“I am excited and humbled to be back on stage and direct six extraordinary soloist artists from all generations. Gigenis is a profound tribute to that reflection, a reconciliation between the past and the present times, a genuine celebration of our collective love for dance — boundless, timeless, as well as deeply rooted.” Akram Khan

Akram Khan Gigenis

Sadler's Wells Theatre

As a soundtrack to this exploration, De Keersmaeker returns to the roots of Western pop and blues music. The starting point for the performance is the song Walking Blues by legendary blues artist Robert Johnson. The journey then leads back to Der Wanderer by Schubert, the best-known singer-songwriter of the 19th century. Meskerem Mees, an upcoming Flemish singer songwriter with Ethiopian roots performs other variations of ‘walking songs’, composed together with Jean-Marie Aerts, sound architect of TC Matic, and with dancer and guitarist Carlos Garbin.

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Meskerem Mees, Jean-Marie Aerts, Carlos Garbin / Rosas EXIT ABOVE

The Ardennes, the Black Forest, Broceliande, the Vexin. Forests are spaces that can elude immediate understanding. Here, humans and animals scatter and hide, stalking, pursuing and trapping each other. Places of calm and meditation, of ecstasy and vivid life, forests can also be threatening and toxic environments.

Lenio Kaklea Αγρίμι (Fauve)

has captivated the world with their sophisticated and mature execution, setting them apart in the world of dance. With influences ranging from Michael Jackson and James Brown to Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, to the likes of Justin Timberlake, Missy Elliot, and Chris Brown, their performances are a dynamic blend of classic and contemporary styles.

Flawless Past, Present, Future

King's College London

, this riotous and complex exploration studies not only what makes us human and what binds us together, but manifests a panoply of symbols, archetypes, and structures for dancing that generate affect and feeling. By taking audiences on a jaw-dropping journey from ritual darkness, through the happy hardcore, and all the way to the calm, collective, Caribbeanist cool, DARK, HAPPY, to the COR

Marikiscrycrycry DARK, HAPPY, to the CORE

takes key events from The Brothers Karamazov set in 19th Century Russia and re-imagines the story in Japan with some new twists and turns as well as a new, unexpected ending. The drama centres on a family of traditional firework makers and the murder of a father seemingly by his eldest son after they fall in love with the same woman. The show will arrive in London after a 75-date tour of Tokyo, Kitakyushu and Osaka.


Love in Action

Lise has a choice to make. Loaded country bumpkin or penniless, hunky farmhand? Of course, there’s no contest, but her mum has other ideas. Heels are dug in and sparks fly, as a mother-daughter battle ensues.

Birmingham Royal Ballet La Fille mal gardée

Feeling different, teased by his friends and not accepted by his family, the Ugly Duckling is sad and lonely. Through a series of adventures he soon learns who he really is and his family realises it doesn’t matter what you look like but how good your heart is.

The Let’s All Dance Ballet Company

Icarus – a young actor – is already a big hit on screen. Yet, behind the scenes, he’s under the oppressive influence of his director. After an epic argument, Icarus finds himself unable to escape the film director’s stranglehold.

Stories - The Tap Dance Sensation

With an all-female, international creative team, including choreographers Iratxe Ansa (Spain), Wubkje Kuindersma (Netherlands), Seeta Patel (UK), Arielle Smith (UK), Thais Suárez (Cuba) and music composed by Kate Whitley (UK).

Birmingham Royal Ballet Luna

With audiences seated on multiple sides, this powerful piece incorporates the work of Sengalese dance artist Momar Ndiaye as dramaturge to interrogate the complexities of contemporary living.

Abby Zbikowski and her company Abby Z and the New Utility create contemporary dance works that pay homage to the effort of living. Zbikowski’s rigorous training in African and Afro-diasporic forms, playing sports and performing manual labour informs her craft.

Abby Z and the New Utility

Fast footwork and fancy frocks – this is a flamenco fiesta that will leave you shouting olé!

Manuel Liñán ¡VIVA!

Stay ahead of the curve and be one of the first to experience the work of these up-and-coming creatives. Our 2023/24 Young Associates share their work in a mixed bill, each showcasing their distinct and diverse creative worlds as they take the next step in their careers as choreographers.

Young Associates - Four

This new full-length evening will showcase the physicality and complexity of Hofesh Shechter’s choreography and his inimitable dancers, as they take the audience on a wild headfirst dive into the world of dreams.

Through Hofesh’s ever-unfolding choreography, this new work will delve deep into the world of fantasy and the subconscious, revealing fears, hopes, desires and a myriad of emotions that penetrates not only the dreaming mind but also our waking thoughts. From this uncontrollable wave of chaotic emotions and surreal events emerges a strange sense of clarity and reality – the mind is king.

