12 December 2017
Newsdesk
Sadler’s Wells starts the new year with the return of the dance taster festival Sadler’s Wells Sampled, featuring world-class dance and a series of workshops and foyer activities, on Friday 2 & Saturday 3 February 2018. The festival gives audiences a chance to experience the broad range of dance presented at Sadler’s Wells at affordable prices, with proms style standing tickets available for just £5, and all other tickets at £20. Following its London run, Sampled will then tour to The Lowry, Salford Quays as part of The Movement, a producing partnership for dance between Sadler’s Wells, The Lowry and Birmingham Hippodrome.
A regular fixture at Sadler’s Wells since 2007, Sampled features a wide variety of dance, from classical ballet to hip hop, contemporary and flamenco. Alongside the performances audience members can also participate in an array of beginners’ workshops throughout the day on Saturday 3 February.
The 2018 festival includes performances from the finalists of BBC Younger Dancer 2017, showcasing the best of young British dance talent. Nafisah Baba winner of the contemporary category and overall winner of the 2017 competition presents Inescapable, a work created by her for last year’s competition. Jodelle Douglas winner of the street dance category from 2017 and Harry Barnes the 2015 winner of the hip hop category and a category finalists for street dance in the 2017 competition, perform Mass Effect a work choreographed by Douglas. The project is part of the BBC’s continuing commitment to the arts and support of new artists joining BBC Young Musician as a showcase for talented and dedicated young performers.
Former dancer with Ballet Nacional de España, Jesús Carmona is a pioneer in flamenco’s evolution and is one of three international acts in this year’s festival. His footwork and ballet-infused moves translate masterfully to the work he creates for his own company. For Sampled he will perform a Solea the most passionate and majestic styles of flamenco, from his 2013 show 7 Balcones accompanied by singer, Juan José Amador and guitarist, Dani Jurado. Carmona returns to Sadler’s Wells later in the month as part of Sadler’s Wells annual Flamenco Festival.
Ballet is represented in this year’s festival by some of the UK’s leading artists. Firstly, former Principal of The Royal Ballet, Zenaida Yanowsky who performs Dying Swan. A solo created specifically for the ballet dancer Anna Pavlova by Mikhail Fokine in 1905, set to Camille Saint-Saëns's cello solo Le Cygne from Le Carnaval des Animaux (The Carnival of the Animals). The piece is renowned for its emotional pull with Fokine describing the work as ‘proof that the dance could and should satisfy not only the eye, but through the medium of the eye should penetrate the soul’.
Birmingham Royal Ballet, completes the ballet line-up with a duet from the company’s work, Kin., created for the company by former Birmingham Royal Ballet dancer Alexander Whitley. Kin. celebrates the raw kinetics of dance, the virtuosity of ballet technique and the potential for movement to bring us together in different ways.
Contemporary dance is showcased in Sampled by both new and established companies. Candoco Dance Company, the renowned contemporary dance company of disabled and non-disabled performers present Dedicated to… a new work for the company by Caroline Bowditch. The piece reveals the extraordinary bonds we make throughout our lives in a touching portrayal of female strength, support and friendship. The duet explores how people come in and out of our lives, how friendships evolve and adapt and how they can shape who we are.
Fascinated with the complexities of Western physics, astrophysics and Eastern mysticism, Birmingham and Barcelona based contemporary dance company, Humanhood, explore the deep connections which lie between these seemingly abstract fields. Commissioned by The Movement for Sampled, company founders Rudi Cole and Júlia Robert Parés present a re-worked extract from their first full length duet ZERO, which explores the interconnections and synchronicity in the universe. Humanhood return to Sadler’s Wells’ Lilian Baylis Studio in May, performing ZERO as part of their Sadler’s Wells Wild Card evening, a bespoke evening of works curated by the next generation of dance makers.
Completing the contemporary dance line up is NDT2. Founded in 1978, NDT2 is the second, younger company of Nederlands Dans Theater, widely considered to be one of the most inventive and original dance companies in Europe. The company has established a reputation for the astounding technique and boundless energy. For Sampled, the company presents associate choreographer, Marco Goecke's, new creation and UK Premiere Wir sagen uns Dunkles (We tell each other something dark) which looks at the encounter in the studio between the choreographer and the dancers. Their meetings appear unimportant, yet simultaneously they are more important than anything else.
Award-winning hip hop dance crew Yeah Yellow are a multidisciplinary dance group from France and complete this year’s London line-up. The company consider themselves a collective of dancing Jedi Knights showcasing their creativity, originality and “joie de vivre”, whether hip hop or breaking. Since their inception they have performed and battled internationally, representing France with numerous titles under their belt. For Sampled the company perform their piece Yeah Yellow Sunshine.
