Press Release: Sadler’s Wells releases a series of four short films by Sadler’s Wells Young Associates, available on Digital Stage now

[Jan McNulty]

Sadler’s Wells releases Introducing the next generation of choreographers, a series of four short films by Sadler’s Wells Young Associates, available on Digital Stage now     Sadler’s Wells today releases Introducing the next generation of choreographers, a collection of four short films created by the Sadler’s Wells Young Associates, available to watch on Digital Stage from today. Made in collaboration with filmmaker Jacob Sutton, the four films are an introduction to the unique perspectives of the current cohort of Young Associates, Olive Hardy, Vidya Patel, John-William Watson and Magnus Westwell. Each of the artists had mentoring support from a Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist to develop ideas for their film. The Sadler’s Wells Young Associates programme is for young choreographers aged 18-24, who are supported by Sadler’s Wells for two years, providing a crucial first step into their career as choreographers.     Taking an organic and improvisational approach to her choreography, Olive Hardy’s piece focuses on the experience of catharsis and the surfacing and release of strong emotion. The piece was developed following a series of creative conversations with Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Michael Keegan Dolan. Born in London and raised in Bristol, Olive Hardy started dancing for Rise Youth Dance and performed with the company for most of her young adulthood, under the direction of Helen Wilson. Her training began at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, and she graduated from London Contemporary Dance School in 2019. She performed in works made by celebrated choreographers Samir Kennedy, Leila McMillan, Rick Nodine and Seke Chimutengwende.     Inspired by the storytelling in Indian classical dance, Vidya Patel’s film is a love letter to her roots in kathak dance with a twist that embraces her own choreographic style. Set against the backdrop of the sounds of nature, the film strips dance down to its bare bones to embrace the natural background and environment. Patel’s film was developed following conversations with Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Kate Prince. Vidya Patel is a Birmingham-based dance artist who received kathak training from Guru Sujata Banerjee. After graduating from the South Asian strand at Centre for Advanced Training dance programme, Patel represented the South Asian category in the Grand Finals of the inaugural BBC Young Dancer 2015 at Sadler’s Wells. She has since performed in international touring works created by critically acclaimed artists Sir Richard Alston, Gary Clarke and Thick & Tight, as well as collaborating with artists including Shammi Pithia and Connor Scott, with commissions by Sampad Arts. She is currently an Associate Artist at Déda and a member of Aakash Odedra 2.     Developed following discussion with Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, John-William Watson’s work focuses on abstracting and playing with everyday, utilitarian and pedestrian movement. Using a surrealist lens, this piece takes inspiration from the elements used in silent film to create an entire world around a story, with an unapologetic commitment to musicality, composition and character. Born in Leeds, John-William Watson began his training at Phoenix Dance Theatre’s Youth Academy and CAPA College. During this time, he was also a member of the National Youth Dance Company for two years; under the artistic direction of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Michael Keegan-Dolan. He then moved Belgium to study at The Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, where he was the Wild Card contemporary finalist in the BBC Young Dancer 2017 competition. Since graduating in 2019, Watson has been working as a freelance dancer and maker in Belgium. Now, back in the UK, he is following his own creative path within the world of absurd and often comedic dance theatre.    Magnus Westwell’s raw and rhythmically driven piece takes us inside the mind of Westwell and how they visualise music. The film has been developed following discussions with Sadler’s Wells Artist Wayne McGregor. Scottish-born interdisciplinary artist, Magnus Westwell, is a graduate of The Dance School of Scotland and Rambert School, where they were the recipient of a scholarship from the Veronica Bruce Memorial Trust, administered by Scottish Ballet. Westwell has choreographed and produced work which has been performed at venues across Europe – their most recent commissions have been shown at ADE (Amsterdam Dance Event), The Lowry, The Silver Building, King's College Chapel and on BBC4. Westwell is currently the resident choreographer with multi-media collective SYNTREX, which works at the intersection between experimental music, movement, and visual art. Alongside playing live violin with artists such as illyr and Malthus, Westwell also creates and mixes their own music, drawing inspiration from their background in traditional Scottish and left-field electronic music.    