A long-awaited revival of Akram Khan’s Kaash, the UK premiere of a piece inspired by Shakespeare’s As You Like It and the world premiere of a new triple bill starring Natalia Osipova are among the offerings audiences have to look forward to as part of Sadler’s Wells’ 2016 spring/summer season.
Olivier Award winner Khan will revive his company’s first full-length work Kaash from 3 to 5 March. First staged in 2002, the piece takes its name from the Hindi word for ‘if only’ and reflects Khan’s quest to build bridges between the worlds of contemporary dance and the Indian classical dance form kathak.
The revival will be closely followed by the UK premiere of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s Golden Hours (As You Like It), which will explore the rhythms and poetic imagery of Shakespeare’s As You Like It on 8 and 9 March.
Award-winning classical ballerina Osipova will star in one of two world premieres taking to the venue’s stage in June. She will appear alongside Ukrainian dancer Sergei Polunin in a programme comprising work by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Russell Maliphant and Arthur Pita from 29 June to 3 July.
Also premiering in June, No Body (7 to 12 June) sees Lucy Carter, Michael Hulls and Nitin Sawhney join forces to create a multi-installation experience exploring lighting, sound and projection.
The venue’s May highlights include works from 2015 Olivier Award winner Crystal Pite and Lucy Guerin, the Australian dance maker behind the Young Vic’s forthcoming production of Macbeth. Guerin will present the world premiere of Tomorrow (10 to 14 May) as part of a triple bill from Rambert, while Pite will follow 2014’s Polaris with Betroffenheit (31 May and 1 June), which draws on themes of loss, trauma, addiction and recovery through a hybrid of theatre and dance.
More world premieres come in the form of English National Ballet’s She Said (13 to 16 April), a programme of three premieres dedicated to choreography by women, BalletBoyz’ Life (20 to 24 April), which features a new commission by Cabaret choreographer Javier De Frutos, Richard Alston Dance Company’s quadruple bill An Italian In Madrid (29 and 30 March) and Michael Keegan-Folan’s In – Nocentes (7 April) performed by the National Youth Dance Company.
Other season highlights include the return of Northern Ballet with 1984 (24 and 28 May) and Tortoise & The Hare (27 May), UK premieres of The 7 Fingers’ Triptyque (1 and 2 April) and the equestrian theatre-inspired Golgota (14 to 21 March), Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch’s “…como el musguito en la piedra, ay si, si, si…” (11 to 14 February) and the Flamenco Festival London (16 to 28 February).
Away from the Islington venue, the Peacock Theatre will welcome the return of ZooNation’s current hit Into The Hoods: Remixed (4 to 21 May) and The Merchants Of Bollywood (24 May to 11 June).
Earlier in the year the West End venue will also play host to the world premiere of tango-inspired dance spectacular Immortal Tango (1 to 19 March), Motionhouse’s multimedia spectacle Broken (6 to 9 April) and the world premiere of London Children’s Ballet’s Little Lord Fauntleroy (21 to 24 April), which brings Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic tale to life for everyone aged three and older.
Other offerings for family audiences include balletLORENT’s Snow White (25 and 26 March, Sadler’s Wells) for ages seven and older, the bold and innovative Digitopia – A Dancing Digital Wonderland (25 and 26 March, Lilian Baylis Studio) for children aged five and older, My First Ballet: Sleeping Beauty (24 March to 2 April, Peacock Theatre), which all play during Sadler’s Wells’ ever popular Family Weekend (25 and 26 March).
For Sadler’s Wells’ full spring/summer programme, visit the venue’s website.