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This started last night, so I'm starting a thread in case anyone's been to see it.

English National Ballet Creature by Akram Khan Sadler’s Wells, London 23 March – 1 April 2023 www.ballet.org.uk/creature ★★★★★ “Superb… a tight-wound drama that never lets up. [Khan] piles up themes and imagery into a monumental whole, with terrific performances from his cast.” The Independent This spring, English National Ballet presents the return of Akram Khan’s powerful ballet Creature at Sadler’s Wells from the 23 March – 1 April 2023, following performances in London and Chicago. Set in a dilapidated former Artic research station, the Creature has been conscripted by a military brigade to a bold new experimental programme. Here he is tested for his mental and physical ability to adapt to extreme environments, isolation and homesickness; vital qualities in mankind’s proposed colonisation of the ‘final frontiers’ on earth and beyond. Creature is an unearthly tale of exploitation and humanity, inspired by Georg Büchner’s expressionist classic Woyzeck, with shadows of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Drawing on themes of abandonment, loneliness and the fragility of the mind, Creature tells the story of an outsider and the search for belonging. For Creature, Guest Artist and former Lead Principal of English National Ballet, Jeffrey Cirio returns in the title role, a performance which saw him win the Critics Circle National Dance Award for Outstanding Male Classical Performance and included as one of Pointe Magazine’s standout performances of 2022. Following the pivotal impact of Dust and Giselle, Creature is Akram Khan’s third collaboration with English National Ballet and sees him reunited with his renowned creative team including Academy Award-winning designer Tim Yip, lighting designer Michael Hulls, Composer Vincenzo Lamanga and dramaturg Ruth Little. Ahead of its performances at Sadler’s Wells, a filmed adaptation of Creature directed by Academy Award-winner Asif Kapadia (Senna, Amy, The Warrior), opens in cinemas across the UK and Ireland from the 24 February. For further information see www.ballet.org.uk/creature-film. Of Creature Akram Khan said: “I am excited to bring Creature back to Sadler’s Wells this spring. To have many of the original cast members return to perform this work only deepens the experience for both the performer and audience. I’m equally thrilled to collaborate with director Asif Kapadia on making a feature film of Creature, which has been an incredible experience, not just for me, but also for all those involved with the production and will give audiences across the country the opportunity to see the work on the big screen.” Notes to Editors A Co-Production between English National Ballet and Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (OBV) Co-Producer: Sadler’s Wells, London Production Partner: The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater Production Sponsor: Cunard English National Ballet is a National Portfolio Organisation supported by Arts Council England. Ballymore is Principal Building Partner of English National Ballet. About English National Ballet English National Ballet has a long and distinguished history. Founded in 1950 as London Festival Ballet by the great English dancers Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, it has been at the forefront of ballet’s growth and evolution ever since. English National Ballet brings world class ballet to the widest possible audience through performances across the UK and on eminent international stages; its distinguished orchestra, English National Ballet Philharmonic; its digital platforms Ballet on Demand and BalletActive; being a UK leader in creative learning and engagement practice, building innovative partnerships to deliver flagship programmes such as Dance for Parkinson’s; and through talent development initiatives including Ballet Futures which looks to create a more diverse and inclusive future for the artform. English National Ballet continues to add ground-breaking new works to its repertoire whilst celebrating the tradition of great classical ballet, gaining acclaim for artistic excellence and creativity. 2019 saw the Company enter a new chapter in its history with a move to a purpose-built state-of-the-art home in east London, allowing a renewed commitment to creativity, ambition, and connection to more people, near and far, than ever before.