The Young Associates programme supports Sadler’s Wells mission to nurture the next generation of talent. It was launched in February 2018 and supports early career choreographers, deepening their understanding of their own artistic practice, whilst gaining valuable insight into dance production. The artists receive a tailored programme of professional development and support, including the opportunity to present their work as part of the Sadler’s Wells artistic programme. The inaugural cohort included Anthony Matsena, Wilhelmina Ojanen, Ruby Portus and Christopher Thomas.    Introducing the next generation of choreographers is available to watch for free via Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage here: https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/2021/introducing-the-next-generation-of-choreographers/    Further information on the Young Associates can be found here: https://www.sadlerswells.com/about-us/artists/young-associates/      - ENDS -       NOTES TO EDITORS    About Jacob Sutton   Jacob Sutton, born in Bath, England in 1979, is known for his innovative work in photography and film. He began a career as a fashion photographer in the early 2000’s, making a name for himself with work that celebrated movement and form. His work has been featured in magazines such as New York Times, Vogue and Numéro.    Drawn by the greater narrative and emotional scope of film, he started directing in 2010, finding success with online films such as A-Z of Dance and LED Surfer. The unique tone and energy of this work has led to commissions from brands such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein and Nike.    He is now developing his first feature, spending his time between London and Los Angeles.    About Kate Prince  Kate Prince (Choreographer, Director & Writer) is Artistic Director of ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company, which she founded in 2002. Kate is an Associate Artist at The Old Vic and at Sadler’s Wells, where ZooNation is also a Resident Company.    ZooNation productions include: Into the Hoods (Novello Theatre 2008) which was the West End’s first hip hop dance show, Some Like it Hip Hop (Sadler’s Wells Peacock 2011-13 and UK tour), Groove on Down the Road (SouthBank Centre 2013-14),  ZooNation: Unplugged (Sadler’s Wells 2013), The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party (Royal Opera House Linbury Studio 2014 and the Roundhouse 2016), Into the Hoods: Remixed (Sadler’s Wells Peacock 2015-16 and UK tour), SYLVIA (The Old Vic 2018). In 2020 Kate created, directed and choreographed Message In A Bottle (Sadler’s Wells & Universal Music) at the Peacock Theatre.    The company also created special performances for Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday celebrations in Hyde Park 2008 and for the Laurence Olivier Awards in 2011 creating new choreography for West Side Story with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.    For TV Kate’s credits include work for Strictly Come Dancing, So You Think You Can Dance, The Royal Variety Show, Top of the Pops, Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Take Away, CD:UK, Blue Peter, Strictly Dance Fever, Sport Relief, The Album Chart Show, Discomania and PopWorld.    Her film work includes choreography for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (WARP, Channel 4 Films & New Regency), StreetDance 3D (Vertigo & BBC Films) The Holloway Laundrette, which she wrote & directed for BAFTA/Channel 4.    Other theatre work includes Everybody’s Talking About Jamie for Jonathan Butterell (Sheffield Crucible & West End, nominated for Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer), Enda Walsh’s Ballyturk (National Theatre), Stephen Mear’s Shoes (Sadler’s Wells), I Can’t Sing: the X-Factor Musical (Palladium) and It’s A Mad World my Masters (RSC), both for Sean Foley.    With ZooNation she has also created choreography for sporting events, including the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Handover Ceremonies (2008), the Opening Ceremony of the Tour de France (2007) and the IOC opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics at the Royal Opera House.    Kate has been nominated for three Olivier Awards, a South Bank Sky Arts Award, a WhatsOnStage Award and two Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards. Kate is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh with an MA in General Arts and has an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Winchester.    In 2017, ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company became an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation for 2018-22. Kate was awarded an MBE for services to dance in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, 2019.    