Press Release: Sadler's Wells & BBC Arts Announce Line Up for all-day Digital Festival Dancing Nation

[Jan McNulty]

 

Monday 14 December 2020

Sadler’s Wells & BBC Arts Announce Line Up for all-day Digital Festival Dancing Nation 

 

Streaming on BBC iPlayer and Sadler’s Wells website throughout the day on Thursday 14 January 2021 

 

 

 

• Fifteen live or pre-recorded performances featured in three hour-long programmes 

• Akram Khan and Natalia Osipova perform together for the first time in Khan’s work Mud of Sorrow: Touch 

• Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures present the choreographer’s seminal 1988 work Spitfire 

• Northern Ballet in a performance of Kenneth Tindall’s new work States of Mind 

• Shobana Jeyasingh Dance revisit Contagion, a timely restaging of this work, reflecting on the coronavirus crisis through the lens of a previous pandemic 

• Performances by a wide range of companies present a snapshot of the British dance scene in all its forms, including Candoco Dance Company, Oona Doherty, English National Ballet, Boy Blue, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Far From The Norm, and Rambert, among others 

• Two new pieces by break-through talent HUMANHOOD premiere during the event 

• Matsena Productions' Shades of Blue is a response in dance to the effects of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement 

• Interviews with dancers and choreographers taking part in include icon of the dance world, Birmingham Royal Ballet's Artistic Director Carlos Acosta  

• Programmes streamed direct to BBC iPlayer in the UK and on Sadler's Wells website worldwide, presented by Brenda Emmanus 

 

#DancingNation 

Today, Sadler’s Wells and BBC Arts announce details of a special new collaboration celebrating the UK’s outstanding dance talent as it returns to the stage, in an all-day digital, live and pre-recorded broadcast, Dancing Nation. 

 

A festival of world-class dance taking place at Sadler’s Wells, Dancing Nation is streamed on BBC iPlayer for audiences in the UK and on Sadler's Wells' website for viewers outside the UK, throughout the day on Thursday 14 January 2021. The event features a series of new works and audience favourites from a diverse and thrilling line up of the UK’ s best-loved dance artists. All performances are staged and filmed in strict compliance with current Covid-19 health and safety guidelines. 

 

The programme includes big-name dancers and choreographers alongside breakthrough talent across ballet, contemporary and hip-hop dance styles, including works from Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, English National Ballet, Royal Ballet principal dancer Natalia Osipova, Boy Blue, Shobana Jeyasingh Dance, Akram Khan, Rambert and more.  

 

Supported by Arts Council England, Dancing Nation features fifteen live or pre-recorded performances, artists inhabiting spaces throughout Sadler’s Wells, across its stages, studios and foyer spaces in an all-day ‘take-over’ of the building. The event will be streamed at three points throughout the day in hour-long segments. Each episode will be hosted by BBC presenter Brenda Emmanus, introducing the performances and interviewing artists. After the initial broadcast, each programme will be available for 30 days on BBC iPlayer for audiences in the UK and on Sadler’s Wells website for those outside the UK, followed by a 90-minute highlights programme which is available for 12 months. 

 

Dancing Nation starts with the first segment streaming live from Sadler’s Wells at 10.30 am GMT on Thursday 14 January, with two more programmes following at 1.30 pm GMT and 4.30 pm GMT. Full programme details for each episode will be released in the new year.  

 

Featured works include: Matthew Bourne’s seminal early piece Spitfire (1988) presented by dancers from his company New Adventures; two of the world’s most celebrated dancers, Akram Khan and Royal Ballet principal Natalia Osipova, performing together for the very first time, in a work inspired by Akram Khan and Sylvie Guillem's critically acclaimed duet, Sacred Monsters;  English National Ballet with Hollow by emerging talent Stina Quagebeur; Candoco Dance Company’s Face In, a contemporary dance piece by Yasmeen Godder which debuted at Sadler’s Wells in 2018; Birmingham Royal Ballet’s recent work Lazuli Sky, choreographed by Will Tuckett, alongside an interview with world-famous ballet luminary and Birmingham Royal Ballet's Artistic Director, Carlos Acosta; Northern Irish choreographer Oona Doherty’s swaggering, award-winning dance-theatre tour de force, Hope Hunt & the Ascension into Lazarus; and Shobana Jeyasingh Dance’s Contagion, a timely restaging of this work through which we reflect on the coronavirus crisis through the lens of a previous pandemic.  