World Premiere announced for Asif Kapadia’s Creature, based on an original concept by Akram Khan English National Ballet is thrilled to announce the world premiere of Creature at this year’s BFI London Film Festival. Based on the original concept and choreography by Akram Khan, Creature is the latest film from Academy Award winning director Asif Kapadia, and will premiere at 3.30pm Saturday 15 October in NFT1 at BFI Southbank. Following BFI Distribution’s acquisition of the UK & Ireland theatrical rights to the film, Creature will then receive its cinema release from Friday 24 February 2023. Based on English National Ballet’s 2021 stage production, Creature is a groundbreaking collaboration between Asif Kapadia, Olivier Award winning choreographer Akram Khan and English National Ballet, produced by Uzma Hasan of Little House Productions. An intense, visceral and haunting film, Creature is a tragic tale of an outsider’s search for belonging, the insatiable desires of the powerful, and the enduring hope found in human connection and compassion. Inspired by Georg Büchner’s seminal play Woyzeck, this vivid cinematic experience sees Jeffrey Cirio, Erina Takahashi and Stina Quagebeur perform in the Principal roles. Tamara Rojo CBE, Artistic Director of English National Ballet, said; “At English National Ballet we aim to make ballet accessible to the widest possible audience, and so I am very proud to be partnering with the BFI on the release of Creature. Working with a fantastic creative team under the direction of Asif was a wonderful opportunity for the Company and we are incredibly excited that people across the country will have the opportunity to see this vital and important work.” Creature is Akram Khan’s third work for English National Ballet, following Dust and his reimagined version of Giselle. It returns to the stage this spring, at Sadler’s Wells, London from Thursday 23 March – Saturday 1 April 2023. Academy Award winning director Asif Kapadia is best known for his trilogy of films exploring the price of fame, Amy, Senna, and Diego Maradona. His debut fiction feature, The Warrior won the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film of the Year. He directed episodes of the Netflix series Mindhunter and the critically acclaimed music series 1971: The Year Music Changed Everything. He also co-directed and exec produced the mental health series The Me You Can’t See, starring Oprah, Prince Harry and Lady Gaga. In 2022 he will create a new four-part series about Camden’s musical history for Disney+. -ENDS- English National Ballet is grateful for the generous grant it has been awarded through the Government's Culture Recovery Fund, which allows it to continue to create, perform and serve its audiences. Notes to Editors English National Ballet is a National Portfolio Organisation supported by Arts Council England. Ballymore is Principal Building Partner of English National Ballet BFI London Film Festival is held in partnership with American Express. About English National Ballet English National Ballet has a long and distinguished history. Founded in 1950 as London Festival Ballet by the great English Dancers Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, it has been at the forefront of ballet's growth and evolution ever since. English National Ballet brings world-class ballet to the widest possible audience through live performances across the UK and on eminent international stages; its digital platforms Ballet on Demand and BalletActive; its distinguished orchestra, English National Ballet Philharmonic; and being a UK leader in creative learning and engagement practice, building innovative partnerships to deliver flagship programmes such as English National Ballet's Dance for Parkinson's. Under the artistic directorship of Tamara Rojo CBE, English National Ballet has introduced ground-breaking new works to the Company's repertoire whilst continuing to honour the tradition of great classical ballet, gaining acclaim for artistic excellence and creativity. 2019 saw English National Ballet enter a new chapter in its history when it moved into a purpose-built state-of-the-art home in east London, Mulryan Centre for Dance, bringing a renewed commitment to, and freedom for, creativity, ambition, and connection to more people, near and far, than ever before. www.ballet.org.uk About Arts Council England Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. We have set out our strategic vision in Let's Create that by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high quality cultural experiences. We invest public money from Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver this vision. www.artscouncil.org.uk Following the Covid-19 crisis, the Arts Council developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package with nearly 90% coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. We are also one of several bodies administering the Government's Culture Recovery Fund and unprecedented support package of £1.57 billion for the culture and heritage sector. Find out more at www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19

The V&A's 2022 Performance Festival runs from 23rd April to 1st May: V&A · V&A Performance Festival 2022 Festival At South Kensington (vam.ac.uk) There's far too much to list everything, but it does include Yorke Dance Project's Connecting to Cohan, live/online talks on "Celebrating Anthony Crickmay, A Life in Photographs" and Akram Khan in conversation, Sondheim and South Asian dance.

After a 2 year delay the long-awaited première of Creature, Akram Khan’s new production dances tonight at Sadlers Wells. I, for one, am very excited.

This opened yesterday evening, I was at the matinee today. I've seen it at every revival and I still find it a mesmerising, raw and powerful piece, perhaps even more than I did when I first saw it. Personally, I find it better not to spend too much time trying to work out the detail of what is happening; it wasn't entirely clear at the premiere and it still isn't. But for me the broad brush of the story line is there and is more than enough to be satisfying. The hypnotic beat of the music (brilliantly played by the ENB orchestra) drives the ballet forward and enhances the sense of raw and ferocious tribal energy in the opening choreography. I love the choreography: there is a frantic intensity for much of the corps in Act 1, but moments of stillness too. In Act 2 the Willis are terrifying, but the final pdd for Giselle and Albrecht is sublime, full of tenderness and forgiveness. I found this afternoon's principle performers simply superb: Giselle (Fernanda Oliveira), Albrecht (Aitor Arrieta), Erik Woolhouse making a stunning debut as Hilarion. The second circle was filled with many young teen school kids and it must be a huge tribute to the quality of the performance to note that even in the quiet moments you could have heard a pin drop (except for a mobile phone going off which I cannot say belonged to the kids) !

