopian Dream is created from a concept originated by composer Nitin Sawhney and co-devised with Honji Wang and Sébastien Ramirez. Taking inspiration from threads woven through Nitin Sawhney’s album of the same name, this stage interpretation directed by Wang Ramirez combines choreography, live music and theatre to examine themes of loss, isolation, surrender and continuity. 10
Featuring animated projections by Nick Hillel, costumes by Hussein Chalayan, lighting by Natasha Chivers and set by Shizuka Hariu, Dystopian Dream is performed by Wang Ramirez and singer Eva Stone.
GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui & Antony Gormley
Icon / Noetic UK PREMIERE
Friday 30 November & Saturday 1 December
Led by artistic director Katrín Hall, Swedish contemporary dance company GöteborgsOperans Danskompani’s first visit to Sadler’s Wells brings two UK premieres choreographed by Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, with designs by his regular collaborator, the sculptor Antony Gormley.
In Icon three-and-a-half-tonnes of clay are moulded, heaped and shaped by 18 dancers to the sound of traditional songs from the Amami Islands, French ballads and medieval compositions. In Noetic 19 black-clad dancers manipulate Antony Gormley’s pliable carbon fibre strips in this exploration of noetic (from the Greek “noesis” meaning intellect) philosophy.
New Adventures
Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake
Tuesday 4 December - Sunday 27 January
Swan Lake returns with a fresh look for the 21st century. Retaining the iconic elements of the original, Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Matthew Bourne and award-winning designers Lez Brotherston (set and costumes) and Paule Constable (lighting) will create a re-imagining of the classic production.
Thrilling, audacious and emotive, this Swan Lake is perhaps best known for replacing the female corps-de-ballet with a menacing male ensemble. Collecting over 30 international accolades including an Olivier and three Tony Awards, Bourne’s powerful interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece is a passionate and contemporary Swan Lake for our times.
German Cornejo THE PEACOCK
Tango Fire
Tuesday 29 January - Saturday 16 February 2019
Award-winning Tango Fire returns for its seventh season. Starring a cast of extraordinary tango dancers, including German Cornejo and Gisela Galeassi, accompanied by Tango Fuego Quartet, Tango Fire showcases the history of authentic Argentine tango.
“One of the most stupendous and drop-dead-sexy displays of tango that you are likely to see all year” Daily Telegraph
Gandini Juggling & Alexander Whitley
Spring
Thursday 31 January - Saturday 2 February 2019
Regular participants in the award-winning London International Mime Festival, the “kings of juggling” (Libération) broke countless crockery sets at The Peacock with their Pina Bausch-inspired Smashed: Special Edition in 2016, and collaborated with the bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer Seeta Patel in the Lilian Baylis Studio for Sigma in 2017.
For their Sadler’s Wells stage debut, cult favourite Gandini Juggling joins forces with Sadler’s Wells New Wave Associate Alexander Whitley to create a jubilant work of deconstructed rhythms and patterns. Performing to an original score by Gabriel Prokofiev, five jugglers and four contemporary dancers explore and evolve their respective art forms in this new show.
Sadler’s Wells Sampled
Friday 8 & Saturday 9 February 2019
The world’s best ballet dancers, b-boys and b-girls, tangoers and contemporary dancers gather together for Sadler’s Wells’ annual celebration of dance. Previous shows have seen the likes of New York City Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater 2, Iron Skulls and Paco Peña Flamenco Dance performing an eclectic mix of extracts and short works. 12
Sampled gives dance fans and new audiences alike an opportunity to experience new styles in myriad ways. Come early for the full experience and join in free workshops, classes, live performances and more. For the full line-up, visit sadlerswells.com/sampled
“A brilliant introduction to all that dance can be” The Guardian
Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch
New Piece I / New Piece II UK PREMIERE
Thursday 14 - Monday 25 February
The unmistakable style of Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch was forged over decades performing Pina Bausch’s huge catalogue of works. Following the choreographer’s death in 2009, the company is now ready to embark on the expansion of this repertoire with new works by two choreographers.
New Piece I marks the creation of the company’s first full-length work by a guest choreographer, while also being the first work that Greek choreographer Dimitris Papaioannou has created outside of his own company. Trained as a visual artist, Papaionannou’s work is renowned for its dream-like atmosphere, inhabited by a circus of contorted and absurd creatures.
Norwegian choreographer, director and award-winning playwright Alan Lucien Øyen creates the second new work. As resident choreographer of the Norwegian National Ballet and for his own company winter guests, Øyen seeks to reflect the human experience using dance and text.
Cirque Éloize THE PEACOCK
Hotel UK PREMIERE
Wednesday 20 February - Saturday 9 March 2019
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Canadian contemporary circus crew Cirque Éloize opens the doors to its new show, Hotel. In an art deco grand hotel, tourists and travellers, the famous and infamous, mingle in the 1920s, the 1970s and 2040. Sneak behind closed doors to witness intimate stories, guided by a time-spinning groom and the artful maître d’hôtel.
With 12 acrobats and musicians, and an original score by Éloi Painchaud, Cirque Éloize shows off the company’s trademark blend of circus and drama in a place that never sleeps.
“Astounding” Time Out on Saloon
Yamato THE PEACOCK
Passion
Tuesday 12 - Sunday 31 March 2019
The Japanese taiko drummers of Yamato make their way back to London, bringing with them the Odaiko drums. These traditional drums, used in Shinto rituals, weigh over half a tonne each, requiring exceptional skill and physicality to produce each floor-shaking note.
In creating Passion, the Yamato drummers have been inspired both by their daily commitment to rigorous training, and by their desire for a mutual exchange of energy with the audience, resulting in a display of impressive strength. On stage, they emit an intense passion that resonates in their pounding, high-energy and thunderous performances.
“Primal, exhilarating; you want to do it too” The Times on Chousensha – The Challengers
Tickets for the Autumn/Winter 2018/2019 season are on public sale from Monday 21 May at 9am via www.sadlerswells.com and 020 7863 8000 and in person at 10am. Booking opens to members from Wednesday 16 May at 10am.