About Wayne McGregor  Wayne McGregor CBE is a British choreographer and director. He is Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor, a creative nexus that pushes the frontiers of physical intelligence through dance, design and technology. Wayne’s work is rooted in dance, yet encompasses a variety of genres including technology, visual art, film, opera and education, as well as Company Wayne McGregor, his own touring company of dancers.     Studio Wayne McGregor supports an eclectic network of creators, including - but not limited to - dancers, writers, composers, coders, scientists and software engineers. The space is based at Here East in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and is designed to spark creativity, expression and making.     Wayne McGregor is Resident Choreographer at The Royal Ballet, where his productions reconfigure the classical language, and from 2021, will be the Director of Dance for the Venice Biennale until 2024. He is Professor of Choreography at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and has Honorary Doctorates from Plymouth University, University of Leeds, University of Chester, and UAL. In 2017 he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the British Science Association.    McGregor has works in the repertories of ballet companies around the world, including Paris Opera Ballet, Alvin Ailey, New York City Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. He has choreographed for theatre, opera, film (Harry Potter, Sing, Mary Queen of Scots, Fantastic Beasts film series), music videos (Radiohead, The Chemical Brothers), fashion (Soma for COS, Gareth Pugh at London and Paris Fashion Week, Nick Knight for SHOWstudio), campaigns (Selfridges, Boots No 7) and TV (Brit Awards, 2015 and 2016).    He has been awarded four Critics' Circle National Dance Awards, two Time Out Awards, two South Bank Show Awards, two Olivier Awards, a prix Benois de la Danse and two Golden Mask Awards. In 2011, McGregor was awarded a CBE for Services to Dance and in 2021 was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Prix de Lausanne.    About Michael Keegan-Dolan  Michael Keegan-Dolan founded Teaċ Daṁsa in 2016 as a means to forge stronger connections with the native traditions, language and music of Ireland. The name Teaċ Daṁsa, ‘House of the Dance,’ in Classical Irish, supports this process and is exemplified in the company’s first two productions, Swan Lake / Loch na hEala (2016) and MÁM (2019).    Swan Lake / Loch na hEala – reimagines the story on which the ballet is based and is a contemporary fusion of dance, traditional storytelling, folk music and theatre. It premiered at the 2016 Dublin Theatre Festival and won the 2017 Irish Times Theatre Award for Best Production and the award for Best Modern Choreography at the UK National Dance Awards later in the same year.    Between 2016 and 2020 Swan Lake / Loch na hEala has played to over 65,000 people around the world in venues like the Sydney Opera House, Theatre of Nations, Moscow, and BAM in New York City.      MÁM opened in the 2019 Dublin Theatre Festival and toured to Sadler’s Wells, The Perth Festival and the New Zealand Festival in 2020 and was nominated for an Olivier Award and UK National Dance Award in 2021.  Michael was the Artistic Director of Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre (1997-2015), creating three Olivier Award-nominated productions: Giselle (2003), The Bull (2005), and The Rite of Spring (2009).  In 2004, Giselle won an Irish Times Theatre Award and in 2018 The Bull won a UK National Dance Award. Rian, created in 2011, won a Bessie Award (a New York Dance and Performance Award) in 2013 and toured internationally for 3 years.     Michael has also collaborated with companies around the world. In 2012 he directed and choreographed a new production of Handel’s Julius Caesar at the London Coliseum, for English National Opera.  In 2015 he created an original piece, The Big Noise, for the GoteborgOperans DansKompani. As Guest Artistic Director of the National Youth Dance Company at Sadler’s Wells London for their 2015 - 2016 season, he created In-Nocentes. In March 2017, he choreographed a new work to Dvorak’s 8th Symphony for the Dance Company at the Gärtnerplatztheater, Munich. .    Michael was working on the Nico Muhly Triple Bill for Sadler’s Wells when the theatre was temporarily forced closed its doors due Covid-19 pandemic.    About Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui  Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui defies easy description: choreographer, opera director, dancer, composer. Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet of Flanders as well as of Eastman, his contemporary dance company and Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells, London, Cherkaoui may just as easily be found in the Louvre choreographing a music video for Beyoncé and Jay-Z (the 2018 MTV Music Video Awards-nominated Apeshit) as at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich, directing a radical version of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s baroque opus Les Indes galantes (2016). Then again, he could be working in the Shaolin Temple in Song Shan, Henan, alongside a battalion of kung fu warrior monks and sculptor Antony Gormley (Sutra, 2008). Or creating movement magic at Tokyo’s Bunkamura Theatre by transmuting Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki’s award-winning manga series into a kinetic, high-octane play (Pluto, 2015).    