Colours International Dance Festival is back in town. After a number of outdoor and interactive events, performances at the Theaterhaus in Stuttgart kicked off last Thursday. Full programme until 14 July here https://www.coloursdancefestival.com/en.html I saw Gauthier Dance in a quadruple bill “Classy Classics” on Saturday, consisting of the following works. Cayetano Soto: Malasangre. Jazzy, funky movements for 5 male and 2 female dancers in varying combinations (all male dancers, all female dancers, pairs, some, all) to Latin Soul music by Cuban singer La Lupe. The men dressed in knee-length skirts and knee-length black socks, the women in flesh-coloured tops and pants and also knee-length black socks. Rhythmic steps, arms stretched out wide, hip shaking. This was fast, energetic, electrifying. William Forsythe: Herman Schmerman Duet. This was the 2nd time that I saw this work, and I got a lot more out of it in terms of deconstruction than the 1st time, with the first part of the piece being closer to classical technique, and moving away a lot further once the dancers wear skirts. Marco Goecke: Aeffi. I love this piece more and more each time I see it. There is so much to discover, and I finally realised that the movements follow the tone and focus of each of the three songs by Jonny Cash. Stunning performance by Theophilus Vesely, and very happy to have seen this piece again. Eric Gauthier: Orchestra of Wolves. This was fun. A conductor’s (a chicken in a black suit) failed attempt to control an orchestra (a number of wolves in black suits). The players sit on desk chairs and initially follow the conductor. As the music progresses, they move closer around him and discuss how they can overpower him, and one of the wolves rubs his (own) tummy as indication that he’s looking forward to a delicious meal. The conductor still just about manages to keep things in order but increasingly, the players do what they want. The conductor flees, returns and briefly gets back in control; he chases off one of the players who then attacks and overpowers the conductor. The piece ends with the wolves plucking the chicken. Ohad Naharin: Decadance. I’d only seen Minus16 by Naharin before so couldn’t tell which of his works the extracts shown had been taken from. A presenter walked on stage and welcomed the audience, asked that mobile phones be switched off, etc. He later came back on stage and asked the audience to stand up. With each question that he read aloud, those who were able to answer the question in the affirmative were invited to sit down. After a few questions, all those who remained standing were invited to sit down, and those whose birthday it was on the day were asked to stand up. This person was invited to come on stage for a short interaction with two dancers (and the woman whose birthday it was did this admiringly well). Later on, a couple in red harem pants went through a mating ritual. Dancers walked to the front of the stage and performed specific movements e.g., falling down and getting up again, certain jumps, etc.- initially replicating the movement of the previous dancer whereas later on, each performed their own movements. Bearing in mind the presenter at the start and in the middle of this piece, this work was like a mini show of its own within the quadruple programme. It was bizarre and it was good to have seen it. The tags for Maguy Marin, Ballet BC and Akram Khan reflect the other companies that I am hoping to see during the festival. Fingers crossed things will work out as expected as two years ago, I had a ticket for Shechter’s Grand Finale, wasn’t able to attend and haven’t been able to see it since.

