Sadler’s Wells has set out plans for its autumn-winter 2017 season, including the return of acclaimed artists Hofesh Shechter, Akram Khan, Carlos Acosta, Wayne McGregor, BalletBoyz and Matthew Bourne.
The season opens in early September (Thursday 7 – Saturday 9 September) with Rosie Kay Dance Company’s 5 Soldiers: The Body Is The Frontline, performed offsite at Yeomanry House, Bloomsbury. In 2008, Birmingham based choreographer Rosie Kay joined the 4th Battalion The Rifles, to watch and participate in full battle exercises, and visited the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre for our Armed Forces. What came of these observations is the award-winning, five-star work, featuring Kay’s trademark intense physical and athletic dance theatre.
Internationally-acclaimed artist Hofesh Shechter has created a new genre: Part dance, part gig, part theatre and wholly original, his work has its own instantly identifiable and entirely unique voice. Grand Finale is the highly anticipated new show from one of the British dance scene’s hottest properties and comes to Sadler’s Wells from Tuesday 12 – Saturday 16 September as part of an extensive world tour.
The rocking 80’s classic musical Footloose (Tuesday 12 – Saturday 30 September) then explodes onto the stage in a specially remastered show starring Gareth Gates and Maureen Nolan. When Ren McCormack finds out his new home has banned dancing and rock ‘n’ roll, it isn’t long before he lets loose total anarchy in the form of cutting edge choreography and iconic hits. You can book your tickets through us here.
After its sensational Olivier Award-winning hit run last year, Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Akram Khan’s reimagining of the iconic ballet Giselle (Wednesday 20 – Saturday 23 September) for English National Ballet returns. This is followed by Debut (Wednesday 27 – Saturday 30 September), which sees Carlos Acosta follow an exceptional career as a ballet star with the launch of his new company, Acosta Danza.
The visionary contemporary choreographer Wayne McGregor has led his company onto ever more radical and challenging innovations. With Sadler’s Wells Resident Company, Company Wayne McGregor, he embarks on his boldest and most intimate collaboration to date in Autobiography (Wednesday 4 – Saturday 7 October), as he allows world-leading geneticists to sequence his entire genome.
Saddle up for a journey to the Wild West as a world leader in contemporary circus, Cirque Éloize, blasts back to the West End at the Peacock Theatre with its new show Saloon (Wednesday 4 – Saturday 21 October). The company’s trademark blend of spectacular 5 circus and drama creates the colourful characters swinging through the saloon doors. Never before has a stranger kicked up so much dust.
BalletBoyz are then back with an exciting quartet of new works that demonstrate the range and ability of these versatile dancers. Choreographers Javier de Frutos, Craig Revel Horwood, Iván Pérez and Christopher Wheeldon have teamed up with composers Scott Walker, Charlotte Harding, Joby Talbot and Keaton Henson to create their pieces, which form 14 Days (Tuesday 10 – Saturday 14 October).
Vamos Cuba! (Tuesday 24 October – Saturday 11 November) returns to the Peacock Theatre in late October. Set in the crazy chaos of Havana airport, Vamos Cuba! is an exuberant mix of traditional and modern dance styles including salsa, rumba, cha-cha-cha and reggaeton, with a live band led by Julito Padron and a cast of the hottest dancers Cuba has to offer.
Darbar Festival (Thursday 9 – Sunday 12 November) then comes to Sadler’s Wells to offer a classical dance programme. Specially curated by Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Akram Khan, the programme sits alongside the programme of revered musical masters and new talents of the Indian subcontinent. The festival will continue to present classical Indian music at the Southbank Centre, but along with Sadler’s Wells will also present work at the Barbican Centre for the first time since the festival launched over ten years ago.
Birmingham Repertory Theatre’s The Snowman (Thursday 23 November – Sunday 31 December) returns to the Peacock Theatre to continue its record-breaking 20 consecutive years at the West End venue, before Matthew Bourne returns to Sadler’s Wells with his company New Adventures in Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella (Saturday 9 December – Saturday 27 January 2018), a thrilling love story reimagined in London during the Second World War.
Other highlights of the season include Shobana Jeyasingh Dance’s reimagined ballet Bayadère – The Ninth Life (16-17 October), Lyon Opera Ballet’s Trois Grandes Fugues (19-20 October), Jasmin Vardimon’s Pinocchio (27-28 October), Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Aladdin & Arcadia (31 October-4 November) and the return of Itzik Galili’s party piece A Linha Curva (21-25 November) for Rambert.
In the Lilian Baylis Studio, audiences can look forward to highlights including the arresting dance experiment On The Habit Of Being Oneself (28-29 September), Jan Martens’ new work RULE OF THREE (19-20 October), Pepa Ubuera and Josefina Camus’ Ellipsis Land (2-3 November) and Arthur Pita’s magical dance theatre show The Little Match Girl (13-24 December).
Tickets for the Autumn / Winter 2017 season are on public sale from Monday 22 May. The full season brochure can be viewed here or, for more information, visit the venue’s website.