A regular fixture since 2007, Sadler’s Wells’ Sampled will return in 2017 as the dance taster festival featuring world-class dance and a series of workshops and foyer activities, on 3-4 February 2017. The festival gives audiences a chance to experience the broad range of dance presented at Sadler’s Wells at very affordable prices. Following London, Sampled will tour to The Lowry and Birmingham Hippodrome as part of The Movement, a new producing partnership with the venues.
Sampled features a wide variety of dance, from classical ballet to hip hop, contemporary and tango, and will give the opportunity for audience members to participate in beginners’ workshops. Workshops will include Argentine tango led by Julia Hiriart Urruty and Claudio González; tap dance with World Tap Dance champion and West End performer Jack Evans; and contemporary circus with My Aerial Home, exploring how dance and circus seamlessly combine.
In terms of performance, the 2017 festival includes work from Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Russell Maliphant, whose company will perform his work Still, last seen in 2014. Throughout his career he has set works on renowned companies and artists including: Sylvie Guillem, BalletBoyz, and Batsheva Ensemble.
Spain’s award-winning Iron Skulls Co. will present Sinestesia, a dynamic work where skilled dancers morph into post-apocalyptic survivors. The piece received its world premiere at Breakin’ Convention, the critically-acclaimed international festival of hip hop dance theatre in 2015, and toured the UK with Breakin’ Convention during the season.
Direct from New York, tap dance group Dorrance Dance will perform Boards & Chains. The troupe has performed company founder Michelle Dorrance’s works at venues including Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the Joyce Theatre and Danspace Project, refreshing a uniquely American dance form in works that combine the musicality of tap with the choreographic intricacies of contemporary dance.
Also to be included is an extract from Northern Ballet’s Casanova, choreographed Kenneth Tindall. The work tells the sensational story of the infamous Italian adventurer in a seductive masquerade of passion and politics. Sampled will offer audiences a first glimpse at this major new production prior to the start of its UK tour in spring 2017.