English National Ballet: She Said: Sadler's Wells

The debate surrounding the imbalance between male and female choreographers across the dance world has been hotting up of late, with more and more companies and artists discussing what many recognise as an old problem.
Where many talk, English National Ballet has decided to act by bringing the talents of three globally established female choreographers to the fore in an evening of new works.
Tamara Rojo, English National Ballet’s far-seeing artistic director and principal, has developed a reputation for savvy choices, building ENB’s allure with commercially and critically successful programmes Lest We Forget and last year’s Modern Masters. We suspect that by delivering the debate straight into the mainstream, She Said will follow in their footsteps.
While this programme puts ENB at the forefront of the campaign to bring female choreographers into balance with their male peers, Rojo is no risk-taker. Each of the three top female choreographers brings an impressive reputation to the table.
Aszure Barton
Canadian choreographer Aszure Barton has worked with a host of renowned American dance companies including ABT, and collaborated with the likes of ballet legend Mikhail Baryshnikov. Her work is rarely seen in the UK, and there are few clues as to the substance of the piece beyond a score by Mason Bates, a composer as well known as a DJ as for his orchestral writing. We’re intrigued.
Annabelle Lopez Ochoa: Broken Wings
Many will recognise Annabelle Lopez Ochoa as the dance-maker behind Scottish Ballet’s spectacular A Streetcar Named Desire, which returned to wow Londoners for a second time in 2015. Reuniting the team behind that success (director Nancy Meckler and composer Peter Salem), Ochoa explores the life of Frida Kahlo, from the accident that marred it to the stormy relationship with Diego Rivera that briefly illuminated it.
Yabin Wang
While you might know Yabin Wang as the dancer behind that incredible scene in Zhang Yimou’s House of Flying Daggers, she is better known in China as a TV star and pioneer in Chinese contemporary dance, bringing together choreographers and artists from across globe in her annual Yabin and Her Friends programme. She’ll drop her anti-heroine Medea into classical China, to music composed by Jocelyn Pook.
The choices behind She Said promise a captivating night of dance, which will no doubt be one of the most talked about new dance shows in London, 2016.