New works and commissions premiered as part of Dancing Nation include: break-through dance company HUMANHOOD’s moon-inspired ORBIS and SPHERA, exploring the relationship and influence of Earth’s satellite on humans; Shades of Blue, from Matsena Productions, a response in dance to the effects of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement; and Northern Ballet’s States of Mind by Kenneth Tindall – a resident artist with the company.  

The programmes also include hip-hop theatre and pop-contemporary works, with dance powerhouse Boy Blue in an extract from their searing Olivier-nominated hit, Blak Whyte Gray; Rambert’s Rouge from choreographer Marion Motin, known in the pop world through her work with artists Christine and the Queens and Dua Lipa; Far From the Norm, blending hip-hop and contemporary dance styles in an extract from their Olivier Award-winning BLKDOG; and hip-hop dance powerhouse Breakin’ Convention, led by Artistic Director Jonzi D, take us off stage with Window Shopping, transforming Sadler’s Wells public spaces with a diverse meeting of popping, voguing, flamenco and ballet performance.  

 

Dancing Nation is part of BBC Arts’ Culture in Quarantine, a virtual festival of the arts rooted in the experience of national lockdown, supporting the UK creative sector during the pandemic with unique commissions and an arts and culture service running across platforms, providing access to arts for all.  

 

Dancing Nation also forms part of Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage, an online programme of performances and workshops for people to watch at home. Since March 2020, it has been enjoyed by audiences all over the world, generating over 5 million video views globally, and enabling Sadler’s Wells to stay connected with audiences throughout the pandemic.   

 

Stephen James-Yeoman, Commissioning Executive, Digital & Festivals: ‘Dance has the ability to captivate and energise; enthral and give us time for reflection. We are delighted to be working together with Sadler's Wells and Arts Council England on Dancing Nation to showcase amazing and thought-provoking work from some of the UK's most respected and talented dancers and choreographers. Throughout this most challenging of years the UK's creative industries continue to innovate to ensure audiences have access to world class culture and BBC Arts is committed to working with those artists and organisations as part of its Culture in Quarantine initiative to bring art and culture into the nation’s homes.’ 

 

Alistair Spalding, Artistic Director and CEO of Sadler’s Wells said: 'We're really looking forward to starting the New Year as we mean to go on, by partnering with incredible artists to bring you world-class performances in Dancing Nation. The event is a showcase of the breadth of dancers and choreographers making work in the UK today, and a celebration of their talent to inspire us to look forward to 2021 with renewed optimism. We hope that audiences all around the world will join with us at points throughout the day to watch the event and enjoy some of the artists and performances we have been missing this year. We thank our partners at BBC Arts and Arts Council England for their continued support, collaboration and commitment to artists and arts audiences, which have made ambitious projects like Dancing Nation possible.’   

 

Notes to Editors 

Sadler’s Wells & BBC Arts present 
Dancing Nation 
Thursday 14 January 2021 
Programmes at 10.30am, 13.30pm and 16.30pm 
BBC iPlayer / Sadler’s Wells website 
bbc.co.uk/iplayer / sadlerswells.com 
Free to view online 

 

 

Dancing Nation is supported by a project grant using public funding from Arts Council England. 

 

How to watch Dancing Nation 

Dancing Nation will be broadcast live on Thursday 14 January 2021 in three, hour-long episodes: 10.30am, 13.30pm and 16.30pm.  

 

 The programmes will be available to UK viewers via BBC iPlayer, and to audiences outside the UK from Sadler’s Wells website at the time of the broadcast.   

 

Audiences can sign-up to receive an email and/or SMS alert which will notify them when Dancing Nation is available to view. Sign up is available at https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/2021/dancing-nation. 

