Diaghilev Week At Sadler’s Wells

Sadler’s Wells is staging the first dance work by Martin Creed, the Turner Prize winning artist best know for his The Lights Going On And Off (2001) and Work No. 850 (2008), where athletes ran at top speed through Tate Britain every 30 seconds, all day, for four months.

Creed’s Work No. 1020 is part of Sadler’s Wells’ centenary celebration of the Ballets Russes, the troupe founded by Sergei Diaghilev and which transformed ballet at the start of the 20th century. It features five
classically trained dancers in choreography by Creed, who also composed
the music which is played by his band. The piece is performed live by the five
classically trained dancers Delphine Gaborit, Kerry Biggin, Nadia
Sadiq, Mikah Smillie and Eleanor Forest.

Alistair Spalding, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Sadler’s Wells says: “I can’t think of a better way for Sadler’s Wells to mark the centenary of the founding of Les Ballets Russes  than to work with Martin Creed. It is exactly this kind of event that Diaghilev would have created if he were alive today.”

Creed’s new piece comes at the end of the week when Sadler’s Wells stages In The Spirit of Diaghilev. This features a quartet of new work by four of today’s leading choreographers who have collaborated with artists from fields outside dance. The programme features work by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Javier De Frutos, Russell Maliphant and Wayne McGregor. After its run at Sadler’s Well, the programme will tour internationally to Barcelona, Paris, Dijon, Monaco and Luxembourg.

Other events include a talk by academic Robert Hewison, a panel discussion, and artists talks.