Choreographer and Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Sharon Eyal and her creative partner Gai Behar join forces with Caius Pawson of the London-based music and arts organisation Young and Call Super to present a new iteration of R.O.S.E, coming to Sadler’s Wells East this July.
Blurring the boundaries between stage, dancers and spectators, R.O.S.E. is an open invitation for audiences to watch, move, and immerse themselves in a setting like no other. Making its London premiere, R.O.S.E transforms the versatile Sadler’s Wells East auditorium into a nightclub environment, complete with low lighting, strobe and flashing lights, haze effects and fog. Ramps and stairs surround the dance floor, with audience members encouraged to stand, move or dance for the duration of the performance. There will be provision for wheelchair users and those with access needs, while bars in the front of house will provide seating.
Celebrated for her bold, boundary-defying choreography, Sharon Eyal has collaborated with nightlife legend Gai Behar for nearly 20 years, crafting mesmerizing performances infused with dark hedonism, futuristic androgyny, hypnotic repetition, and extraordinary physical precision. For R.O.S.E., they join forces with Caius Pawson of Young to honor club culture from the 90s to the present, a vibrant influence on their artistic journeys.
The costumes, designed by Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri reflect Sharon Eyal’s love for lace, embodying a “cabaret-punk” aesthetic with torn fabric that clings like a second skin to the dancers. The delicate yet distressed lace creates a thin layer between dancer and audience, heightening the performers’ sense of exposure as they seem to dissolve into the space around them.
Talking about the choreography for this work, Eyal said: “It is like a dream, and you just feel it when you’re inside it. This project brings together my husband Gai, and Caius of the label Young. It has been a long time coming, and to bring it to London’s new dance venue in Sadler’s Wells East, with the new addition of Call Super, after runs in Manchester and New York, is very exciting.
“For me choreography is all about timing, space and relationship. So, it becomes very different because the audience is part of the choreography here. Everybody joins in. People want to be close, and for the dancers it creates something new. They are also fighting for space, navigating the dynamics of people, it leads to great creativity, a new experience for everybody.”
Following its world premiere at the Manchester International Festival in 2023 and its North American Premiere at Park Avenue Armory, R.O.S.E. will arrive at Sadler’s Wells East, in the heart of London’s newest cultural district. Featuring a live DJ set by Call Super, each night becomes an ever-evolving dialogue between movement, sound and the energy of the audience to ensure that no two performances are ever the same.
R.O.S.E comes to Sadler’s Wells East Thursday 10 – Sunday 13 July. Tickets are available at www.sadlerswells.com or Sadler’s Wells East tickets and events
