Sadler's Wells and Pina Bausch Foundation Partner for THE RITE OF SPRING

Sadler's Wells is collaborating with the Pina Bausch Foundation (Germany) and the international centre for traditional and contemporary African dances Ecole des Sables (Senegal) for the first time with electrifying performances of The Rite of Spring and common ground[s] in this extraordinary international co-production coming to Sadler's Wells Tuesday 7 - Saturday 11 June.

The Rite of Spring is a powerful and visceral staging of Pina Bausch's seminal 1975 work Le Sacre du printemps, danced by a specially assembled company of 36 dancers from 14 African countries. In this pioneering work, with music by Stravinsky, a chosen one is sacrificed, changing the season from winter to spring.

common ground[s] is a new work created, performed and inspired by the lives of two remarkable women; Germaine Acogny, "the mother of contemporary African dance" and founder of Ecole des Sables, who has long felt a connection with Pina's The Rite of Spring, recognising her own culture within it. Also Malou Airaudo, who performed leading roles in many of Bausch's early works including The Rite of Spring. This poetic and tender piece, the duo's first collaboration, examines their shared histories and emotional experiences.

The programme was originally due to premiere in March 2020 but was delayed by the pandemic. Its world premiere was in Madrid in September 2021. Since then, it has also performed in Copenhagen, St Polten and Luxembourg. It has just performed at The Adelaide Festival to glowing reviews and next returns to Copenhagen before coming to Sadler's Wells in June. Touring this year also includes Ludwigsburg, Spoleto and more.

Sir Alistair Spalding CBE, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Sadler's Wells, said:
"I remember having conversations with Pina about the series of productions she had been creating for her company, each inspired by a residency in a different world city, back in 2008. We spoke of the fact that Germaine Acogny's Ecole des Sables would be an ideal partner for a new work co-produced by Sadler's Wells, which would have been the first created by Tanztheater Wuppertal in an African country. We arranged a trip to Senegal in the autumn of that year, but Pina's health began to deteriorate, and the trip never happened.

Following her death, when Salomon Bausch came to me with the idea of co-producing this programme with Ecole des Sables, he had no knowledge of the original 2008 discussion. This completed a beautiful circle of serendipitous events that is very much in harmony with the spirit of Pina. I am so excited by the opportunity to present such an amazingly unique collaboration to audiences across the world."

Germaine Acogny, Founder of Ecole des Sables, said: "For a long time, I have had a connection with Pina and her seminal work The Rite of Spring. When I first saw the piece danced by Paris Opera Ballet, I was highly impressed with the way the dancers performed the choreography so deeply rooted in the earth, despite their classical training. It was then that I thought such a dance would be very well received by an African audience due to the closeness of the theme and African spiritual beliefs. I recognised my own culture within it. Deeply inspired by the work, I have performed My Black Chosen One - Sacre #2 by Olivier Dubois since 2015.

The new duet is a continuation of a conversation I had with Pina. I am very excited that Ecole des Sables and I are a part of this special exchange."

Salomon Bausch, Executive Director of the Pina Bausch Foundation, said: "This is the first time that Sacre is done not with an existing company, but with dancers who came together specifically for this piece. I'm very excited to see the impact of their personalities and their diverse dance backgrounds on the piece but also vice versa; how the piece influences the dancers, both as artists and as human beings. This project is very important to us; I expect it to open our eyes for a new way of thinking about the future of Pina Bausch's work.

I feel a very strong energy between Germaine Acogny and Malou Airaudo, while these two dance legends explore their own histories and literally discover common grounds. Coming from very different dance traditions, they still share so much. The collaboration will also connect to both their schools, the Ecole des Sables and Folkwang University, which will again open new doors."

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