Sadler's Wells Autumn 2019 Highlights

The season kicks off with the return of the much loved Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, always a crowd pleaser with its vibrant dancing, colourful costumes and exciting choreographies. Across three different programmes, Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre will offer a variety of new and established works; all programmes end with its signature work Revelations (pictured above)

4 – 14 September (tickets £15-£75) Full details and booking here

Autumn 2019 at Sadler’s Wells is the season of the three Giselles… English National Ballet bring back Akram Khan’s phenomenally successful recreation of one of the world’s best loved ballets.

ENB, Giselle, Alina Cojucaru, Isaac Hernandez, photo Laurent Liotardo
18 – 28 September (tickets £15-£75) Full details and booking here

The original Romantic Giselle, lovingly recreated by David Bentley and Galina Samsova from Petipa’s 19th century original, will come to Sadler’s Wells courtesy of Birmingham Royal Ballet, with the BRB orchestra playing Adolphe Adam’s much loved score live.

1 – 2 November (tickets £15-£65) Full details and booking here

The third Giselle of Sadler’s Wells’ Autumn 2019 programme comes from South Africa and brings yet another shift in the eponymous heroine’s time and place. In Dada Masilo’s adaptation, South African Giselle, abandoned by her lover, is guided by a tradition healer, a Sangoma.

Giselle is Masilo’s second daring adaptation of a ballet classic, following last year’s Swan Lake. It incorporates traditional Tswana dance styles, choreographed on a bespoke score by the South African composer Philip Miller

4 – 5 October (tickets £15-£45) Full details and booking here

From France comes Ballet Preljoacj, which returns to Sadler’s Wells after a seven year absence. Following his hugely inventive recreation of the Snow White fairy tale, the choreographer Angelin Preljocaj brings us Le Fresque, a reworking of the the traditional Chinese tale La Fresque or ‘The painting on the wall’.

30 September – 2 October (tickets £15-£50) Full details and booking here

The Russian ballet superstar Natalia Osipova brings back her ‘me’ project Pure Dance, which premiered at Sadler’s Wells last season to mixed reviews.

Pure Dance, Natalia Osipova, Davd Hallberg, photo Stephanie Berger

In this collection of short pieces, Osipova will be joined by one of her favourite partners, the American David Hallberg (who also dances an especially commissioned solo by Kim Brandstrup). The programme includes duets by Alexei Ratmansky and Iván Pérez and a solo for Osipova by Yuka Oishi.

22 – 26 October (tickets £15-£85) Full details and booking here

Rambert’s junior company, Rambert2, shows off its second intake of young dancers, who will perform works by two rising starts from the US: Andrea Miller, the first choreographer to be named artist-in-residence at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Jermaine Spivey, the award-winning dancer from Crystal Pite’s company Kidd Pivot.

4 – 5 November (£15-£50) Full details and booking here

Acosta Danza, Carlos Acosta’s young, immensely talented and vibrant Cuban company returns to Sadler’s Wells, where its debut two years ago had a rapturous welcome.

Acosta Danza's new programme, called Evolution, includes Christopher Bruce’s cheeky Rooster, to music by the Rolling Stones – which suits the company men to a T – alongside works by the Swedish choreographer Pontus Lidberg and Cuba’s own Raul Reinoso

18 – 23 November (£15-£85) Full details and booking here

The irrepressible ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company brings back its smash-hit Some Like it Hip Hop, which has already become a classic of the genre. It tells a tale of love, mistaken identity, cross-dressing and revolution, with more than a nod to Shakespeare and to Billy Wilder’s classic Hollywood movie, Some Like it Hot.

23 October – 9 November, Peacock Theatre (tickets £18-£55) Full details and booking here

And Michelle Dorrance, the woman who brought tap dance into the 21st century, even while exploring its roots and evolution, crosses the Atlantic again with a mixed bill, Myelination and other works, to be performed by her own company, Dorrance Dance, whose previous Sadler's Wells show Culture Whisper found electrifying.

Dorrance Dance, Myelination, photo Dana Lynn Pleasant

14 – 16 November (tickets £15-£45) Full details and booking here

The Christmas period will see the much anticipated return of Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes – details and Culture Whisper's own review here

The full programme for Sadler’s Wells Autumn 2019 can be found here.