Five Reasons to See… The Big 30 at Chisenhale Dance Space

Celebrate 30 years of this definitive East End dance space

A hidden gem near Mile End, Chisenhale Dance Space will be celebrating its 30th birthday by showcasing a one-off season of boundary-pushing work that has been and continues to be produced by innovative home-grown talent. For three decades, this space has existed as a hive of activity for experimentation in dance and performance, providing a progressive and nurturing home for artists and companies.

A rare opportunity to see Charles Atlas’s seminal film about Michael Clark – Hail The New Puritan – in full

This sought after ‘mockumentary’ has become legendary and is very rarely shown. Hail The New Puritan tracks a day in the life of choreographer and dancer Michael Clark filmed by artist and film maker Charles Atlas in the Main Studio at Chisenhale in 1987. The screening will take place in the exact same space that the film was originally made, brick wall and maple floor, complete with free popcorn! The evening is introduced by Ellen Von Schuylenburch from the Michael Clark Company who also appears in the film.

A unique opportunity to join the influential founders and see archive work

Members of X6, the influential artist collective who started Chisenhale Dance Space and pioneered the British New Dance movement, will be holding a Round Table discussion on 20 October, looking at arts and politics, now and then. Choreographers Jacky Lansley, Fergus Early, Mary Partridge and Emilyn Claid will be inviting guests and the audience to participate. Later in the season on 9 November, X6’s Jacky Lansley and Fergus Early will revisit classic work when they present An Archive Performance, looking back at work they made in the 1980s.

Two Triple Bills of new risky and experimental performance

Alongside these influential works, audiences can also discover Chisenhale Dance Space’s Dance And The Homemade commissions choreographed by the next generation of dance artists. On 26 September, Will Dickie, Lisa May Thomas and Dan Watson form a lively and inventive line-up and on 31 October, Neil Callaghan, Rachel Champion and Tim Spooner do the honours, presenting brand new work.

Free Community Day with events for all the family

A day full of performance-related activities on 29 September including The Flying Project, a family-friendly workshop for all ages with Emelie Wångstedt and Helena Webb. The Flying Project stems from an interest in why humans yearn to fly and whether true flight (using no mechanics) is actually possible. Dance films, performance, chat and an 80s teatime disco in your socks complete the day’s events proving that radical fun at Chisenhale Dance Space can be experienced and enjoyed by all ages.

The Big 30 at Chisenhale Dance Space runs from 19 September to November 23. For more information and tickets visit chisenhaledancespace.co.uk