Press Release: Sadler’s Wells announces full line up for Elixir Festival this April including performances, workshops, artist talks, and films

[Jan McNulty]

Thursday 15 February 2024      Sadler’s Wells announces full line up for Elixir Festival this April including performances, workshops, artist talks, and films    Elixir Festival takes over Sadler’s Wells for two weeks this April with a series of performances, workshops, talks, and films that challenge perceptions around dance and ageing. With works from iconic international artists alongside performances from dancers drawn from local communities in north and east London, the festival asks how do we express our changing bodies and minds as we grow and age? Elixir includes work from artists from 12 countries including Senegal, France, Canada, USA, Germany, UK, Belgium, Tunisia, Sweden, Australia, India, and Spain.          Elixir Festival kicks off with a triple bill in Sadler’s Wells Theatre, which features the London premiere of Sadler’s Wells co-production common ground[s] - a duet between the ‘mother of contemporary African dance’ Germaine Acogny and longtime Pina Bausch collaborator Malou Airaudo. The mixed bill also includes a world premiere by Ben Duke a trio for two dancers and a tortoise, commissioned by Sadler’s Wells. Louise Lecavalier’s Blue – a solo adapted from selected sections of her work, So Blue will complete the evening.    In the Lilian Baylis Studio, there will be an exchange between Sadler’s Wells Company of Elders & ZooNation Youth Company, Dance On Ensemble present a recreation of Merce Cunningham’s iconic work Story, Mohamed Toukabri performs an intergenerational duet with his mother, and Susan Kempster and Charlotta Öfverholm look into how we view our own bodies as we age in an intimate double bill. Front of House, Christopher Matthews brings an exploration of queer desire later in life.    In addition to the live performances, Sadler’s Wells presents a programme of six artist led workshops for older professional and non-professional dancers. Germaine Acogny teaches her Acogny technique, Susan Kempster explores the connection between dance partners. Charlotta Öfverholm investigates self expression in the body with her Age on Stage workshop, which is renowned in Europe. Julene Robinson focuses on the evolution of Jamaican dance forms and Jamaican folk movements. Swing Patrol hosts a workshop in the popular dance style. Company of Elders & ZooNation Youth Company host a brand new intergenerational hip-hop dance theatre workshop. There are two free talks by the choreographers Christopher Matthews and Aakash Odedra, who share their artistic vision and process with audiences. The Mehek Live Symposium, led by Aakash Odedra Company shares their journey and findings on working collaboratively with the community. Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage presents the Elixir Festival Cinema Club in the Fox Garden Court Cafe, a free showcase of films by internationally acclaimed artists including 5 newly commissioned films, with Louise Lecavalier, Aditi Mangaldas, CharlottaÖfverholm, Germaine Acogny, Malou Airaudo, Paco Peña and more. These films are also available on Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage.    For the closing weekend of Elixir Festival, Get into Dance Festival invites local community groups from Islington and east London to perform in the Lilian Baylis Studio and the innovative Posh Club hosts an event featuring Azara, Pink Suits, Don One and Posh Club x Dance Club. Sadler’s Wells Learning & Engagement Producer, Christopher Haddow said, 'It's a privilege to work on a festival like Elixir that showcases renowned international artists side-by-side with people who love to dance and live right in our local neighbourhoods. This two-week programme reaches across generations, borders, bodies and genre. Elixir Festival shares a message creatively that dance is for everyone -- through performances, workshops, exhibitions, specially-commissioned films and panel discussions.' About the performances, workshops and artist talks: Germaine Acogny & Malou Airaudo /                                         SADLER’S WELLS THEATRE Louise Lecavalier / Ben Duke                                                         UK & WORLD PREMIERE Mixed Bill: common ground[s] / Blue  / New Sadler’s Wells commission by Ben Duke                                                        Wednesday 10 April Tickets: £15 - £45 The Festival begins with a mixed bill including performances by Germaine Acogny & Malou Airaudo, Louise Lecavalier and the world premiere of a new work by Ben Duke, commissioned by Sadler’s Wells.    common ground[s] is performed and inspired by the lives of two renowned dancers and, above all, women, mothers and grandmothers. Germaine Acogny, “the mother of contemporary African dance” and founder of École des Sables comes together with Malou Airaudo, who worked closely with Pina Bausch, performing leading roles in many of her early works.    This duet has travelled the world in a double bill with the Pina Bausch Foundation, École des Sables and Sadler’s Wells Production of Bausch’s The Rite of Spring and is now performed in London for the first time after being cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.     Louise Lecavalier, former principal dancer of the Montreal-based company La La La Human Steps in the 1980s-90s, presents Blue – a solo adapted from selected sections of her work, So Blue.  Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Lost Dog Ben Duke, is creating a new work, a trio for two dancers and a tortoise specially commissioned for the Festival.    common ground[s] is a Pina Bausch Foundation, École des Sables and Sadler’s Wells Production The new work by Ben Duke is a Sadler’s Wells commission    Workshop - Acogny Technique – Modern African Dance with Germaine Acogny Thursday 11 April  10:30 – 12 pm   Studio C, Sadler’s Wells  Tickets: £7   Germaine Acogny’s workshop is based on modern African dance utilising her own Acogny Technique in this rare chance to participate in a workshop with one of the pioneers of contemporary African dance.  Christopher Matthews                                          SADLER’S WELLS FOYER & THE KAHN Act 3                                                                  Wednesday 10 April 4.30pm – Mezzanine Wood Thursday 11 April 5pm – Kahn   Tickets: Free admission Act 3 is the final instalment in a trilogy of works by choreographer, performer and visual artist Christopher Matthews. Continuing his studies of intimacy between two figures, Act 3 is an exploration of queer desire in later life, and considers queer masculinity in dance, desire, body image and working-class dance histories.  Working with a cast of collaborators aged 60 and above - whose desire was forbidden in their youth - Act 3 considers what it means for these feelings to be hidden. Referencing Kenneth Macmillan’s Bedroom Pas de deux from Romeo and Juliet, the performance unfolds on a mattress, combining surreal visuals with an everyday setting to blur the lines between fantasy and reality.    Act 3 is inspired by queer modernism and the work of photography collective PaJaMa. This collective created scenes of magical realism, featuring New York’s young bisexual or gay artists, dancers, and writers in the 1930s and 1940s.  A Sadler’s Wells Co-commission   Artist Talk - Christopher Matthews Dorfman Room  Thursday 11 April  11 – 12:30 pm   Free admission  Choreographer, performer and visual artist Christopher Matthews discusses his new work Act 3 with choreographer and academic Nicola Conibere. The work is the final instalment in a trilogy of works by Matthews, which considers queer masculinity in dance, desire, body image and working-class dance histories. Continuing his studies of intimacy between two figures, Act 3 is an exploration of queer desire in later life.   Mohamed Toukabri                                               LILIAN BAYLIS STUDIO The Power (of) The Fragile                                                                   Thursday 11 April Tickets: £15    In The Power (of) The Fragile, Mohamed Toukabri invites Latifa, his mother, with him on stage. After being apart for several years, they find each other again in the theatre.    Latifa always dreamt of being a dancer; Mohamed made it his profession. The Power (of) The Fragile reflects on what a mother and son relationship can look like, on what it means to be home and to go away.   Susan Kempster                                                                         LILIAN BAYLIS STUDIO & Charlotta Öfverholm                                                              UK & WORLD PREMIERE Double Bill: MOTHER & In A Cage Of Light                                   Friday 12 April Tickets: £15 Susan Kempster and Charlotta Öfverholm explore the physicality of different bodies, and how we view our own bodies as we age in an intimate double bill.     MOTHER Comissioned by Sadler’s Wells, the world premiere of an intergenerational duet that invites the audience to question intimacy and who we are to each other. Susan Kempster explores the intimate physical connection that two very different bodies can create on stage.    In A Cage Of Light In this UK premiere Charlotta Öfverholm looks at our relationship with our own bodies through the lens of a mature dancer, featuring live music, powerful movement and bold characters.  MOTHER is a Sadler’s Wells commission   Workshop - Age on Stage with Charlotta Öfverholm Thursday 11 April   12:30 – 2 pm  Studio C, Sader’s Wells   Tickets: £7 Charlotta Öfverholm’s Age on Stage workshop is for anyone over 65 years old, working with her unique movement technique that defies age. The workshop requires no prior dance experience and is about exploring movements and self-expression in the body.  Workshop – Improvised partnering with Susan Kempster Thursday 11 April   2:30 – 4 pm  Studio C, Sadler’s Wells   £7  Susan Kempster explores finding true pleasure in connecting with a dance partner. The workshop will be based on one of the main methods of devising Kempster’s duet piece (part of the performance schedule for Elixir Festival), Mother. Kempster will introduce her signature way of working, with dancers interlinked, finding joy in allowing oneself to relinquish the need to control the situation and enjoy the journey it takes you on.    Company of Elders & ZooNation Youth Company                 LILIAN BAYLISSTUDIO  The Exchange                                                                                WORLD PREMIERE Saturday 13 April Tickets: £15 The Exchange directed by ZooNation Youth Company’s Artistic Director Chaldon Williams explores evolving perspectives, telling stories of our past, present and future selves through dance styles influenced by hip hop culture.     Sadler’s Wells Company of Elders for older adults aged 60+ from the local community comes together with the groundbreaking storytellers of ZooNation Youth Company, made up of young dancers aged between 10 and 20 years.     Prior to the performance, there will be a film screening of a documentary following the process of making the work commissioned by Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage. The performance will be accompanied by a chance to join the dancers on stage in a post-performance jam.  Supported by the Mohn Westlake Foundation Workshop - Company of Elders x ZooNation Youth Thursday 18 April  10:20 – 12 pm   Studio C, Sadler’s Wells   Tickets: £7 Company of Elders & ZooNation Youth Company will be hosting a brand new intergenerational hip-hop dance theatre workshop based on The Exchange, the brand new intergenerational hip-hop dance theatre piece created by Company of Elders and ZooNation Youth Company. Like the show itself, this workshop will be for dancers from all generations (age 10 – 65 and above).  Led by ZooNation Youth Company's Artistic Director Chaldon Williams. Dance On Ensemble                                                                   LILIAN BAYLIS STUDIO Story, A Re-Imagining & Never ending (Story)                                                                      Wednesday 17 April Tickets: £20 Berlin’s Dance On Ensemble brings together dancers over the age of 40 with internationally-renowned choreographers to create work that presents their diverse and rich lived experience on stage. They close the Festival with a recreation of an iconic work by Merce Cunningham with Story, a Re-Imagining and present Mathilde Monnier's Never ending (Story), a direct response to Cunningham's work.   Originally choreographed in 1963, Merce Cunningham’s Story was never the same show twice. The dancers were able to make choices about their movements, while a new set was constructed for each performance using material found in or near the theatre. Dance On Ensemble draws from archival materials to re-imagine the piece for a new generation with Story, a Re-Imagining.     As a further exploration of Cunningham’s Story, Dance On Ensemble asked poet David Antin to respond to the work with an improvised poem Never ending (Story). This poem is the starting point for a piece that explores how movement and thought come together.    Workshop - The Evolution of Jamaican Dance form by Julene Robinson Thursday 18 April  12:30 – 2 pm  Studio C, Sadler’s Wells   Tickets: £7  Julene Robinson explores the evolution of Jamaican dance forms and Jamaican folk movements. Participants will explore old Jamaican folk movement forms such as Kumina, Dinki Mini and Ska and how those movements were impacted by the culture and music, to become what it is today.  Workshop - Introduction to Swing Dancing with Swing Patrol Thursday 18 April  2:30 – 4 pm  Studio C, Sadler’s Wells  Tickets: £7  Swing Patrol host workshops, lessons and social events across London celebrating this ever-popular dance style. Swing dancing and the accompanying jazz music has its roots in African American and Black culture. Artist Talk - Mehek Live Symposium Dorfman Room  Friday 12 April  1:30 – 3 pm   Free admission For the project Mehek Live, dance organisations Aakash Odedra Company and Moving Together are collaborating to run events with 450 older people from community settings. Elixir Festival hosts the Mehek Live Symposium, which is a way for these artists to share the learnings and experiences garnered throughout this collaborative journey and an opportunity to showcase other examples of artistic excellence that embody the power of community collaboration in creating art that speaks to the heart.    About Elixir Cinema Club Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage presents the Elixir Festival Cinema Club, a showcase of films with  internationally acclaimed artists including Louise Lecavalier, Aditi Mangaldas, Charlotta Öfverholm, Germaine Acogny, Malou Airaudo, Paco Peña and more. The screenings will be held in The Kahn at Sadler’s Wells, and will last around 50 minutes, admission is free but booking is required.   Friday 12 April showings at:  3:15 pm – Closed event for attendees of Mehek symposium   4:15 pm – Closed event for attendees of Mehek symposium   6:45 pm  Friday 19 April showings at:  3:30 pm  6:15 pm About the Community Engagement initiatives  Get Into Dance Saturday 20 April Through the Get into Dance programme, the communities Sadler’s Wells work with share their time, talent and creativity through weekly dance programmes led by a range of professional dancers. For the closing weekend of the festival, Get into Dance Festival invites Sadler’s Wells community groups to perform in the Lilian Baylis Studio. This will be accompanied by an exhibition of photographs of the programme, by Camilla Greenwell.    Posh Club Friday 19 April The Posh Club is a social, dancing and showbiz event, a day club for older people which emphasises dressing up, regular access to live performance, social connectivity and intergenerational volunteering.   A smaller scale version of the event will be presented on the Mezzanine Wood at Sadlers Wells for an invited audience of regular Posh Club members who have not visited Sadler’s Wells before. Hosted by Azara, and starring dynamic dance duo Pink Suits, Birmingham’s finest crooner Don One and the in-house dance troupe Posh Club x Dance Club.    Elixir Festival is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union as part of DANCE ON, PASS ON, DREAM ON   NOTES TO EDITORS Listings Information Elixir Festival Sadler’s Wells Theatre & Lillian Baylis Studio, EC1R 4TN  From Wednesday 10 April 2024 Tickets: £15 - £45 Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com   Germaine Acogny & Malou Airaudo / Louise Lecavalier / Ben Duke  Mixed Bill: common ground[s] / Blue / New Sadler’s Wells commission by Ben Duke                                                    Sadler’s Wells Theatre, EC1R 4TN  Wednesday 10 April Tickets: £15 - £45 Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com   Christopher Matthews                                           Act 3 Wednesday 10 April – Sadler’s Wells Front of House, Mezzanine Wood  Thursday 11 April – Sadler’s Wells Front of House, Kahn   Tickets: Free admission Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com   Mohamed Toukabri                                        The Power (of) The Fragile      Lilian Baylis Studio, EC1R 4TN Thursday 11 April  Tickets: £15 Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com   Susan Kempster & Charlotta Öfverholm                     Double Bill: MOTHER & In A Cage Of Light         Lilian Baylis Studio, EC1R 4TN Friday 12 April  Tickets: £15  Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com Company of Elders & ZooNation Youth Company     The Exchange Lilian Baylis Studio, EC1R 4TN Saturday 13 April  Tickets: £15  Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com ­                     Dance On Ensemble                                                                                   Story, A Re-Imagining & Never ending (Story)    Lilian Baylis Studio, EC1R 4TN Wednesday 17 April  Tickets: £20  Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com All extra activity can be booked here: https://www.sadlerswells.com/elixir-festival-2024/ About Sadler’s Wells      Sadler's Wells is a world-leading dance organisation. We strive to 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 more than 200 new dance works to the stage, embracing both the popular and the unknown. Our acclaimed productions tour the world. Since 2005 we’ve produced 64 new full-length works and performed to audiences of more than two million, touring to 51 countries.    Each year, over half a million people visit our three London theatres - Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Lilian Baylis Studio and Peacock Theatre. Millions more attend our touring productions nationally and internationally or explore our digital platforms, including Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage.   Sadler’s Wells East   In 2024 we’re opening a fourth London venue in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Sadler’s Wells East will house a 550-seat mid-scale theatre, as well as facilities for the new Rose Choreographic School and the hip hop theatre training centre, Academy Breakin’ Convention.   Sadler’s Wells East joins the rich cultural heritage of Stratford, opening in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as part of the East Bank development alongside the BBC, UAL’s London College of Fashion, UCL and the V&A. Sadler’s Wells East will support artist development and training, and the creation of new work. It will build the infrastructure for dance and make it accessible to more people. Sadler’s Wells East will house a flexible theatre presenting a wide variety of dance performances. Community will be at the heart of Sadler’s Wells East with a large open foyer that can be used by everyone as a meeting or performance space. There will also be dance studios and world-class dance facilities for dancemakers to train, create and rehearse productions.  Supporting artists  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.     Learning and community links  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.    www.sadlerswells.com    Stay up to date with everything Sadler’s Wells on social media     Facebook: @SadlersWells     Twitter: @Sadlers_Wells     Instagram: @sadlers_wells     YouTube: Sadler’s Wells Theatre