Support Contemporary Ballet at Sadler’s Wells

Photo: Wayne McGregor’s Outlier. Credit: Paul Kolnik

Supporting ballet at Sadler’s Wells

Choreographers have been using the ballet form to push

boundaries for many years.

William Forsythe turned the technique of ballet inside

out. Russell Maliphant uses his balletic vocabulary with

hip hop, martial arts and contemporary dance. Wayne

McGregor, himself from a contemporary background,

has made some of his most groundbreaking work for

classical dancers on Pointe.

Sadler’s Wells champions cross-disciplinary

collaborations as well as dance that embodies the spirit

of our age. We are the UK's leading dance house,

dedicated to bringing the very best international and

British dance to London, including companies and

choreographers that continue to develop and

contemporise the language of classical ballet.

To secure ballet’s place in the wider stories of

contemporary dance of our time we need supporters who

will ensure the work is developed and celebrated with the

care and distinction it deserves. This is how ballet will

remain relevant and vital, and continue to evolve.

The development of ballet, from artistic development through new work and the presentation

of international companies on the large stage, is an expensive enterprise. Sadler’s Wells is

committed to this mission and - with your help - we can continue to nourish this beautiful

dance form.

We invite you to join the Sadler’s Wells Contemporary Ballet Supporters Circle, a dedicated

group of passionate supporters who will chart, champion and support the ever-expanding

bounds of ballet.

Photo: See the Music, Hear the Dance. Credit: Johan Persson

A Special Opportunity

We are gathering together a small group of dance

lovers to support our investment in contemporary

ballet by making a donation towards the

Contemporary Ballet Supporters Circle.

The combined support of the Circle will contribute to

the vital funds necessary for Sadler’s Wells to develop

and present a programme of contemporary ballet

across autumn 2014 and spring 2015, including

English National Ballet, Wayne McGregor and

Christopher Wheeldon with the Dutch National Ballet.

To thank you for your support we have planned some

special events with the season’s artists and

companies for Circle members - full information can

be found at the end of this document.

Each year we aim to build a new programme of

activities for the Circle and hope you will consider

joining this year for two season of exciting

contemporary ballet at Sadler’s Wells.

Membership of the New Ballet Supporters’ Circle is £5,000

Photo: Wayne McGregor’s Outlier performed by the New York City Ballet

Armitage / McGregor / Pite / Whitely Thomas Adès: See the Music, Hear the Dance

30 October – 1 November 2014

Pianist, conductor, composer, Thomas Adès is the subject of the second in Sadler’s Wells’

Composer Series. A multi-award winner, he remains the only composer to have won the Royal

Philharmonic Prize for large-scale composition three times.

In this epic new Sadler’s Wells production, Adès conducts his only London appearance in

2014, featuring four dance works set to some of his most celebrated music and played live by

Britten Sinfonia.

The evening will start the European premiere of Outlier, choreographed by Sadler’s Wells

Associate Artist and acclaimed ballet anc contemporary choreographer Wayne McGregor.

Originally created for the New York City Ballet, this rendition of Wayne’s beautiful work will be

performed by dancers from Random Dance – giving us the chance to see how a piece created

for ballet dancers can be performed by a contemporary dance company.

Karole Armitage will present her exquisite duet Life Story which will feature British soprano

Claire Booth, with Adès on piano. Known as the ‘punk ballerina’, Karole has developed her

choreographic style with her own company Armitage Gone! Dance Company and through

commissions with companies including Paris Opera Ballet and American Ballet Theatre.

Sadler’s Wells New Wave Associate Alexander Whitley will present the world premiere of The

Grit in the Oyster, with Adès on piano. Alexander has been choreographing since 2007,

following training as a dancer at Royal Ballet School and performing with both ballet and

contemporary dance companies.

Finally the evening will culminate in a new world premiere, choreographed by Sadler’s Wells’

newest Associate Artist Crystal Pite, who is creating a new work in response to Adès’ Polaris.

As a dancer Crystal performed with Ballet British Columbia and Ballet Frankfurt and has since

choreographed works for ballet and contemporary dance companies alike.

