Sadler’s Wells has announced its opening programme for Sadler’s Wells East, a new centre for dance in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which part of the East Bank cultural and educational quarter along with BBC Music Studios, London College of Fashion, UAL, V&A East and UCL East.
It will open in February 2025 with Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu's Our Mighty Groove featuring a community cast from east London alongside professional dancers. London-based artists will be championed throughout opening season, culminating in collaboration with Stratford East.
The season also showcases work from across the country with artists from Manchester, Birmingham, Ashford, Leeds, Newcastle, Leicester, Cardiff in a range of styles, from hip hop to bharatanatyam, ballet to dance theatre, vogue, house and waacking. International choreographers will also be featured, with Trajal Harrell, Mythili Prakash, and Emma Martin make their Sadler’s Wells debuts.
A flexible auditorium will be transformed at various points into a skatepark, a club dance floor, a photography studio and an immersive rave experience. 20,000 tickets will be available at £25 or under as well as £10 Barclays Dance Pass tickets for 16- to 30-year-olds for every performance.
Sir Alistair Spalding CBE, Artistic Director and Co-Chief Executive of Sadler’s Wells, said that the new venue, “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."