Hofesh Shechter Company Theatre of Dreams

, a star on the international dance scene. This is a unique pas de deux in which the two dancers are joined together with a belt, fusing their bodies together as one. This genre-breaking choreographer’s work is set to an eclectic compilation of music by contemporary artists as well as original music by Forest Swords, whose atmospheric music brings together hip hop, dub, guitar loops and electronic sampling for a rhythmic, avant-garde sound.

The National Ballet of Canada

, traditionally only worn by women, by introducing the unique TUTU trousers. The company skilfully parodies more than 40 characters, becoming icons of classical ballet, contemporary dance, and rhythmic or acrobatic dance. Audiences are taken on a hilarious whirlwind ride as they witness a hip-hop version of Swan Lake, a clumsy take on Dirty Dancing, and a dainty version of The Haka.

Chicos Mambo TUTU

invites you to delve into the mind and souls of some of the finest hip hop artists as they dare to try something new, risky, or revolutionary!

Six acts present brand-new short works devised and developed in just one week with mentorship from hip hop theatre aficionados.

Breakin’ Convention Open Art Surgery

Join Drag Race UK winner Danny Beard and their full live band for a 5-star night of killer vocals, snappy comedy, put downs and pick me ups. Get ready for an evening of scandalous behaviour, lots of laughs, and an honest insight into what life’s really like as a Z-list ‘celeb’. The host of BBC3’s The After Shave takes to the road in this brand-new international tour for 2024.

Danny Beard Straight Expectations

Following acclaimed performances around the world, and sold-out shows in Manchester and Bristol in 2023, Akram Khan’s Giselle returns to Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London for the first time in five years.

As the curtain rises, dancers in shadow push against a forbidding wall. From that moment on, this ground-breaking production stuns with powerful images.

English National Ballet Akram Khan’s Giselle

The former resident company of Sadler’s Wells is making its long-awaited return to the world stage. London City Ballet
presents the best of British ballet and contemporary dance, paying homage to the company’s early beginnings, shining a bright light on a new legacy.

London City Ballet Resurgence

Join National Youth Ballet
for a dynamic new mixed bill, showcasing a talented generation of dancers and choreography by some of the UK’s most exciting artists. Evolving Visions

National Youth Ballet Evolving Visions

Graham Norton, the nation’s favourite talk show host and author, is taking to the road with a brand-new tour this autumn to celebrate the publication of his latest book, Frankie.

An Evening with Graham Norton

Peacock Theater

tells the true story of martial artist and prestigious Grandmaster Yip Man and his influence on the legendary art of Wing Chun, from its 300 year old origins in China to its explosion across the rest of the world, and his most famous student Bruce Lee. This highly acclaimed, multi award-winning, dance drama follows a film crew as they shoot the story of Yip Man, spanning the ‘then’ and ‘now’ through two eras, two worlds, two generations of people chasing their dreams.

Joyway London Wing Chun

Starring Mary Bridget Davies and Sharon Sexton as Janis, this multi award-winning show is an extraordinary musical journey paying homage to Janis Joplin and her biggest musical influences.

Like a comet that burns far too brightly to last, Janis Joplin exploded onto the music scene in 1967 and, almost overnight, became the queen of rock & roll. The unmistakable voice, filled with raw emotion and tinged with Southern Comfort, made her a must-see headliner from Monterey to Woodstock.

A Night with Janis Joplin The Musical

As we gear up for the debut of Breaking in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Sadler’s Wells and Breakin’ Convention bring the Hip Hop Games to the Stratford Waterfront.

Crews of Krumpers and Poppers go head to head in an epic hip hop battle, packed with improvisation games and creative challenges.

Hip Hop Games

New York City. 1975. On an empty Broadway stage, seventeen performers are put through their paces in the final, gruelling audition for a new Broadway musical. Only eight will make the cut.

A Chorus Line

Come along and discover a wide range of dance styles, as your child develops their coordination, creative thinking and social interaction.

Family Freestyle

If you spoke to Britain what would it say? We ask a group of young people from around England to tell us what they think – the good, the bad, the ugly. The old and new..

Ground-breaking choreographer Oona Doherty creates a brand new work in which the dancers keep getting up and keep showing us their real strength and beauty, in a repetitive movement of resistance, stamina and will. Their greatness in Britain.

National Youth Dance Company 23/24 Oona Doherty Wall

Make your Christmas a cracker with this family treat that will melt your heart. Join the Boy as his Snowman comes to life and they embark on a magical adventure far across the world. Meet a host of woodland creatures, an assemblage of international Snowmen, and even a dancing Pineapple.

The Snowman

The work, co-created with a cast of professionals and participants, explores themes of utopia and misogyny and it is inspired by the painting The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch, which presents many human figures in a terrestrial paradise, indulging in worldly pleasures.

Eva Recacha The Picnic

Nobodaddy

Matthew Bourne’s audacious, rule-breaking reinvention of Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece caused a sensation when it premiered almost 30 years ago. It has now become the most successful dance theatre production of all time, creating new audiences and inspiring generations of young dancers. In celebration of that ongoing impact, Swan Lake will take flight once more in a major new revival for the next generation of dancers, and for audiences who will experience it for the very first time.