 

 Many of the works performed are excerpts of longer pieces. Audiences can find out more about the works, what inspired them and who created them in an online programme which will be available on the event day.  

 

Dancing Nation Programme  

Akram Khan & Natalia Osipova 
Mud of Sorrow: Touch   

 Two of the world’s most celebrated dancers, Akram Khan and Royal Ballet principal Natalia Osipova, perform together for this first time, using two great classical dance forms, ballet and kathak. This is a re-imagining of a duet from Khan's critically acclaimed collaboration with Sylvie Guillem, Sacred Monsters.   

 

  This powerful work is accompanied by double-bassist Nina Harries, singer Raaheel Husain and an original poem Do You Remember? by Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan.  

 

Concept and Choreography: Akram Khan  
Dancers: Akram Khan and Natalia Osipova  
Musicians: Nina Harries, double-bassist; Raaheel Husain, singer  
Music: U Lamentu di Ghjesù, Corsican folk song. Arranged by Nina Harries
Poem: Do You Remember? Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan  
Sound Design: Sami El-Enany  
Rehearsal Director: Mavin Khoo  

 

Birmingham Royal Ballet    
Lazuli Sky (Excerpt)  
Choreography: Will Tuckett     

Lazuli Sky is a hopeful and regenerative ballet created in 2020 by Will Tuckett. During lockdown, without the distractions of normal everyday living, the creative team were drawn to the open clarity of the sky, wind-shaped landscapes and birdsong. The title, Lazuli Sky, is inspired by the deep, speckled blue of lapis lazuli, the base for one the most precious and expensive colours in a Renaissance painter’s palette, which was used to create the clear blue skies so familiar in the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci. The ballet was premiered and filmed at Birmingham Repertory Theatre, with further performances at Sadler’s Wells in October 2020, in front of a socially distanced audience.  

 

 Music: John Adams (Shaker Loops, Chester Music Limited t/a G.Schirmer o/b/o Associated Music Publishers Inc.)  
Choreography: Will Tuckett  
Design: Samuel Wyer, Nina Dunn  
Video design: Nina Dunn  
Costume design: Samuel Wyer  
Lighting: Peter Teigen  
Sound design: Yvonne Gilbert  
Cast: Damen Axtens, Laura Day, Karla Doorbar, Ryan Felix, Haoliang Feng, Kit Holder, Yu Kurihara, Gus Payne, Emma Price, Tom Rogers, Eilis Small, Yuki Sugiura  
Members of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia: Robert Gibbs (Leader), Vanessa David (First Violin), Mary Martin (Second Violin), Errika Horsley (Viola), Antonio Novais (Cello), Jane Rainey (Cello), Vera Pereira (Bass)  
Conductor: Paul Murphy  

Lazuli Sky is generously supported by Oak Foundation. Birmingham Royal Ballet is extremely grateful to Aud Jebsen for her generous support of Lazuli Sky and for her support of Carlos Acosta’s Directorship of the Company and artistic plans across the 2020/21 season.  

 

Boy Blue  
Blak Whyte Gray   
Choreography: Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy and Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante  

Internationally acclaimed hip hop dance company Boy Blue bring one section of their Olivier-Award nominated work, Blak Whyte Gray. This fierce, bold and galvanising dance work, set to a multi-layered electronic score, reflects themes of identity, oppression and transcendence.  The powerful choreography and staging make for an image-rich production with political bite. 

 

By: Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy and Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante  
Direction and Choreography: Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy  
Direction and Music: Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante  
Lighting: Lee Curran 
Costumes: Ryan Dawson Laight  
Cast: Ricardo Da Silva, Nicole McDowall, Dickson Mbi 

Produced by Boy Blue. Co-commissioned and co-produced by the Barbican. Supported using public funding by Arts Council England 

 

Breakin’ Convention curates 
Window Shopping  

Starting from the outside looking in, popping, voguing, flamenco and ballet dancers welcome you into the building. An introduction to the diverse nature of the Sadler’s Wells experience.  

