Press Release: Sadler's Wells family & children's festival returns this Easter

[Jan McNulty]

Sadler’s Wells Family Weekend

Aracaladanza 
Vuelos
Plus free activities
Sadler’s Wells, EC1R 4TN 
Friday 14 & Saturday 15 April 2017
Performances at 3pm on Friday; and 11am & 3:30pm on Saturday 
Tickets: £18 / Child £12
Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com

Family Weekend, Sadler’s Wells’ annual two-day festival of family-friendly events, returns on Friday 14 & Saturday 15 April 2017. Family Weekend takes over the building, offering something for all ages with fun activities, arts & crafts and workshops complementing the show on the Sadler’s Wells stage: Aracaladanza’s Vuelos. 

Multi award-winning company Aracaladanza returns to the UK with Vuelos, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s quest to make man fly. Choreographer Enrique Cabrera uses Aracaladanza’s trademark style to make dancers canter like horses, make a mess at the dinner table, play with fluttering birds and grow wings of their own.

In the Lilian Baylis Studio, the stage will be transformed into a mystical world by Vanessa Woolf, a professional storyteller. Woolf takes listeners on an adventure with a story inspired by da Vinci’s wish to make man fly. This interactive and engaging story will demonstrate the value of hard work, supported by the loving family bond.

The Lilian Baylis Studio will also host a ceilidh with live music from The Ceilidh Liberation Front, a radical ceilidh band that subverts the ceilidh traditions with its own energetic style. Participants don’t need to know the dances before they come as there will be a ‘caller’ who will explain and demonstrate before each one begins. It’s an opportunity for children and their families to have some fun and dance together to uplifting and inspiring music.

In the foyers, there will be lots of activities to entertain before and after the show. Arts and crafts activities include hat making, origami birds, decorating wooden spoons, stained glass and screen printing sessions.  Casson & Friends will return with their interactive performance The Dance WE Made. This interactive dance performance invites everyone, with or without dance experience, to be choreographers. UK-based dancer and choreographer Tim Casson and The Dance WE Made collaborate with members of the public to devise original choreography which is then made into a dance piece and performed by The Dance WE Made team.

The foyers will all be decorated with designs by artist Anna Bruder, inspired by da Vinci’s work. Bruder will create a world in her signature style; A Line Art. Using a thick black marker pen set against a white backdrop Bruder draws out lines of images. A Line Art style aims to take you to a childlike state of mind by transporting you into a simple black and white illustrated world, with a splash of colour.

The Fox Garden Court café at Stage Door will be open all day serving family-friendly food.

Family Weekend sees the theatre transformed into a magical space for children and their families and is an unmissable jam-packed day out!

“Sadler’s Wells was a playground for kids – and their carers – over the windy Easter weekend. The public areas of London’s top dance house were brimming with activity, from face-painting, storytelling and screen printing to dressing-up games and a tree of dreams” 
Donald Hutera, The Times, on Family Weekend

Age guidance: 5+


The two-day festival adds to the wealth of family dance shows on offer in Spring 2017, including: 
English National Ballet and English National Ballet School: My First Ballet: Cinderella, 11 - 22 April

Northern Ballet: Goldilocks & the Three Bears, 12 May

Breakin’ Convention ’16 International Festival of Hip Hop Dance Theatre, 29 & 30 April

Notes to Editors:

ABOUT SADLER’S WELLS 
Sadler's Wells is a world-leading dance house, committed to producing, commissioning and presenting new works and to bringing the best international and UK dance to London and worldwide audiences. Under the Artistic Directorship of Alistair Spalding, the theatre’s acclaimed year-round programme spans dance of every kind, from contemporary to flamenco, Bollywood to ballet, salsa to street dance and tango to tap.

Since 2005, it has helped to bring over 130 new dance works to the stage and its award-winning commissions and collaborative productions regularly tour internationally. Sadler’s Wells supports 16 Associate Artists, three Resident Companies, an Associate Company and three International Associate Companies. It also nurtures the next generation of talent through research and development, running the National Youth Dance Company and a range of programmes including Wild Card, New Wave Associates, Open Art Surgery and Summer University.

Located in Islington, north London, the current theatre is the sixth to have stood on the site since it was first built by Richard Sadler in 1683. The venue has played an illustrious role in the history of theatre ever since, with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and English National Opera all having started at Sadler’s Wells. Sadler’s Wells is an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation and currently receives approximately 9% of its revenue from Arts Council England.