In celebration of International Dance Day, Sadler’s Wells has curated a playlist for digital partner Nowness of works created and choreographed for the screen.
The playlist features six short films:
- ILL-Abilities's Able shows the group’s members dancing alone in separate environments but bound together by their mantra “no excuses, no limits”
- Scottish Ballet’s Maze is a spiky duet presented in an abandoned swimming pool with dancers Javier Andreu and Madeline Squire, choreographed by Sophie Laplane
- Cornered is an intimate night-time solo in an isolated, empty room performed by American dancer Kevin Tate, in a midnight dance in the dark inspired by the music of Sydney-based composer and pianist Adrian Klumpes and filmed in silhouette by Malta-based director James Vernon
- Film series Dancing About Architecture explores built environments through movement and music. In Ecos, dancers inhabit architect Luis Barragan’s Casa Estudio in Mexico City.
- Sink or Swim, choreographed by Charlotte Edmonds, dives into the mind of a woman with depression, starring Royal Ballet principal dancer Francesca Hayward in an underwater ballet that “creates a moment of hope for those struggling to keep their head above water”
- Dancers from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater illuminate the Rue Montorgeuil in Paris with a celebration of life through dance.
Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage programme continues with a new workshop for International Dance Day and a Facebook Premiere on Friday. The fifth workshop in the Company of Elders series—designed for over-60s—is a ballet-based session presented by regular rehearsal director Simona Scotto. All Company of Elders Workshops can be found on the Sadler’s Wells Facebook and YouTube channels, along with workshops for children and families.
Alistair Spalding, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Sadler’s Wells, said, “although on this International Dance Day we can’t be together as usual to experience live performance in our theatres, we can still come together as a community to celebrate dance online. I hope that these films, alongside the performances and workshops in our Digital Stage programme, offer moments to uplift, inspire and entertain, and keep us going during these times of isolation”.