Dancers: Brooke Miliner, Jonadette Carpio, Noemí Luz, Magdalena Mannion, Mukeni Nel, Michael Oladele, Faye Stoeser, Benjamin Milan  
Costume Designer: Juliet Dodson  
Set Designer: Katharine Nixon  
Makeup Artists: Abbie Miklosz, Alice Platts, Amy Welch, Laura Kilby 

 

Candoco Dance Company  
Face In  
Choreography: Yasmeen Godder 

A sensual and disturbing ode to intimacy and imagination, expressed through striking images interwoven with daring and uninhibited dance. 

 

Set to an urban indie score, this contemporary dance piece invites the audience to bask in this wild fictional world that feels uncomfortably familiar yet strangely distorted. A world that the dancers inhabit with ease: dancing with pleasure, revealing the extreme of themselves and flirting with both the banal and the ridiculous. 

 

Concept, Choreography & Direction: Yasmeen Godder 
Dramaturg: Itzik Giuli 
Set Design: Gareth Green 
Lighting Design: Seth Rook Williams 
Costume Design: Adam Kalderon 
Sound Edit: Nathan Johnson 
Music: The Night by Joe Colley and Jason Lescalleet; Away from my Body by Brandt Brauer Frick (Live); Pretend by The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble feat Emika (Live at Concertgebouw Brugge)  
Dancers: Megan Armishaw, Ben Ash, Toke Broni Strandby, Joel Brown, Mickaella Dantas, Olivia Edgington, Anna Seymour 

This piece is co-commissioned by: Festival Oriente Occidente and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance 

 

English National Ballet  
Hollow  
Choreography: Stina Quagebeur  

In Stina Quagebeur’s contemporary duet Hollow, a couple contend with depression, and the confusion and displacement it causes between them. With fluid, continuous movement, their bodies intertwine, change direction and come into conflict. They are so close, and yet so far away. One is lost in a void, the other lost in their utter powerlessness to help.    

 

Choreography: Stina Quagebeur 
Music: II Bell’Antonio, Tema III, composed by Giovanni Solima and played by Yo-Yo-Ma and Kathryn Stott 
Costume Design: Anthony Lamble (originally designed for Facing Viv) 
Lighting Design: David Richardson  
Performed by: Emily Suzuki and Victor Prigent 
This piece was created for English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer Competition in 2020, produced by James Streeter.  
Hollow was sponsored by Karine Giannamore. 

 

Far From the Norm  
BLKDOG (15-minute excerpt)  
Choreography: Botis Seva 

Commissioned by Sadler’s Wells to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of its current theatre (October 2018), Botis Seva’s BLKDOG went on to win the Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production.  A genre-defying blend of hip-hop dance, this work is a haunting commentary on surviving adulthood as a childlike artist. 

 

Choreographer: Botis Seva 
Creative Producer: Far From The Norm - Lee Griffiths 
Music Composer: Torben Lars Sylvest 
Lighting Designer: Tom Visser 
Costume Designer: Ryan Dawson Laight 
Dancers: Far From The Norm - Victoria Shulungu, Hayleigh Sellors, Jordan Douglas, Joshua Nash, Shangomola Edunjobi and Ezra Owen. 

BLKDOG is co-produced by Far From The Norm and Sadler’s Wells and supported by Arts Council England. 

 

HUMANHOOD   
ORBIS   
Choreography: Júlia Robert and Rudi Cole  

Immerse yourself in a spectacle that will take you beyond the realms of planet Earth. This visually astonishing duet explores the relationship between humankind and the dark side of Earth’s permanent natural satellite, the Moon. Set in the round, Orbis is accompanied by a 360-degree surround sound score. 

 

Choreography, Set Design and Performance: Rudi Cole and Júlia Robert 
Costume Design: Mark Howard 
Music Composition & Sound Design: Iain Armstrong 
 This piece has been commissioned by Without Walls Consortium, Brighton Festival, Norfolk & Norwich Festival and Déda Derby as well as Supported by DanceXchange. 

