Sadler’s Wells new East London base is ramping up the excitement ahead of opening by announcing a season of shows including a performance that will see the venue transformed into a skate park.
The building opens its doors in Stratford next February as part of the transformation of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park into the East Bank which will become a new cultural quarter home to institutions including the BBC, V&A, London College of Fashion and UCL.
Among the performances in the 2025 season is Danish choreographer Mette Ingvertsen’s Skatepark which teams up dancers with skateboarders on a stage filled with ramps to explore “the speed and energy of movement on wheels”.
The multi-million pound new venue will also show off its flexibility by being transformed at different times into a photography studio and a rave-era dance floor.
Dancer-turned photographer Benji Reid’s show Find Your Eyes sees him photograph dancers and project their images on stage in real time, while Dan Daw Creative Projects bring their “rave culture” inspired show Over and Over (and over again) to the venue.
There are also planned productions of Romeo & Juliet, the Rite of Spring and Snow White while Carlos Acosta has selected the repertoire for a “Ballet Celebration” performed by young dancers at Birmingham Royal Ballet.
The season will open with dancers from the local area sharing the stage with professionals to perform Our Mighty Groove by Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu who worked as a choreographer at the London 2012 Olympics.
Sadler’s Wells artistic director Sir Alistair Spalding CBE said the opening programme offered the audience “dance from every angle”.
He said it “reflects our vision for what we hope Sadler’s Wells East will be for many years: a cultural hub that has deep local roots, one that makes tangible national impact and has an international outlook”.
There will be 20,000 tickets available for £25 or under and £10 Barclays Dance Pass tickets for 16 – 30 year olds for every single performance.
The Stratford venue is a new outpost for Sadler’s Wells whose north London base in Islington has hosted theatre and dance since 1683.
Associate artistic director Rob Jones said: “My hope is that this theatre will become a really vital part of the dance ecology: a place where the community, the professional and the social all collide together in one big, beautiful cocktail that ultimately brings people into dance and act as a catalyst for developing choreographers.
“This first season is a fantastic mix of work, and we're really excited that many artists from across the UK and around the world will be making their Sadler's Wells debuts with us in our new building – this is an extremely special moment and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
