Sadler’s Wells today announces new programming across its four theatres

Associate Artists Crystal Pite, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Alesandra Seutin, Hofesh Shechter, Akram Khan, Sharon Eyal, Jules Cunningham and Michael Keegan-Dolan all feature, as well as International Associate Company Acosta Danza.  
 
Ballet Black, Andrea Peña, Armin Hokmi, Copenhagen Collective, Ichi Ni San, Yewande 103, Amit Noy and Sadeck Berrabah make their Sadler’s Wells debuts. 
 
World premieres of triple bill inspired by the work of Nico Muhly, a performance installation that reimagines Western ideas of progress, new work from Sadler’s Wells resident Company of Elders, plus Chaka Khan musical I’m Every Woman in 2026. 
 
Programming, workshops and symposiums announced for inaugural YFX Youth Festival, which celebrates the incredible youth work being created up and down the country.  

Sir Alistair Spalding CBE, Sadler’s Wells Artistic Director and Co-Chief Executive, said:

“Dance really is a universal language, and at Sadler’s Wells we are committed to sharing stories from around the globe. The new shows announced today provide a window on the world with artists and companies from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Columbia, Cuba, Denmark, France, Iran, Ireland, India, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Morocco, The Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and United States of America.

We’re delighted to be able to present world class work by eight of our Associate Artists this autumn. It‘s vital that we can continue to support these artists and provide a home for boundary-pushing work.Some extraordinary choreographers and companies also make their Sadler’s Wells debuts.

Over the summer, across our venues, we will shine a spotlight on the incredible work being created with and by young people up and down the country in our brand-new youth festival YFX, in partnership with One Dance UK.

As ever, at Sadler’s Wells, audiences will be treated to a kaleidoscope of styles including Bharatanatyam, ballet, contemporary, hip hop, kathak, dance theatre, martial arts and circus.”

Across two weeks in July 2025, Sadler’s Wells presents the first edition of the new annual YFX Youth Festival, which celebrates and showcases the exceptional range of youth dance work across the United Kingdom. This year Sadler’s Wells is partnering with One Dance UK to present work from the National Youth Dance Companies of England, Scotland and Wales, new choreographic creations from young people and showcases featuring youth groups from around the country.

Sadler’s Wells continues its Composer Series with the world premiere of Marking Time (Sadler’s Wells Theatre, 20-22 Nov), which sees Jules Cunningham, Michael Keegan-Dolan and Maud Le Pladec take inspiration from the work of celebrated US musician Nico Muhly. Originally due to premiere five years ago but delayed by the pandemic, the Sadler’s Wells production features live music played by the Britten Sinfonia.

Alesandra Seutin, appointed Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist in 2024, presents the UK premiere of Mimi’s Shebeen (Sadler’s Wells East, 22-24 Oct) which takes inspiration from South African singer and political activist Miriam Makeba. Through dance, poetry and music, the Sadler’s Wells co-production explores stories of exile, immigration and humanity.

Visionary creatives Crystal Pite and Simon McBurney present their award-winning dance trilogy Figures in Extinction (Sadler’s Wells Theatre, 5-8 Nov). Working with the dancers of Nederlands Dans Theater, the Complicité co-production explores the age of disconnection.

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui presents two works this autumn: the UK premiere of Vlaemsch (Sadler’s Wells Theatre, 18-20 Sept) a love letter to his Flemish roots, and an Accident / a Life (Sadler’s Wells East, 25-27 Sept), a collaboration with Marc Brew which takes inspiration from the car accident that left the ballet dancer paraplegic in a split second. Meanwhile Sutra, Cherkaoui’s collaboration with the Shaolin Monks, a Sadler’s Wells co-production, is on tour throughout Europe.

Past and present collide in the UK premiere of Akram Khan’s Thikra: Night of Remembering, a Sadler’s Wells co-production that features an all-female cast of Bharatanatyam and contemporary dancers and is a collaboration with award-winning visual artist Manal AlDowayan (Sadler’s Wells Theatre, 28 Oct-1 Nov).

Sharon Eyal partners with London-based artist, producer and composer Koreless on an original soundtrack and long-term collaborator Maria Grazia Chiuri on costumes for the physical and sensual Into the Hairy (Sadler’s Wells Theatre, 13-15 Nov).

International Associate Company Acosta Danza celebrates 10 years as a company with UK premieres by Javier de Frutos and Goyo Montero and works by George Céspedes, Alexis Fernández and Yaday Ponce (Sadler’s Wells Theatre, 23-27 Sept).

