Press Release 5 November 2015

ROYAL BALLET STAR LEAPS INTO A NEW PROGRAMME OF CONTEMPORARY DANCE AT SADLER’S WELLS

Sadler’s Wells today announced a programme of new work specially commissioned for ballet star Natalia Osipova as part of its Spring/Summer 2016 season. World-renowned contemporary dance choreographers Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Russell Maliphant and Arthur Pita create pieces inspired by Osipova for the production, which receives its world premiere from 29 June to 3 July 2016.

Osipova will be joined by for these world premieres. It will be the first time that they will have danced together in the UK.

The celebrated follows in the footsteps of Sylvie Guillem and Tamara Rojo in taking on a new challenge with contemporary dance, produced by Sadler’s Wells and Moscow’s Muz Arts.

Natalia Osipova is currently a Principal with . She joined the company in 2013 after her guest appearance in , and has performed lead roles in , , and La Fille mal gardée and DGV: Danse à grande vitesse. She has created roles in Wayne McGregor’s Tetractys and Woolf Works, and Alastair Marriott’s Connectome. She started her formal ballet training at the age of eight, before joining the at the age of 18. She has also danced with and Mikhailovsky Ballet.

Sadler’s Wells’ Chief Executive and Artistic Director, Alistair Spalding CBE said: “I am thrilled to be working with Natalia on a programme of contemporary works created specifically with her in mind. She is an incredible dancer and we are very excited that she has chosen to collaborate with Sadler’s Wells and excellent contemporary choreographers Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Russell Maliphant, both Sadler’s Wells Associate Artists, and Arthur Pita, whom she has worked with before.”

Natalia Osipova said: “As a dancer I am always looking for the opportunity to challenge myself and try new things, so I am greatly excited about this chance to work again with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Arthur Pita, and work for the first time with Russell Maliphant. I’d like to thank Sadler’s Wells for giving me the chance to work with them on a contemporary programme by three choreographers I really admire.”

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui creates a trio. A Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist, Cherkaoui has created more than 20 works including zero degrees, Babel, Sutra and m¡longa and is acknowledged as one of Europe’s most exciting choreographers. He continues to work with a variety of theatres, opera houses and ballet companies from around the world including Dutch National Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, GöteborgsOperan Danskompani, Bunkamura Theatre Cocoon in Tokyo and Stuttgart Ballet.

Cherkaoui received international acclaim for his choreography in Joe Wright’s feature film Anna Karenina (2012). Earlier this year, Cherkaoui was announced as the new Artistic Director of Royal Ballet Flanders, a role he has taken on alongside his work with Eastman. Most recently Larbi worked with Benedict Cumberbatch on the movement for Hamlet at the Barbican, directed by Lyndsey Turner.

Russell Maliphant choreographs a duet. Maliphant is one of the longest-standing Associate Artists of Sadler’s Wells. He trained at the and graduated into Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet Company before leaving to pursue a career in independent dance. As a dancer he worked with companies such as DV8 Physical Theatre, Michael Clark Company, Laurie Booth and Rosemary Butcher. He also studied anatomy, physiology and bio-mechanics. He became certified as a practitioner of the Rolfing Method of Structural Integration in 1994, which has subsequently informed both his teaching and choreographic work.

He created his first solo in 1992 and formed the Russell Maliphant Company in 1996. He has collaborated closely with lighting designer Michael Hulls, and in addition to working with his own company of dancers, has set works on renowned companies and artists including: Sylvie Guillem, Robert Lepage, The Ballet Boyz, Lyon Opera Ballet, Ricochet Dance Company, CobosMika, The Batsheva Ensemble, and Ballet de Lorraine. He has been the recipient of several awards including two Olivier Awards, a Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Best Choreography (Modern) and a South Bank Show Award.

The evening ends with Osipova starring in a solo work by Royal Opera House regular Arthur Pita. Arthur Pita enjoyed huge success with Mischief, a family show created in collaboration with Theatre Rites, which also had a season on Broadway. His adaptation of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis at the Royal Opera House won Olivier, Southbank Sky Arts and Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards.

Pita has choreographed movement for plays, operas and musicals, including Women Beware Women at the National Theatre, Becky Shaw at the Almeida and La Bohème and Show Boat at the Royal Albert Hall. His production of The Little Match Girl received rave reviews at its premiere in 2014, and the show returns to Sadler’s Wells’ Lilian Baylis Studio this Christmas.

A Sadler's Wells and Muz Arts Production

Listings information: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui / Russell Maliphant / Arthur Pita Natalia Osipova Wednesday 29 June - Sunday 3 July Tickets: £12 - £60

The Spring/ Summer 2016 Season is on sale from 10am on Monday 9 November 2015 via www.sadlerswells.com / 0844 412 4300

For press enquiries contact Sadler’s Wells’ Interim Senior Press Manager, Caroline Ansdell: [email protected] / 020 7863 8125

Notes to Editors About Sadler’s Wells Sadler's Wells is a world-leading dance house, committed to producing, commissioning and presenting new works and to bringing the very best international and UK dance to London and worldwide audiences. Under the artistic directorship of Alistair Spalding CBE, the theatre’s acclaimed year-round programme spans dance of every kind, from contemporary to flamenco, Bollywood, ballet, salsa, street dance, tango and tap. Since 2005, it has helped to bring over 100 new dance works to the stage and its award-winning commissions and collaborative productions regularly tour internationally. Sadler’s Wells supports 16 appointed world-class Associate Artists, three Resident Companies and an Associate Company, and nurtures the next generation of talent through the New Wave Associates and Summer University programmes, its Wild Card initiative and hosting the National Youth Dance Company.

Located in Islington, north London, the current theatre is the sixth to have stood on the site since it was first built by Richard Sadler in 1683. The venue has played an illustrious role in the history of theatre ever since, with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and English National Opera all having started at Sadler’s Wells.

Sadler’s Wells is a National Portfolio Organisation and currently receives 10% of its annual revenue from Arts Council England.

About Natalia Osipova Natalia Osipova is a Principal of The Royal Ballet. She joined the company as a Principal in autumn 2013, after appearing as a Guest Artist the previous season as Odette/Odile (Swan Lake) with . Her roles with the company include Giselle, Kitri (Don Quixote), Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker), Lise (La Fille mal gardée), Titania (), Juliet, Tatiana (Onegin), Manon, Natalia Petrovna (A Month in the Country) and roles in erenade, DGV: Danse à grande vitesse and Tchaikovsky Pas de deux. She has originated roles in Wayne McGregor’s Tetractys and Woolf Works and Alastair Marriott’s Connectome. From 1995 to 2004 she trained at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography and on graduating entered the corps of the Bolshoi Ballet, where she was promoted to principal in 2010. In 2011 she left the Bolshoi to join the Mikhailovsky Ballet as a Principal. Osipova’s awards include Golden Masks for her performances in ’s In the Upper Room (2008) and (2009), Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards (Best Female Dancer, 2007 and 2010) and a Benois de la Danse Award (Best Female Dancer, 2008).