The Rite of Spring/common ground(s), Sadler's Wells

Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is an extraordinary work which has lost none of its power since its premiere in 1913. Depicting the savage eruption of Spring in his native Russia with its attendant rites of human sacrifice, over the years The Rite of Spring has proved an irresistible challenge to all manner of choreographers, but none has penetrated its ferocity like the late great German dance maker Pina Bausch.

Bausch's 1975 The Rite of Spring became one of the signature works of her Tanztheater Wuppertal, a company notoriously reluctant to allow others to perform its work; so, the fact that the Pina Bausch Foundation granted a performance licence to Senegal's École des Sables is a noteworthy event. In collaboration with Sadler's Wells, a newly assembled company of dancers from a number of African countries is bringing Bausch's The Rite of Spring to London.

They've been here before: delayed by Covid, the London premiere of this unique collaboration finally took place at Sadler's Wells two years ago, and it was mind-blowing, the African dancers bringing something very special to the piece.


You can read Culture Whisper's ★★★★★ review of that performance here.

The second half of this unmissable double bill, common ground(s) was also programmed for the 2022 performance, but cast illness means it was cancelled. Now, finally, we get an opportunity to see it. It's a new work created, performed and inspired by the lives of two remarkable women: Germaine Acogny, 'the mother of contemporary African dance' and founder of École des Sables, and Malou Airaudo who joined Bausch in the early days of Tanztheater Wuppertal.


Note: the performances of The Rite of Spring on the main stage are complemented by a powerful sound installation in the Lilian Baylis Studio, running at various times on Sunday 10 November. Full details and tickets here