Press Release: Pina Bausch's The Rite of Spring performed by dancers from African countries

[Jan McNulty]

 

UK PREMIERE

Pina Bausch/ Germaine Acogny & Malou Airaudo

Sadler’s Wells, EC1R 4TN 

Sunday 17 - Wednesday 20 May 

Performances at 7:30pm

Tickets: £15 - £75

Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com  

 

 

The Rite of Spring/ common ground[s] receives its UK premiere at Sadler’s Wells from 17 - 20 May. This special two-part programme marks the first collaboration between the Pina Bausch Foundation (Germany), the international centre for traditional and contemporary African dances École des Sables (Senegal) and Sadler’s Wells (UK). The production premieres in Senegal at Théâtre National Daniel Sorano on 25 March, and presents at the open-air Blaise Senghor Culturel Centre (28 March); Wuppertal Opera House (9-12 April); Sadler’s Wells (17-20 May) and Paris’ Théâtre de la Ville (1-21 June), with more to be announced.

 

Pina Bausch’s seminal work, Le Sacre du printemps (1975), is danced by a newly assembled company of dancers from African countries, with rehearsals taking place in Toubab Dialaw at École des Sables. Faithful to Stravinsky’s composition, this monumental work examines unyielding ritual, with the sacrifice of a 'Chosen One' changing the season from winter to spring. 

 

The first part of the evening sees Germaine Acogny, “the mother of contemporary African dance” and founder of École des Sables, unite with Malou Airaudo, an early long-standing member of Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch who performed leading roles in many of Bausch’s pieces, including the Chosen One in The Rite of Spring. Together they create and perform their duet common ground.

 

Germaine Acogny, Founder of École des Sables, said: “For a long time, I have had a connection with Pina and her seminal work The Rite of Spring. When I first saw the piece danced by Paris Opera Ballet, I was highly impressed with the way the dancers performed the choreography so deeply rooted in the earth, despite their classical training. It was then that I thought such a dance would be very well received by an African audience due to the closeness of the theme and African spiritual beliefs. I recognised my own culture within it. Deeply inspired by the work, I have performed My Black Chosen One - Sacre #2 by Olivier Dubois since 2015.  

 

The new duet is a continuation of a conversation I had with Pina. I am very excited that École des Sables and I are a part of this special exchange.”  

 

Salomon Bausch, Executive Director of the Pina Bausch Foundation, said:
“This is the first time, that Sacre is done not with an existing company, but with dancers who came together specifically for this piece. I’m very excited to seeing the impact of their personalities and their diverse dance backgrounds on the piece but also vice versa; how the piece influences the dancers, both, as artists and as human beings. This project is very important to us; I expect it to open our eyes for a new way of thinking about the future of Pina Bausch’s work.

 

I feel a very strong energy between Germaine Acogny and Malou Airaudo, while these two dance legends explore their own histories and literally discover common grounds. Coming from very different dance traditions, they still share so much. The collaboration will also connect to both their schools, the École des Sables and Folkwang University, which will again open new doors.”

 

Alistair Spalding, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Sadler’s Wells, said: 
“I remember having conversations with Pina about the series of productions she had been creating for her company, each inspired by a residency in a different world city, back in 2008. We spoke of the fact that Germaine Acogny’s École des Sables would be an ideal partner for a new work co-produced by Sadler’s Wells, which would have been the first created by Tanztheater Wuppertal in an African country. We arranged a trip to Senegal in the autumn of that year, but Pina’s health began to deteriorate and the trip never happened.

 

Following her death, when Salomon Bausch came to me with the idea of co-producing this programme with École des Sables, he had no knowledge of the original 2008 discussion. This completed a beautiful circle of serendipitous events that is very much in harmony with the spirit of Pina. I am so excited by the opportunity to present such an amazingly unique collaboration not only to Sadler’s Wells’ audience, but to audiences across the world.”

 

A Pina Bausch Foundation, École des Sables & Sadler’s Wells production, co-produced with Holland Festival, Amsterdam; Festspielhaus, St Pölten; Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg and Théâtre de la Ville-Paris.

The project is funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation, the Ministry of Culture and Science of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the International Coproduction Fund of the Goethe Institut and kindly supported by the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch.

 

 

Notes to Editors

 

International Tour

Théâtre National Daniel Sorano, Dakar

25 March

Free entry

Blaise Senghor Culturel Centre, Dakar

28 March

Free entry

Wuppertal Opera House, Germany

9-12 April

Tickets: https://wuppertaler-buehnen.reservix.de/p/reservix/group/329358?

Théâtre de la Ville, Paris

1-21 June

Tickets: https://www.theatredelaville-paris.com/en/spectacles/

 

Further dates are to be announced 

 

ABOUT SADLER’S WELLS

Sadler’s Wells is a world-leading creative organisation dedicated to dance in all its forms. With over three centuries of theatrical heritage and a year-round programme of performances and learning activities, its mission is to make and share dance that inspires us all. 

 

Our vision is to create, through dance, a depth of connection beyond borders, cultures and languages, so we see ourselves in each other. 

 

Audiences of over half a million come to Sadler’s Wells’ three London theatres each year, with many more enjoying its touring productions at venues across the UK and around the world and accessing its content through digital channels. Sadler's Wells commissions, produces and presents more dance than any other theatre in the world, embracing the popular and the unknown. Since 2005, it has helped to bring over 170 new dance works to the stage, many of them involving its 16 Associate Artists, three Resident Companies and four Associate Companies – the most exciting talents working in dance today. 

 

Sadler’s Wells nurtures the next generation of talent through a range of artist development initiatives and reaches over 30,000 annually through its learning and engagement programmes.

 

Located in Islington, north London, Sadler’s Wells’ current building is the sixth to have stood on site since entrepreneur Richard Sadler first established the theatre 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 having all started at Sadler's Wells.

Sadler’s Wells is to open an additional mid-scale venue in east London in 2022. The new space will be at the heart of the East Bank project, a new cultural and education district in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, which will also include BBC, UAL’s London College of Fashion, UCL and the V&A in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution. As well as a 550-seat auditorium, Sadler’s Wells’ new venue will include a choreographic centre and a hip hop theatre academy, the first of their kind in the world to be run by a theatre.

www.sadlerswells.com

 

[RuthE]

Looks like you're having that formatting problem again, Jan...

[Jan McNulty]

2 hours ago, RuthE said:

Looks like you're having that formatting problem again, Jan...

 

Corrected.  It's really weird - it looked fine when I first posted it.