We were there for the first ever show at the newly opened venue which is in London’s Olympic Park and the new East Bank…
WHEN we were first invited to see the new Sadler’s Wells East building we couldn’t actually go inside – the launch was done from another building close by and we were entertained by performances in its outdoor space – in the pouring autumnal rain. (See here)
How different it was being back and watching the first show there.
Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu’s ‘Our Mighty Groove’ was a great way to open the new theatre – which has been described as a “gamechanger for dance” by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and director Sir Alistair Spalding said it wouldn’t be a success, unless it engaged the community on its doorstep when the building had a public open day in mid-January.
Khan was not present on the press evening and he missed a great show which appeared to get the venue off to a brilliant start and completed its very short run last Sunday (February 7). There are whispers that it will come round again but there is nothing in the diary – and most of the programme at Sadler’s Wells East is in place for much of this year and next already.
Known as an immersive dance production – meaning you can dance yourself alongside the professionals (!) it was fun and the dancers and drama were all mighty fine, if we can say so.
The first half was a fairly conventional dance show – we were introduced to the characters – the divas and club staff of Club Groove.
In all, there were 21 dancers – with nine professionals and the rest made up dancers from an open call out for those who lived or studied in East London and were under 21 and several of these were performing for the first time professionally – and you really couldn’t tell the difference – they were all tremendous!
Igbokwe-Ozoagu’s relationship with Sadler’s Wells goes back more than a decade and she was a Mass Movement Choreographer for the London 2012 Olympics – the venue overlooks the main stadium (now home to Premier League team West Ham) and Sadler’s Wells East is situated in the Olympic Park near the original swimming pool complex, known as the London Aquatics Centre and designed by the late celebrated British architect Dame Zaha Hadid (1950-2016). It still has a gorgeous sensuousness for what is a swimming pool and sports facility.
Igbokwe-Ozoagu’s dancers embraced a similar panache and geometry on the stage and the show which was one-hour in total has an immersive second half where the dancers also take to the small podiums situated to the corner of the main circular stage in the middle.
They performed in a range of contemporary styles – house, waacking (a freestyle first developed in 1970s clubs on the west coast of the USA) and vogue (inspired by the dance that originated in Harlem in the 1960s).
This piece, ‘Our Mighty Groove’ is an original but inspired and remixed by a show with the same name that was first performed in 2013 at the Lilian Baylis Studio (the smaller venue next to the main Islington Sadler’s Wells building) as part of a Wild Card programme and returned as a full length production in 2015 which toured the UK.
Igbokwe-Ozoagu set up her own dance outfit – Uchenna alongside Grace Okereke in 2009. Its mission is to “empower, entertain, and educate”. Uchenna is a fusion that comes out of several contemporary forms and is also much influenced by African styles too.
This is a bigger show that incorporates more dancers and looks fresh and on the button – one feature being several of the dancers performing with their phones in their hands and acting like influencers we have all seen (at our work! Haha) and beyond and it really works.
It was a great night and the club atmosphere in the second half where we were all encouraged to dance ourselves – sometimes in formation – was another memorable feature and was a powerful reminder that nightclubs that value music, dance, style and entertainment are worth patronising.
The professional dancers were, Iona Brie, Angelika Napierała, Shanelle Clemenson, Cache Thake, Dani Harris-Walters, Kabuki Johnson, Jackie Kibuka, Malachi Welch and recent graduate Shula Carter.
The young East London dancers were Bertie Jeffery, Holly Clayton, Kezia Adewale, Lilia Rowe, Thea Petrie, Victoria Morini, Sofia Whiteoak, Reo Greenidge, Riley-Ann Nicholls Murphy, Eli Follant, Shaniya Mohammed and Jandice Stewart.
You could probably find some of them on Instagram!
The new building also a free dance space as well as the outside facility which will come into its own when the weather improves. There are also studio practice spaces – including one that has the same dimensions as the main stage there!
When we visited on the open day, there was much chatter about the space for free shows and it reminds us what you can find in the Queen Elizabeth Hall in the Southbank and the Royal Festival Hall building. How many young people will it inspire? They may start off outside and end up on the main stage!
There is also a café and bar and there’s a lot of space for buggies and children who just want to run around – sorry, dance! And mingle…
Sadler’s Wells East is part of a developing East Bank cultural quarter (like the Southbank on the river with the above buildings and the British Film Institute – BFI alongside). In time, BBC Music Studios, London College of Fashion, University of Art London, V&A East and University College London East will all open buildings there.
Do just visit the building and the area – in few years, we suspect people will be talking about it in the way they do about the Southbank.
More https://www.sadlerswells.com/your-visit/sadlers-wells-east/welcome-to-sadlers-wells-east/
Next up for us at Sadler’s Wells East: She’s Auspicious by Mythili Prakash – Bharatanatyam – see home page banners for details