 

HUMANHOOD  
SPHERA   
Choreography: Júlia Robert and Rudi Cole  

In this visually impactful contemporary dance duet, the dancers explore the relationship between the visible bright side of the moon and humankind; the luminous moonlight that we can see from planet Earth which illuminates our nights. Created during lockdown, SPHERA is a dance of ‘liquid’ bodies that change and morph under the influence of the Moon.  

 

Choreography, Set Design and Performance: Rudi Cole and Júlia Robert  
Costume Design: Júlia Robert and Rudi Cole 
Music Composition & Sound Design: Iain Armstrong in collaboration with Rudi Cole and Júlia Robert 

Supported by RocaUmbert. Funded by Arts Council England 

 

Matsena Productions  
Shades of Blue   
Choreography: Anthony Matsena and Kel Matsena  

When the cries of the people are ignored only chaos ensues. What do we do with these feelings of anger and fear we continue to experience this year due to confinement and isolation? Shades of Blue takes us into the heat of a protest and looks at the effects of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement on a generation that longs for freedom and peace. Shades of Blue is inspired by Geometry of Fear, a work originally commissioned by Messums Wiltshire. 

 

Libretto, Choreography and Direction: Anthony Matsena and Kel Matsena   
Lighting: Ryan Joseph Stafford 
Composed: Lara Agar 
Costume Design: Adam Martin 
Conceptual assistance: Arnold Matsena, Monique Humphreys, Ryan Joseph Stafford and Lara Agar 
Assistant Director: Alex Hermon 
Assistant Choreographer: Arnold Matsena 
Additional Music: Anthony Matsena 
Performers: Alethia Antonia, Harvey Burke-Hamilton, Sekou Diaby, Arnold Matsena, Kel Matsena, Cher Nicolette Ho 

Kindly supported by Riverside Studios.  

 

Matthew Bourne's New Adventures  
Spitfire - an advertisement divertissement  
Choreography: Matthew Bourne 

Before his legendary Swan Lake, Nutcracker! and Cinderella, Matthew Bourne created his first hit, Spitfire (1988). This hilarious work places the most famous nineteenth-century ballet showstopper ‘Pas De Quatre’ in the world of men's underwear advertising.   

 

Both a celebration of male vanity and an affectionate comment on the preening grandeur of the danseur noble, Spitfire was last performed in a 4-man version in 2012 as part of Early Adventures, a triple bill of Bourne’s early works, revived in celebration of New Adventures’ 25th anniversary celebrations. Here it is seen in the expanded 6-man version performed by New Adventures principal dancers, with slightly adapted choreography to suit these socially distanced times. Spitfire is a signature piece for Matthew Bourne and is a celebration of New Adventures’ famous connection with its audiences.  

A New Adventures Production 
 
Director & Choreographer: Matthew Bourne 
Music: Pas de Deux from Don Quixote by Leon Minkus, Solo from La Bayadere by Leon Minkus, Winter Variation 3 - The Hail and Winter Variation 4 – The Snow from The Seasons, Op 67 by Alexander Glazunov 
Costume Designer: Lez Brotherston 
Associate Artistic Director: Etta Murfitt 
Dancers: Will Bozier, Harrison Dowzell, Glenn Graham, Andrew Monaghan, Liam Mower, Dominic North  

 

Northern Ballet    
States of Mind (15-minute excerpt) 
Choreography: Kenneth Tindall   

Inspired by a collection of thoughts, feelings and news headlines from lockdown, this new work is an abstract response through movement to a selection of situations experienced during recent months. 

 

Premiered at Leeds Playhouse in October 2020, States of Mind is the latest creation of Kenneth Tindall, choreographer of Northern Ballet’s Casanova, The Shape of Sound, Geisha and multi-award-winning dance film EGO. 

 

Choreography: Kenneth Tindall 
Assistant: Christelle Horna 
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach, Jacob Ter Veldhuis, Aretha Franklin 
Sound Design: Neill Rigg 
Costume Design: Hannah Bateman 
Dancers: Antoinette Brooks-Daw, Sarah Chun, Minju Kang, 
Kyungka Kwak, Ayami Miyata, Abigail Prudames, Sean Bates, Riku Ito, Gavin McCaig, Kevin Poeung, Joseph Taylor, Matthew Topliss, Lorenzo Trossello 

 

Oona Doherty  
Hope Hunt and the Ascension into Lazarus  

This award-winning solo performance bursts with fury, swagger and humanity. Hope Hunt shatters facades, dismantles stereotypes and finds beauty on the periphery.  