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake

The Nutcracker is perfect for children of all ages. Whether your little ones have never been to the theatre before or are regular visitors, all children will be transported to the magical Land of Sweets and meet the Mouse King, Snow Queen and gorgeous Sugar Plum Fairy. Clara and the Nutcracker Prince would love you to join them on their magical journey!

The Let’s All Dance Ballet Company The Nutcracker

Returning to her family’s Georgian roots, Sepia is a solo piece that reclaims a conventionally masculine dance, the traditional Georgian folk dance Khorumi. Stav Struz Boutrous contrasts this martial dance with feminine tenderness.

Stav Struz Boutrous Sepia

Drawing from the catalogue of Grammy Award-winning R&B legend D’Angelo, this creative exaltation depicts Black life and love in the USA while serving as a thumping mixtape celebrating culture, family and community. The dancers create an unforgettable party, inviting the audience to view stories of love, solidarity and friendship told with Kyle Abraham’s trademark poetic clarity.

Kyle Abraham (A.I.M by Kyle Abraham) 

Sometime in the near future… Humanity has failed to adapt to the new ecological reality. It is officially the end of the world as we know it. Amidst this climatic chaos, some people attempt to maintain a normal lifestyle, hilariously turning a blind eye to the mayhem that surrounds them.

Compagnie Focus & Chaliwaté Dimanche

, Marco da Silva Ferreira uses dance as a research tool for community, the construction of collective identity, memory and cultural stagnation. The choreography, which initially starts with jumping footwork as an agitator and accelerator, progressively draws a vibrant, rebellious and carnivalesque body.

Marco da Silva Ferreira

Five female dancers perform in forty different dresses – evening dresses, wedding dresses, night dresses, casual dresses and ball dresses. Sequined, long, puffy, fitted and oversized. Dresses that fly, that shine, that burst, that spin, that trail on the ground or fall. Maldonne

Leïla Ka Maldonne

Named after the vast Antarctic ice sheet which broke away in 2017, Greek choreographer Christos Papadopoulos’ work explores the universal patterns of change and the monumental shifts occurring around the world.

Christos Papadopoulos LARSEN C

Transport yourself to Buenos Aires to delve into the sensual history of Argentine tango. The bandoneón (a type of concertina) is not just an instrument, it encapsulates the raw passion of tango.

Bandoneón Tango Obsession

sprung from the existential question that Wang Yeu-Kwn grappled with during Covid-19: why do people have to prove that they exist? Taking inspiration from the Chinese character 人 (person) – two intimately connected dancers perform on a four-by-four metre piece of rice paper. Their movements cause the paper to wrinkle and twist while the black calligraphy ink streaming down the dancers leaves irreversible marks.

Wang Yeu-Kwn / Shimmering Production

Drawn from Lia Rodrigues’ work in one of the largest favelas (shanty town) in Rio de Janeiro, this visually arresting piece uses over 140 vibrant blankets to clothe the ensemble of dancers and features indigenous Brazilian music to present another possible vision of the world, bringing people together and making magic out of the darkness.

Lia Rodrigues Encantado

It takes place in a garbage recycling center, where four creative workers give new life to all kinds of waste using percussion, movement and slapstick.

Butane bottles, umbrellas, balls, tool boxes, horns, bin bags… These guys turn everything into colourful musical sketches full of wit and humor. This is trash

Trash!

Based in Oita, Japan, the group brings their one-of-a-kind instrumental performance, with the distinctly Japanese lineup of Wadaiko drums alongside beautiful melodies on Shinobue (flute), Koto (harp), and Syamisen (guitar). Drum TAO

Drum TAO The Dream

Bat Out of Hell makes a triumphant return to the UK in 2025, with a thrilling spectacle of a show where the timeless music of Jim Steinman and Meatloaf reigns supreme! Get ready for an electrifying experience that will ignite your passion for rock ‘n’ roll.

Bat Out of Hell: The Musical

Recorded by The Who – it quickly became an iconic and multi-million selling album. Quadrophenia defined a generation and in 1979 inspired the cult classic feature film of the same name.

Now it’s back – this time as an explosive dance production – Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet with a cast of exceptional dancers, introducing new audiences to troubled mod Jimmy’s story while remaining true in spirit to the much-loved original.

Sadler’s Wells Theatre

20 - 24 Nov, 2024

Akram Khan Gigenis

Nov 23, 2024 - Jan 4, 2025

The Snowman

27 - 29 Nov, 2024

Eva Recacha The Picnic

27 - 30 Nov, 2024

Nobodaddy

Dec 3, 2024 - Jan 26, 2025

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake

20 - 24 Nov, 2024

Akram Khan Gigenis

12 - 13 Nov, 2024

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Meskerem Mees, Jean-Marie Aerts, Carlos Garbin / Rosas EXIT ABOVE

Sadler’s Wells Theatre