Press Release: Sylvie Guillem presents 6000 miles away, 20 - 25 May, Sadler's Wells

[Jan McNulty]

Sylvie Guillem
6000 miles away

Monday 20 – Saturday 25 May
Tickets: £12 - £52
Ticket Office: 0844 412 4300 or www.sadlerswells.com

 

“You can’t take your eyes off Guillem. The flair and virtuosity of her dancing stops you in your tracks” - Evening Standard

 

6000 miles away is a mixed programme devised and performed by internationally acclaimed dancer and Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Sylvie Guillem.      

 

Widely recognised as one of the world’s greatest dancers, Sylvie Guillem stars in a full evening of dance by three of today’s most important choreographers; Mats Ek, William Forsythe, and Jirí Kylián.

 

For this Sadler’s Wells/Sylvie Guillem production, William Forsythe created a duet for Guillem, with an original score by American composer David Morrow. Commissioned by Sadler’s Wells, the iconic dance-maker works with Guillem again, following his now legendary In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, created for her in 1987 at Paris Opera. Titled Rearray, this duet is the fourth work Forsythe has created for Guillem, preceded by France/Dance; In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated and Firstext.  Guillem will perform Rearray alongside Italian ballet dancer and La Scala principle Massimo Murru.

American William Forsythe is considered one of the world’s foremost choreographers and has been producing work internationally for the last 35 years. His work has received over 40 awards, including three Oliviers, four Bessies and an Evening Standard Award.

Also at Guillem's request, acclaimed Swedish choreographer Mats Ek has created a new solo for her, set to Beethoven’s last piano sonata. This fourth collaboration between Ek and Guillem, commissioned by Sadler’s Wells, follows Wet Woman for television, the duet Smoke for Guillem and Niklas Ek, and the title role of Carmen staged by Mats Ek at The Royal Ballet in London.

 

The playful title Ajö (Bye) is described by Ek as being "about a woman who takes leave of a certain stage in her life. It is a conversation that she has with herself that leads to new experiences.” Ajö features interactive video by set and costume designer Katrin Brännström.

 

Guillem also invites Jirí Kylián, another choreographer with whom she has worked many times in her career, to contribute a piece of work for the programme. Kylián completes the evening with a duet from his existing piece 27’52”, performed by two dancers handpicked by him and Guillem – Aurélie Cayla and Lukas Timulak.

 

Czech choreographer Jirí Kylián has created nearly 100 ballets to date,  primarily for Nederlands Dans Theater where he was Artistic Director from 1975-1999, but also for companies including Stuttgart Ballet, Paris Opera, Tokyo Ballet and the Bayerische Staatsoper München.

 

Sylvie Guillem CBE, was born in Paris. As a child, she trained in gymnastics under the instruction of her mother, a gymnastics teacher. In 1977 aged 11, she began training at the Paris Opera Ballet School, and in 1981 joined the company's corps de ballet. She was promoted to the rank of "Etoile" by Rudolf Nureyev at the age of 19. Since then she has performed all the leading roles of the classical repertoire with the world's leading companies including the Royal Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Kirov, Tokyo Ballet, Australian Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and La Scala.

 

Her first collaboration with fellow Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Russell Maliphant began in 2003 with Broken Fall, with Michael Nunn and William Trevitt. It was followed by the multi-award winning Sadler’s Wells Production PUSH, which premiered at the theatre in 2005 She collaborated with celebrated dancer and choreographer, Akram Khan for Sacred Monsters, which premiered at Sadler’s Wells in 2006. Her most recent collaboration was for the Rolex sponsored Sadler’s Wells production Eonnagata with Robert Lepage and Russell Maliphant, and costumes by Alexander McQueen. All those productions have toured internationally to full houses and critical acclaim.

 

Her awards include the Officier de la Légion d’Honneur, Officier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite, Officier des Arts et Lettres, and, in
Britain, an honorary CBE. Sylvie Guillem is a Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist.

 

6000 miles away is supported by Rolex.

The performance of 6000 miles away on Tuesday 21 May is in support of the marine wildlife conservation charity Sea Shepherd (registered charity 1110501).

        

Notes to Editors

 

Sea Shepherd

Established in 1977, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is an internationalnon-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization. Our mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species.

Sea Shepherd uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate,  document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. By safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately-balanced ocean ecosystems, Sea Shepherd works to ensure their survival for future generations.