Photo: See the Music, Hear the Dance. Credit: Johan Persson

English National Ballet

Modern Masters - Kylián / Neumier / Forsythe 10 March – 12 15 March 2015

Under the directorship of Tamara Rojo English National Ballet are propelling themselves to the

forefront of contemporary ballet. In 2015 they will visit Sadler’s Wells with a triple bill featuring

work by three of the most influential choreographers of the 20th century – Jiří Kylián, John

Neumeier and William Forsythe.

Between them these choreographs have led some of the most exciting ballet and contemporary

dance companies in the world – John Neumeier at Ballet Frankfurt and now Hamburg Ballet,

Jiří Kylián at Nederlands Dans Theater and William Forysthe at Ballet Frankfurt and now at The

Forsythe Company. Between them they have created work for some of the greatest ballet

companies in the world - Tokyo Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet

and New York City Ballet, to name but a few.

Modern Masters will begin with Jiří Kylián’s

Petite Morte featuring six men and six women

from the English National ballet Company

performing to the slow movements of two

Mozart Piano Concerti.

John Neumeier’s Spring and Fall is set to

Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings and is a piece

for two couples and the corps de ballet.

English National Ballet are the only UK

company to feature Spring and Fall in their

repertoire.

Completing the evening will be William

Forsythe’s With In the Middle, Somewhat

Elevated, a piece which started a new school

of choreography – deconstructing classical

ballet and creating a new style of dance.

Photo: Jiří Kylián’s Petite Morte. Credit: David Jensen

Dutch National Ballet

Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella The London Coliseum 8 July – 12 July 2015

*Exclusive news for Circle supporters*

In early July 2015 Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella will make its UK premiere at The

London Coliseum, presented by Sadler’s Wells.

Christopher is a Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist and one of today’s masters of contemporary

ballet and one of the most sought after choreographers. His Cinderella, originally a co-

production by San Francisco Ballet and the Dutch National Ballet, earned him the prestigious

Benois de la Danse Prize. This will be the first time the Dutch National Ballet have performed

Cinderella outside of the Netherlands.

Described as a ‘lavish’, epic ballet’ his version is set to the Prokofiev score, with a visually

stunning set and magical puppetry work by Basil Twist. Christopher discards the fairytale

elements, favouring the story according to the Brothers Grimm.

This is Christopher’s first solo work with Sadler’s Wells in a number of years and is eagerly

anticipated.

Photo: Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella. Credit: Jack Devant

“How talented he is…” THE NEW YORKER on Christopher Wheeldon

To thank you for your support we have planned some special events with the season’s artists and companies, especially for Circle members.

A pair of complimentary premium seats to both

opening night celebrations for See the Music, Hear the

Dance on Thursday 30 October and Cinderella on

Wednesday 8 July - includes pre-show drinks & canapé

reception, interval drinks and a post-show reception with

the company

A pair of complimentary premium seats to join us at a

special reception around the UK premiere of Christopher

Wheeldon’s Cinderella.

Rehearsal with Crystal Pite

Rehearsal with Karole Armitage

Rehearsal with Alexander Whitley

Thomas Ades orchestral rehearsal

An invitation to the Sadler’s Wells Press Conference

on Tuesday 4 November 9:30am to be among the first to

hear about an exciting new ballet collaboration.

Rehearsal with English National Ballet

Evening in Conversation with Tamara Rojo on

Thursday 5 March

Priority access to purchase additional tickets in the First

Circle for Juliet & Romeo (September 2014); Thomas

Adès: See the Music, Hear the Dance (October 2014);

Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella and additional

contemporary ballet works announced for spring 2015

Advance notice of future new ballet productions coming

to Sadler’s Wells before they’re announced to the public

As a supporter you will be instrumental in the development and presentation of contemporary ballet at Sadler’s Wells in 2014 and 2015.

We hope you will consider joining the Circle.

Contact Anna Clark on 020 7863 8135 or at anna.clark@sadlerswells.com

Contemporary Ballet Supporter Benefits

Photo: See the Music, Hear the Dance. Credit: Johan Persson

Photo: Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella. Credit: Angela Sterling 020