Sadler's Wells Spring 2019 – March/April Highlights

Richard Alston, the choreographer who perhaps more than anybody else has distilled the sheer joy of dance into his works, brings his Richard Alston Dance Company to Sadler's Wells for the first of its final two visits. To the distress of its many fans, the company has announced its intention to disband, so this programme, Quartermark, is not to be missed. It assembles two new works – Alston's Brahms Hungarian and Martin Lawrance's darker Detour – and a revival of Alston's Proverb set to the vocals of Steve Reich.
1 – 2 March. Full details and tickets here

BalletBoyz are set to wow their legions of fans with a new double bill.

BalletBoyz, Christopher Wheeldon's US, photo Panayiotis Sinnos
Them/Us combines Christopher Wheeldon's especially commissioned and universally acclaimed Us (pictured above) with Them, a new work developed by the dancers themselves. As a whole, the programme asks where we see ourselves in relation to the 'other'.
5 – 9 March Full Details and tickets here

An intriguing collaboration: Russell Maliphant/Vangelis

Russell Maliphant/Vangelis, The Thread (c) Nikiforos
One of Culture Whisper's very favourite choreographers, Russell Maliphant, seeks inspiration in Greek mythology and historic Hellenic dances for his new work The Thread. Choreographed on an electronic score by the Greek composer Vangelis, The Thread explores the changing form of traditional and contemporary dance.
15 – 17 March Full details and tickets here

Mark Morris Dance Group, Pepperland is the celebrated American choreographer's homage to one of the most influential albums of all time, The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
20 – 23 March. See Culture Whisper's preview here

Northern Ballet, Victoria, is the latest full length work from the Leeds-based company, which specialises in narrative works. Choreography comes from Cathy Marston, whose graphic reading of Jane Eyre last season garnered plaudits. This time Marston looks at the many facets of Queen Victoria through the eyes of her youngest daughter, Beatrice.
26 – 30 March Full details and tickets here

English National Ballet, She Persists continues the company's mission to show the work of female choreographers.

ENB, Tamara Rojo as Frida in Broken Wings by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, photo Laurent Liotardo
The programme reprises two works first shown together in 2016, when ENB Artistic Director Tamara Rojo decided to assemble an all-female programme: Pina Bausch's powerful rendering of Stravinksy's Rite of Spring; and Frida, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's homage to the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Completing She Persisted is a new work by company dancer Stina Quagebeur, Nora, Inspired by Ibsen's A Doll's House.
4 – 13 April Full details and tickets here

Belgium's Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker's company Rosas & renowned French Cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras tackle Bach.

Acclaimed as a masterpiece on its recent tour of the US, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker/Jean-Guihen Queyras & Rosas' Mitten wir im Leben sind/Bach6Cellosuiten has the six Bach cello suites played live in their entirety, while the dancers try to capture an affinity with the music. Bach suits de Keersmaeker's rigorous mathematical approach to dance and this is set to be a demanding but satisfying work.
24 – 25 April. Full details and tickets here