Sadler’s Wells’ Artistic Director and Chief Executive Alistair Spalding says: “With Sadler’s Wells Sampled, we offer the opportunity to enjoy a diverse range of world-class artists and dance genres in one programme, at a reduced price. It is a chance for new audiences and dance fans who are no are not so familiar with all the different styles we present to discover how rich and varied the art form is. This year’s line-up includes flamenco dancer Jesús Carmona and Candoco Dance Company, who will give an exciting taster of the work they’ll present at Sadler’s Wells over the coming season. I am delighted that, thanks to The Movement, we will be able to take the project beyond London to The Lowry for a second year, as well as offer artistic support to dance companies Humanhood and Uchenna Dance. We are very grateful to American Express, whose generous support is enabling us to present the festival.”
On Friday afternoon there will be a shortened schools matinee performance, including NDT2, Jesús Carmona, Yeah Yellow and the BBC Young Dancer 2017 finalists. Tickets are available at a reduced rate of £6 and £3 ‘proms’ style standing.
In addition to the performances, there will be activities held across the foyer spaces. On Friday, the events will be based around Brazilian dance and music whilst on Saturday it will be themed around hip hop dance and culture. Saturday will also have a day full of workshops, including a hip hop class with Yeah Yellow, along with contemporary dance, flamenco and many more. For information on workshops and foyer activities as they are announced, go to: sadlerswells.com.
Following dates at Sadler’s Wells, Dance:Sampled, the touring arm of Sadler’s Wells Sampled festival, will go to The Lowry on Saturday 17 February with two performances at 2pm and 8pm. Supported by The Movement this year’s Sampled: Dance celebrates both established and up-coming UK artists and companies. The evening will include performances from artists from Sadler’s Wells Sampled, including Nafisah Baba, Humanhood and the evening’s only international act, Jesús Carmona along with additional companies performing especial for this event.
Gandini Juggling, a company that celebrates juggling in all its facets, exploring not just what juggling is, but what juggling can be, will be perform an excerpt from the company’s cult piece and worldwide hit SMASHED, a mesmerising mix of circus and theatre, inspired by the work of choreographer Pina Bausch.
Scotland’s national dance company, Scottish Ballet perform two iconic ballet duets for their first showcase at Dance:Sampled. The first is the Sugar Plum Fairy and Prince Duet from the Christmas classic, The Nutcracker and the second is a duet from Sibilo created by Scottish Ballet’s Artist in Residence, Sophie Laplane. Sibilo (Latin for ‘whistle’) shows Laplane’s joyful and unrestricted style in a celebration of the power and versatility of dancers’ bodies and of movement in all its forms.
Vicki Igbokwe’s company Uchenna Dance perform an extract from The Head Wrap Diaries which toured small to mid-scale venues in the UK last autumn. A funny and uplifting interactive show set in a hair salon, The Head Wrap Diaries explores femininity, beauty, culture, sisterhood and our relationship with hair, blending club styles house, waacking and vogue with African and contemporary dance accompanied by a specially commissioned soundtrack of Afro house, folk, electronic dance music, jazz and Ghana gospel. With support from The Movement the piece has been re-worked for a larger stage.
Completing Dance:Sampled’s line up is hip hop dancer and choreographer Botis Seva’s company Far From The Norm performing 60 secs, a piece that investigates how much energy can move through our sphere in one minute. The work is a physical interpretation of Torben Lars Sylvest and Ezio Bosso's classical musical composition Thunders and Lightnings which contrasts with the hip hop movement of the piece.
For more information on Dance:Sampled, visit www.thelowry.com/dance
Sadler’s Wells Sampled information:
Press night: Friday 2 February at 7.30pm
Please note: workshops are £4 per person and are available to Sampled ticket holders. Workshops are for participants aged 18 +, and can be booked via telephone on 020 7863 8000.
Doors open at 6pm for free front of house activities. For information on workshops and foyer activities, see: sadlerswells.com.
Schools Matinee: Friday 2 February at 1pm. Doors open at midday for free front of house activities.
Sadler’s Wells Sampled
Sadler’s Wells, EC1R 4TN
Friday 2 & Saturday 3 February 2018
Performances: Fri & Sat at 7.30pm, Doors 6pm
Fri Schools matinee at 1pm
Tickets: Fri & Sat £20, £5 ‘proms’ style standing, Fri Schools matinee £6, £3 ‘proms’ style standing
Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000
Dance: Sampled
The Lowry, The Lyric Theatre, Salford Quays
Saturday 17 February 2018
Performances at 2pm & 8pm
Tickets: £5 - £10
Ticket Office: 0843 208 6000