Michael Keegan-Dolan’s How To Be A Dancer In Seventy-Two Thousand Easy Lessons (Sadler's Wells East, 17-20 Sept) is a dance and theatre, music ritual that bends boundaries between what is lived and what is remembered, between history, destiny, fact and fantasy. 
 
Hofesh Shechter’s Olivier Award-nominated Theatre of Dreams (Sadler’s Wells Theatre, 15-18 Oct), co-commissioned by Sadler’s Wells, which delves into the world of fantasy and the subconscious, returns following a sold-out run.

Over autumn half-term Sadler’s Wells presents two productions for families: Akram Khan Company brings back its much-loved production of Chotto Desh (Sadler’s Wells East, 30 Oct-1 Nov), an adaptation of Khan’s Olivier Award-winning Desh, while Ichi Ni San’s Club Ninja, co-commissioned by Sadler’s Wells, puts shadows in the spotlight as young audiences can discover the secrets of The Ninja (Lilian Baylis Studio, 30 Oct-1 Nov).

Sadler’s Wells year-round Ballet with Attitude programme continues with works from some of the best UK ballet companies. Cassa Pancho’s Ballet Black makes its Sadler’s Wells debut with the double bill Shadows (Sadler’s Wells Theatre, 26-29 Nov) featuring a darkly comic adaptation of Oyinkan Braithwaite’s bestselling novel, My Sister, The Serial Killer, choreographed by Pancho, and Chanel DaSilva’s A Shadow Work. English National Ballet presents the world premiere of R:Evolution (Sadler’s Wells Theatre, 1-11 Oct) showcasing the work of four innovative creators across history: George Balanchine, Martha Graham, William Forsythe and David Dawson. Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Black Sabbath – The Ballet (Sadler’s Wells Theatre, 22-25 Oct) returns by popular demand following a sold-out London run in October 2023.

In 2026, multi-platinum selling artist and global icon Chaka Khan is celebrated with the world premiere of musical I’m Every Woman (Peacock Theatre, 5-28 Mar), directed by Racky Plews and choreographed by Jade Hackett.

Sadler’s Wells resident performance group for non-professional dancers aged 60 and over Company of Elders present the world premieres of two works by Euan Garrett and John-William Watson (Lilian Baylis Studio, 18 Oct). One takes inspiration from 60s culture, mod identity and Quadrophenia, the other is a dark sci-fi comedy set in a doctor’s waiting room.

Co-commissioned by Sadler’s Wells, Pepa Ubera’s boundary-pushing performance installation The Machine of Horizontal Dreams (Sadler’s Wells East, 16-18 Oct) receives its world premiere, reimagining Western ideas of progress through radical dreaming.

Armin Hokmi makes his Sadler’s Wells debut with the UK premiere of Shiraz (Lilian Baylis Studio,14-15 Nov), inspired by an arts festival which took place annually for 10 years between 1967 and 1977 in Southern Iran.

Toussaint to Move’s FREE (Sadler’s Wells East, 6-8 Nov) is a powerful journey celebrating resistance, rhythm, and the radical joy of freedom, combining the worlds of Reggae Dub Culture and contemporary dance.

Amit Noy assembles his grandmother, two parents and sister onstage in A Big Big Room Full of Everybody’s Hope (Lilian Baylis Studio, 2-3 Oct) to negotiate life in the aftermath of violence, exploring intergenerational relationships and memory held between bodies.

Breakin’ Convention presents PRISM by Montreal-based company Tentacle Tribe (Sadler’s Wells East, 8-11 Oct), a hypnotic dance show that draws on hip hop and contemporary as a quintet of dancers make their way around a reflective floor and movable mirrors.

Presented as part of Dance Umbrella, Andrea Peña & Artists’ UK debut production BOGOTÁ (Sadler’s Wells East, 2-3 Oct) constructs a brutalist landscape out of choreography inspired by Colombia’s political and spiritual heritage.

The UK premiere of Sadeck Berrabah’s Murmuration Level 2 (Peacock Theatre, 10-20 Sept) sees 30 dancers take to the stage in a fusion of hip-hop, martial arts, contemporary dance, ballet and drawing.

Working collaboratively with dancers, musicians and disability access advocates, Yewande 103’s Many Lifetimes (Lilian Baylis Studio, 23-24 Oct) is a tender performance steeped in personal archives, remembrance and gathering together.

The Genesis (Peacock Theatre, 3-6 Sept) is a high-energy contemporary circus experience from The Copenhagen Collective that challenges expectations and celebrates diversity in body, background, and artistry.

Tickets go on sale to Sadler’s Wells Patrons on Monday 12 May, to Rehearsal Members on Wednesday 14 May, Members on Friday 16 May and to the general public on Monday 19 May 2025.