Sunday Paper Edition 015: Métier Talks All Things Dance With Sir Alistair Spalding

A few weeks ago, the Métier team here in London decided to celebrate the end of lockdown by visiting our favourite contemporary dance venue Sadler’s Wells to enjoy an evening curated by the international ballet superstar Carlos Acosta. His acclaimed dance company Acosta Danza had us spellbound from start to finish and left us feeling impossibly inspired, filled with a renewed sense of creativity and the deepest appreciation for this visceral artform.

Since then, we’ve had the great pleasure of sitting down with Sir Alistair Spalding, Sadler’s Wells CEO and Creative Director, to learn more about his ground-breaking work at the helm of this world-leading institution. In the interview, he shares his vision for how to make modern dance more inclusive and accessible and how he strives to continually evolve by showcasing the most diverse and innovative dancers and choreographers at work today. 

So this Sunday, we simply recommend that you sit back and let yourself be inspired and hopefully fill your diaries with dates for performances you and your loved ones want to enjoy together. To get you going, we have included a few international must-see events we would love to enjoy this Spring/Summer season.

Métier Meets Sir Alistair Spalding

M: What do you believe makes Sadler’s Wells so special?

AS: There are two main reasons. The first one is that I decided we should only be doing dance at Sadler’s Wells—at the time, a radical change. The second is that our attention is set on the choreographer, the artist. We started with five and have now grown to seventeen artists. I love the idea of pushing boundaries and moving forward. The focus isn’t placed on where we are, but rather on moving forward. I greatly admire William Forsythe for this. He came from ballet but constantly pushed it and moved it forward, and brought it to where it is in the 20th and 21st century. 

M: What were some memorable performances that most surprised you with their outcome?

AS: It must be Sutra, choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui in collaboration with Antony Gormley and nineteen monks. They received a standing ovation on the night of the premiere.

Every single performance is a journey. You never quite know how it will turn out. I’ve learnt that in this field, you should never have too much of a fixed idea of what the end result should look like. You have to be open to changes that go on.

READ THE INTERVIEW IN FULL

Plan Your Next Dance Adventure 

To plan and keep track of your dance dates in style, we use Métier’s beautiful and durable Notebooks and Agendas. 

To browse our wide selection as well as our top tips for bags that offer optimal freedom of movement, visit our shop.

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Dance Dates In Our Diaries

A few dates you will find in our diaries include:

• Sadler’s Wells, London, March 10-11: Lucinda Childs and Philip Glass
• Royal Swedish Ballet, Stockholm, April 1-23: Escapist by Alexander Ekman
• Netherlands Dans Theater, The Hague, May 6: World premiere of Dreams 360, original pieces by Gabriela Carrizo, Crystal Pite and Roy Assaf
• Sadler’s Wells, London, 7-11 June: Pina Bausch / Germaine Acogny & Malou Airaudo, The Rite of Spring / common ground[s]
• The Australian Ballet, Adelaide 8-13 July: Counterpointe, the ultimate ballet mashup where William Forsythe meets George Balanchine
• American Ballet Theatre, New York, July 13: Calvin Royal III stars as Romeo in Kenneth MacMillan’sRomeo and Juliet.