The slew of awards he has picked up across this millennium reflects this genre-transcending prolificity. They include two Olivier Awards (in 2011 for Babel(words) with Damien Jalet, and in 2014 for Puz/zle), three Tanz awards for best choreographer (2008, 2011, 2017), a Fred & Adele Astaire Award for Joe Wright's Oscar and BAFTA-nominated Anna Karenina (2012) and the Nijinsky Award for Promising Choreographer, back in 2002 for Rien de Rien, his first full-length production. Acclaim has come from far beyond the field of dance too: in 2009, Cherkaoui was awarded the Kairos Prize by Alfred Toëpfer Stiftung in recognition of his artistic philosophy and his quest for cultural dialogue. In 2016, he was conferred an honorary doctorate by the University of Antwerp, the title of "Commandeur dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres" by the French Government (2019), and the Europe Prize Theatrical Realities (2018) for “his never-ending commitment in new collaborations with artists from all over the world”.    The thirst to dialogue and join hands with his counterparts has been another constant in Cherkaoui's artistic DNA. 生长genesis (2013) with the Chinese dancer Yabin Wang, Dunas (2009) alongside flamenco exponent Maria Pagès, zero degrees (2005) with contemporary-Kathak wunderkind Akram Khan, and OOK (2002) where Nienke Reehorst and he worked with the mentally disabled actors of Theater Stap are examples familiar to dance-lovers. More recently, he teamed up with Irish traditional dance-exponent Colin Dunne to create the duo Session (2019).     Cherkaoui continues to work with a variety of theatres, opera houses and ballet companies around the world (Rambert, English National Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, Acosta Danza) and will direct the Ballet of the Grand Théâtre de Genève from season 2022-2023 onwards.    About Sadler’s Wells  Sadler's Wells is a world-leading dance organisation. We make and share dance that inspires us all. Our acclaimed year-round programme spans dance of every kind, from contemporary to flamenco, Bollywood to ballet, salsa to street dance and tango to tap.  We commission, produce and present more dance than any other organisation in the world. Since 2005, we have helped to bring close to 200 new dance works to the stage, embracing both the popular and the unknown. Each year, over half a million people visit our three London theatres. Many more attend our touring productions nationally and internationally or explore our digital platforms, including Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage. In 2023 we’re opening a fourth London venue in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, to sit alongside our Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Lilian Baylis Studio and Peacock Theatre. Sadler’s Wells’ new space will house a 550-seat mid-scale theatre, as well as facilities for a choreographic centre and a hip hop theatre academy.   Supporting artists is at the heart of our work. We have associate artists and companies, which nurture some of the most exciting talent working in dance today. We host the National Youth Dance Company, which draws together some of the brightest young dancers from across the country. Sadler’s Wells Breakin' Convention runs professional development programmes to champion and develop the world’s best hip hop artists, as well as producing, programming and touring groundbreaking hip hop performances.   Around 30,000 people take part in our learning and engagement programmes every year. We support schools local to our theatres in Islington and Stratford, designing experiences for children and young people to watch, explore and critically engage with the arts. We also run Company of Elders, a resident performance company of dancers aged over 60 who rehearse with renowned artists to make new work for public performances locally, nationally and internationally.  Sadler’s Wells is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.    About Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage  Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage is our online programme of performances and experiences designed to entertain and connect global audiences through dance. Since lockdowns began in March 2020, this programme has been enjoyed by audiences all over the world, generating over 5 million unique video views.    As we enter a new phase of making and sharing dance in live theatres and online, we are using what we have learned in the past year to shape what we do next on Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage. We want to develop our online programme to create and share inspiring work that supports artists, diversifies and expands the audience for dance, and enables participation in dance.  www.sadlerswells.com/digitalstage/