Adopting multiple personas of disaffected male youth, this powerful dance-theatre work created by Oona Doherty, invites audiences to look behind the mask of ego and affectation.  

 

Choreography: Oona Doherty 
Dancer: Sati Veyrunes 
DJ and Car Driver: Rory Moore 
Light Technician: Lisa Marie Barry 
Production and diffusion: Gabrielle Veyssiere  

Music: opening track, composition Katie Richardson; poem, written by Oona Doherty, performed by Neil Brown; song, Northern Ireland Yes, written by Rory Moore performed by Strength NIA; sound film edit mix, Luca Truffarelli 

Supported by: Dance Resource Base, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, The MAC Theatre – Belfast, Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, British Council, Prime Cuts Production. Selected for a European tour by Aerowaves in 2017. 

 

Rambert  
Rouge  
Choreography: Marion Motin   

Marion Motin’s hip hop-influenced style is best known through her work for Christine and the Queens and Dua Lipa’s IDGAF music video. 

 

Rambert’s artistic director Benoit Swan Pouffer invited Marion to create her first work for a contemporary company and in 2019 Rouge was premièred at Sadler’s Wells. The result is fresh and bold, with four-to-the floor beats, tight unison bodies and glorious costumes. 

When your building is burning in the middle of the night, what do you take with you? How does it help you to keep going?  

 

Choreographer: Marion Motin 
Music: Micka Luna  
Costume Design: Yann Seabra  
Lighting Design: Judith Leray 

 

Shobana Jeyasingh Dance  
Contagion    
Choreography: Shobana Jeyasingh   

Created by Shobana Jeyasingh in 2018, Contagion explores the nature and spread of the unseen flu virus which caused the ‘Spanish flu’ pandemic in 1918, and which killed more people than the First World War. 

 

This specially staged version of Contagion, set to an atmospheric soundscape, is inspired by the 1918 virus itself (rapid, strategic and constantly mutating), as well as its devastating effects on the human body and mind. It pays homage to the caring role of women in this time of grief and loss. 

 

Concept, Choreography and Direction: Shobana Jeyasingh  
Set and Costume Design: Merle Hensel 
Lighting Design: Yaron Abulafia  
Video Design: Nina Dunn 
Video Technician: Gillian Tan 
Composer: Graeme Miller 
Production Manager: Richard Owen  
Sound Engineer: Fred De Faye 
Rehearsal Director: Ruth Voon 

Dancers and Creative Collaborators: Jemima Brown, Catarina Carvalho, Antonette Dayrit, Chihiro Kawachi, Rachel Maybank, Emily Pottage, Fukiko Takase, Ruth Voon 

Contagion was co-commissioned by Shobana Jeyasingh Dance and 14-18 NOW. Shobana Jeyasingh Dance is supported by Arts Council England. 

 

About Sadler’s Wells  

Sadler's Wells is a world-leading dance organisation, committed to producing, commissioning and presenting new works and to bringing the best domestic and international dance to UK 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.  

 

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 its Digital Stage. 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 180 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 own productions have toured to some of the most prestigious theatres and festivals around the world, such as the Sydney Opera House, the Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival in New York, and the National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing.  

 

Sadler’s Wells also nurtures the next generation of talent through a range of artist development initiatives including its New Wave Associates programmes, its Wild Card initiative and the National Youth Dance Company. A further 30,000 individuals take part in its learning and engagement programmes each year.  

 

During the Covid-19 crisis, Sadler’s Wells has continued to connect with global audiences through its Digital Stage, an online programme of performances and workshops for people to watch at home. Since 27 March 2020, the programme has been enjoyed by audiences all over the world, generating over 5 million video views globally.  

