Press Release: Guillem and Khan in Sacred Monsters, 25 - 29 Nov Sadler's Wells

[Jan McNulty]

Sylvie Guillem & Akram Khan

Sacred Monsters

Sadler’s Wells

Tuesday 25 - Saturday 29 November 2014

Performances at 7.30pm

Tickets: £12 - £52

Ticket Office: 0844 412 4300 or www.sadlerswells.com  

 

“An exhilarating evening of humour, charm and extraordinary tenderness” Sunday Telegraph

 

Sacred Monsters, the hugely acclaimed collaboration between Sadler’s Wells Associate Artists Sylvie Guillem and Akram Khan, returns to Sadler’s Wells from Tuesday 25 - Saturday 29 November 2014.

 

First performed in 2006, in Sacred Monsters Guillem and Khan explore the dynamics and language of two classical dance forms, kathak and ballet. This landmark production features additional choreography by Guari Sharma Tripathi and Lin Hwai-Min, artistic director of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, with music by Philip Sheppard.

 

‘Sacred monsters’ is a term that marks the birth of contemporary stardom, in which the icons of arts and sports worlds are given divine status by their audience and the media. The pressure of living up to these expectations leaves no room for failure, self-expression or emotion, and the divine status becomes inhuman and monstrous.

 

Sylvie Guillem was born in Paris and trained in gymnastics under the instruction of her mother, a gymnastics teacher. In 1977 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. Guillem 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.

 

Guillem’s 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.

 

Akram Khan is one of the most exciting dancers/ choreographers in Britain today and has, in just over a decade, created a highly imaginative, accessible and relevant body of work, including productions such as DESH, Vertical Road, Gnosis and zerodegrees. An instinctive and natural collaborator, Khan has worked with world-class artists including the National Ballet of China, Juliette Binoche, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Antony Gormley. Khan’s work is recognised as being profoundly moving, in which his intelligently crafted storytelling is effortlessly intimate and epic. 

 

Khan has been the recipient of numerous awards throughout his career including the Laurence Olivier Award and several Critics' Circle National Dance Awards. Khan was awarded an MBE for services to dance in 2005.

 

Prior to Sacred Monsters, Akram Khan will be performing TOROBAKA, a new collaboration with flamenco artist Israel Galván atSadler’s Wells from 3 - 8 November, He performs his celebrated solo piece DESH at The Lowry, Manchester, on 13 & 14 November. Khan is also curating his first exhibition as part of The Lowry's Performer-as-Curator series. His exhibition, One Side to the Other, runs from 15 November 2014 to 1 Feb 2015.

 

 

NOTES TO EDITORS:

 

About Sadler’s Wells 
Sadler’s Wells is the UK’s leading venue for dance, bringing a diverse range of world-class international and UK dance to the widest possible audiences. Under the Artistic Directorship of Alistair Spalding, the theatre’s acclaimed programme spans cutting edge contemporary works by artists such as William Forsythe, Hofesh Shechter and Wayne McGregor, sell-out runs from Matthew Bourne and his company New Adventures, hugely successful tango, street dance and flamenco shows, and award-winning Sadler’s Wells Productions including Sylvie Guillem and Russell Maliphant’s PUSH, and groundbreaking cross-art form collaborations such as zero degrees and the first in the Composer Series, UNDANCE. Since 2005 Sadler’s Wells has commissioned, co-commissioned, produced and co-producedover 80 new productions.
 
The theatre is dedicated to working with celebrated artists, performers and companies at the forefront of the arts, many of whom are Associate Artists and resident companies of the theatre including Balletboyz, Matthew Bourne and his company New Adventures, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Jonzi D, Sylvie Guillem, Michael Hulls, Michael Keegan Dolan, Akram Khan, Russell Maliphant, Crystal Pite, Kate Prince and her company ZooNation UK Dance Company, Nitin Sawhney, Hofesh Shechter, Jasmin Vardimon, Christopher Wheeldon, Wayne McGregor and his company Wayne McGregor | Random Dance.