Voices of the Amazon, Sisters Grimm, Sadler's Wells

The London-based production company Sisters Grimm is venturing deep into the rainforest with Voices of the Amazon, performed by a company of 14 dancers, singers and musicians.

The show features a fusion of ballet, contemporary dance and capoeira, devised by award-winning choreographer Helen Pickett – all danced to a lush musical score which incorporates sounds recorded in the rainforest as well as songs in English and Portuguese.

Voices of the Amazon follows Beleza, a water spirit, whose quest to cure her dying sister leads her into the heart of the Brazilian rainforest. To her shock and dismay, she discovers the forest is no longer as abundant in plants and natural medicines.

Conceived by former Royal Ballet dancer and First Artist, Pietra Mello-Pittman, and composer Ella Spira (aka the Sisters Grimm) the production is both a tribute to the beauty of the natural world and a comment on the damaging effects of de-forestation.

There is definitely an underlying Royal Ballet theme to this production, because it's now been announced that the cast will include Royal Ballet First Artist, Nathalie Harrison. Clearly Pietra Mello-Pittman is calling on past connections.

The Sisters Grimm, founded in 2009, have a wealth of theatre experience between them and have joined forces with internationally-renowned talents for Voices of the Amazon.

American-born choreographer Helen Pickett has created more than 30 ballets for companies in the United States and Europe. Currently resident choreographer for Atlanta Ballet, she has worked with the likes of Boston Ballet, Scottish Ballet and Royal Ballet of Flanders.

While it is Pickett’s name that will attract London dance fans, Brazilian songwriters Danny Nascimento, Dito Martins and Julien Davis also boast impressive biographies of their own.

This latest collaborative project from Sisters Grimm follows in the footsteps of 2014’s hugely successful INALA, a Zulu ballet performed with Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Voices of the Amazon will be another hit.