 

On 29 October 2020, live dance returned to Sadler’s Wells with Birmingham Royal Ballet, in the first performances for socially distanced audiences. Further performances include Christmas dates from Breakin’ Convention and Ballo Arthur Pita. More information about this autumn season and our Digital Stage can be found at https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/list.  

 

Sadler’s Wells is an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation and currently receives approximately 10% of its revenue from Arts Council England. sadlerswells.com.  

 

Sadler’s Wells social media handles:  
Facebook: @SadlersWells 
Twitter: @Sadlers_Wells 
Instagram: @sadlers_wells  
YouTube: Sadler’s Wells Theatre 

 

About BBC Arts 

We believe arts and music make the world a better place by bringing people together through shared experience and understanding, providing a place of inspiration, a means to navigate a complex world and significant health benefits. The BBC is the biggest creator of Arts content and is Britain's creative partner – allowing the UK to experience the very best arts - when they want, how they want: www.bbc.co.uk/arts.  

 

• The nation’s stage: access to arts and culture programming for all through the license fee – we create and showcase more arts and culture than any other broadcaster 
• An Innovator: constantly finding new ways to bring the best quality culture to audiences - working with the Arts sector as partner and acting as a hot-house for new talent 
• Britain’s creative partner: a bold force in the UK creative sector as creator and commissioner, also a platform for new talent 
• An investor in quality: we only present the highest quality Arts and culture programming, crafted by skilled production teams and shared with all audiences 
• Bringing the nation together: like no other we create and amplify moments in Arts and culture, cutting through with a broad audience 

 

About Culture In Quarantine 

BBC Arts’ Culture in Quarantine initiative is an essential arts and culture service across BBC platforms that will keep the arts alive in people’s homes, focused most intensely across BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4, BBC Two, BBC Four, BBC Sounds, BBC iPlayer and www.bbc.co.uk/bbcarts. We are doing this in close consultation and collaboration with organisations like Arts Council England and other national funding and producing bodies.  

 

This arts and culture service includes: 

• Guides and access to shuttered exhibitions, performances or permanent collections in museums, galleries and performance spaces;  
• Ways to experience books with privileged access to authors including a collaboration with the Big Book Weekend amongst other initiatives. 
• Jewels from the archive as well as brand new content ensuring that brand new theatre and dance performances will join with modern classics to create a repertory theatre of broadcast. 
• Participatory offers including masterclasses and ways to enable audiences to create at home through Get Creative 
• Topical arts through Front Row, Front Row Late, Free Thinking and more 
• A fund with Arts Council England to support around 25 artists to create new work 
• A place for arts organisations to share innovations from quarantine and for audiences to discover new things through www.bbc.co.uk/arts  

[Janite]

Sadlers Wells Dance Nation, 3 hours over the day of Thurs 14th Jan, includes BRB, Natalia Osopiva, Shobana Jeyasingh, Akram Kahn, Northern Ballet and so many more.
The link to watch is explained below but seem to be either BBC iplayer or their page and it's available for a month. Free and donations requested.

 

https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/2021/dancing-nation/?fbclid=IwAR0kTVHPSPuuDKrww3Rip2PoJ98RRNZCSbuS9QKdt-UKXZ6brIS0utmMGRY

Edited January 7, 2021 by Janite

[alison]

If you click on the link, you'll find it's now been moved to 28th January - and is no longer live.

[Jan McNulty]

From an email I received earlier from Sadler's Wells:

 

Sadler’s Wells & BBC Arts present Dancing Nation

 

Thu 28 Jan

Dancing Nation was due to be broadcast live from Sadler’s Wells on 14 January 2021. Following the UK government’s announcement that England has now entered ‘lockdown’, Dancing Nation has been pre-recorded, following UK government Covid-security guidance, and will be available to watch from Thursday 28 January. 

 

https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/2021/dancing-nation/?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MKTMMB210108&utm_content=version_A&sourceNumber=26416

 

[alison]

Just opened an old tab on one of my machines, and discovered that parts 1 and 2 of this are still available on iPlayer, and will be for over a year, according to the website.  So there's really no excuse for not watching this - certainly if you're UK-based!

 

The discussion thread is here: