Press Release: Four weeks until Sadler’s Wells East, new powerhouse for dance, opens in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

[Jan McNulty]

For immediate release: Thursday 9 January 2025 Four weeks until Sadler’s Wells East, new powerhouse for dance, opens in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Sadler’s Wells East, image credit Peter Cook FIRST LOOK INSIDE IMAGES AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD HERE Sadler’s Wells East, the brand-new purpose-built theatre for dance on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, will officially throw open its doors in four weeks with performances of the opening show Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu's Our Mighty Groove, starting Thursday 6 February 2025.  Billed as ‘a gamechanger for dance’ by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Sadler’s Wells East is the first public building to open as part of London’s newest cultural and educational district, East Bank, where it will sit alongside BBC Music Studios, V&A East, UAL’s London College of Fashion and UCL East. The building is a nationwide resource for dance: a space for seeing, creating, rehearsing and participating in the artform. Designed by renowned architects O’Donnell + Tuomey, Sadler's Wells East is home to a fully flexible 550-seat auditorium, six state-of-the-art dance studios, a public performance space for free performances, a restaurant and a bar. The public spaces include two large-scale tapestries created by the acclaimed artist Eva Rothschild RA and the foyer lighting is designed by theatre designer Aideen Malone. The building will be open to the public throughout the day.  The new facilities will affect change on the UK’s dance ecology, providing a much-needed London base for mid-scale companies from the UK and around the world, and allowing Sadler’s Wells to produce work from scratch inhouse. In 2025, three new productions will be created in Stratford: the opening show, Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu’s Our Mighty Groove, Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia: A Mod Ballet, which will embark on a nationwide tour in spring 2025, and a 2025 Christmas show for the new venue.  Sadler’s Wells East is home to two educational facilities: Academy Breakin’ Convention a hip hop theatre school for talented 16–19-year-olds, offering the UK’s first free Level 3 Diploma in Performance and Production Arts specific to hip hop, will welcome its first intake of students in the autumn to coincide with the academic calendar. The Rose Choreographic School is an experimental research project, which enables 13 dance artists to develop their own choreographic practice over a two-year course. The opening season at Sadler’s Wells East features 20 productions and will showcase work from local east-London based artists, the best dance companies from across the United Kingdom, as well as platforming leading international choreographic voices. The new venue will present all forms of dance, from hip hop to ballet, contemporary to kathak. Highlights from the opening season include Phoenix Dance Theatre’s adaptation of a seminal James Baldwin work in Inside Giovanni’s Room, Mette Ingvartsen’s Skatepark which trades a conventional stage set-up for half pipes and ramps as she works with a company made up of skateboarders and dancers, and a collaboration with Stratford East on a new production of Romeo & Juliet featuring actors and dancers from the local community. Elsewhere, Trajal Harrell presents his latest work set to Keith Jarrett’s ’The Köln Concert’ and Joni Mitchell’s ’Blue’, Aakash Odedra shares an exchange between Indian classical dance Sufi kathak and Islamic poetry in Songs of the Bulbul and Ivan Michael Blackstock’s Olivier Award-winning hip hop production TRAPLORDquestions the stereotyping of Black men in contemporary western society. The opening season will culminate in a two-week youth festival in the summer, which will bring together the National Youth Dance Companies of England, Scotland and Wales, and share choreographic creations made by young people up and down the country. Over 20,000 tickets, 50% of all tickets across the season are available for £25 or less, with £10 Barclays Dance Pass tickets for 16-30-year-olds for every single performance. The full programme at Sadler’s Wells East can be found here: https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/?venue-location=sadlers-wells-east Britannia Morton, Executive Director and Co-Chief Executive of Sadler’s Wells, said: ”Sadler’s Wells East is purpose built for dance and dance makers, and as we inch closer to the official public opening in a month’s time, it’s great to be able to release the first images of the spaces. We think the facilities that this building offers will make such a difference and will add to the thriving creative scene in east London. We’re so excited to welcome artists, audiences, visitors and community groups into the building for the first time in a few weeks’ time.” Sir Alistair Spalding CBE, Artistic Director and Co-Chief Executive of Sadler’s Wells, said: “It’s hugely exciting to be at this stage, one month out from welcoming audiences in for our very first show – Our Mighty Groove. Vicki’s production feels like perfect curtain raiser to this new powerhouse of dance, combining professional and community performers in a joyous celebration of dance and movement! There will then be a kaleidoscope of styles throughout our first year at Sadler’s Wells East, really offering something for everyone. We look forward to welcoming you at our new home in Stratford.” Sadiq Khan, The Mayor of London, said: “The opening of Sadler’s Wells East will be another exciting milestone in the East Bank journey. Renowned across the world as the UK’s leading dance institution, this brand-new venue will be a gamechanger for dance in the capital. The school, studio spaces and electrifying programme will showcase and nurture talent not only from London but across the country and provide inspiration and opportunities for young people – a world class vision that’s accessible to all, helping us build a better London for everyone”   NOTES TO EDITORS    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 89 works, 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 2025 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     @sadlerswells_east    YouTube: Sadler’s Wells Theatre

[LinMM]

Will do a recce over there when the weather gets a bit warmer!!