Gauthier Dance on Saturday night at the Colours International Dance Festival, the Royal Ballet on Sunday afternoon in a cinema broadcast, and to start the weekend, Stuttgart Ballet in a new triple bill “Breath-taking” last Friday evening (ballet & dance events like busses … a bit of a wait followed by three at once?) with works by Itzik Galili, Johan Inger and Akram Khan. Itzik Galili: Hikarizatto was created for the company in 2004. Galili was inspired by the movement of people that he saw when he was in Tokyo – lots of fast movements within constrained spaces and with a mix of light and shadow. The piece thus comes with striking light design that makes the stage resemble a chess board. The dancers perform within light shafts, and when they quickly move to another imagined square on the stage, the light moves there within a split second, too. The remainder of the stage is dark as night. Sometimes the appearance of a new light shaft drives the change of the dancer’s positions on stage whereas at other times, the dancers moving across the stage will drive where the light will go to next. Initially just one female, then one male dancer, followed by several female/ male duos and groups of male & female dancers, further solos, etc. Dancing comes with e.g., female dancers on pointe, high extensions, balances and wriggling bodies in PDDs as well as some group sections that reminded me of some simple centre exercises. All this to fast percussion music, requiring meticulous timing and coordination between musicians, dancers and light technicians. Rhythmic, pulsating, break taking, wow. The ovations didn’t seem to end for this first piece of the evening, even the musicians applauded the dancers, and the light design with its shifting light shafts continued for the curtain calls. Johan Inger: Out of Breath, an addition to the company’s repertoire, and quite a change in atmosphere from Hikarizatto. This piece took its inspiration from the medical complications that occurred during the birth of a child of Johan Inger. And so the centre piece on stage is a curved wall that symbolises the edge between life and death/ that represents life’s challenges and struggles. Even though this is an abstract piece, aspects of events and relationships can be seen. Female dancers in ballet flats now. Some dancers on stage are on their own. A female dancer runs around the wall a number of times until she is held up by a male dancer. There’s a couple that is in a quite passionate state of their relationship. A male dancer tries hard several times to climb the wall and fails every time. The piece ends as a male dancer helps a female dancer reach the top of the wall – has she reached her aim, or is she now truly at the edge of things? This piece was received enthusiastically, too, and in particular the solo violinist received massive ovations. Akram Khan: Kaash, another addition to the company’s repertoire, making Stuttgart Ballet the first company in Germany that performs a work by Akram Khan. The percussion music is played live, supplemented by recorded samples of syllables. Movements switch between fast and slow and between edgy and soft (e.g., arms shaping a flower). Repeatedly lunges to the side with arms swinging from side to side, turns in parallel. Dancers are barefoot and wear long wide black skirts over black trousers, male dancers with bare torsos. At the start, Friedemann Vogel stands still, his back facing the audience, in the midst of the dancers, before he joins in. The work ends with a prolonged solo in complete silence by Vogel. His back is again towards the audience, and he twists and turns his fingers, arms, shoulders, upper body in all possible directions. Statuesque and, it seemed, making every single muscle fibre visible as and when these were activated by his ever-changing twists and turns. Statuesque and spectacular, the whole piece inducing a trance-like atmosphere. Great dancing, superb music played live. Luckily, this programme will feature next season, too. Much looking forward to seeing this triple bill again (just wondering currently how many performances I might look to attend). A preview with extracts of the three works here https://www.ardmediathek.de/ard/player/Y3JpZDovL3N3ci5kZS9hZXgvbzExMzE0MjA/

This opened last night with a stunning first performance. I loved it. More thoughts from me when I've seen other casts.

Thought we might as well use the Poll feature for a change! I'm thinking probably the Rojo/Streeter/Corrales/Quagebeur cast, but open to alternatives. All views welcome, no included, so as to get an accurate idea of potential interest. You can add any comments below.

This just through on the email: http://chinaexchange.uk/events/60-minutes-akram-khan

Have just seen on the BBC news that Akram Khan is creating his first full classical ballet with a new version of Giselle. It is being made for ENB in co-production with Sadler's Wells and the Manchester International Festival and will open in Manchester next year. I can't find anything else about it as yet. Does anyone know more?

Well, tonight was the start of a repeat London run of this programme, at Sadler's Wells. Previous threads on the subject are: Photos from the original 2014 London run: http://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/6470-english-national-ballet-lest-we-forget-london-april-2014/?tab=comments#comment-86727 Discussion of the run itself: http://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/6462-english-national-ballet-lest-we-forget-april-2014/?tab=comments#comment-86645 The 2015 run: http://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/10515-english-national-ballet-lest-we-forget-2015/?tab=comments#comment-141214 And photos therefor: http://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/10520-english-national-ballet-lest-we-forget-september-2015/?tab=comments#comment-141338

Just released by ENB: http://www.ballet.org.uk/media/filer_public/2016/09/08/akram_khan_giselle_principal_casting.pdf

... replete with two different versions of Giselle (Khan/World Premiere ... and the lovely Skeaping) See link here.

I think this may be the wrong place to post this but as this is up and running I will just show you some pictures from yesterday evening's rehearsal. First night is tonight and I will leave comments to the critics, just to say that all three ballets were very dark. Liam Scarlett's No Man's Land Russell Maliphant's - Second Breath Akram Khan's - Dust More pictures on www.johnrossballetgallery.co.uk

Spotted while I was trawling through the tv guide yesterday was a half-hour programme on Akram Khan on BBC4. I think it's this Wednesday at 8 pm, but don't have the details to hand to confirm.

ENB's run of performances at the Barbican Theatre starts tonight: is anyone going? If so, please could you report back on running time and running order (as well as everything else)? Thanks.