Sadler’s Wells has unveiled an exhilarating Spring 2026 season that puts pioneering women choreographers in the spotlight while bringing back the beloved biennial Elixir Festival to celebrate the power and artistry of older dancers.
Sir Alistair Spalding CBE, Sadler’s Wells Artistic Director and Co-Chief Executive, said:
“We are delighted to be announcing a brand-new season brimming with some of the most exciting dance works….At Sadler’s Wells we say you really can get dance from every angle and the range of dance styles on show over the Spring season demonstrates this. Audiences can enjoy ballet, tap, hip hop, contemporary, tango, flamenco, hip hop, mime and acrobatics across our venues next year. We look forward to sharing this with you.”
At the heart of April is the return of Elixir Festival, unfolding over two weeks across both Sadler’s Wells Theatre and Sadler’s Wells East. The festival opens with the hotly anticipated UK premiere of Kontakthof – Echoes of ’78, a major new Sadler’s Wells co-production with the Pina Bausch Foundation and Tanztheater Wuppertal. Conceived and directed by former Bausch dancer Meryl Tankard, the work reunites members of the original 1978 cast after a sold-out international tour. Sadler’s Wells’ own resident Company of Elders presents a double bill by John-William Watson and Charlotta Öfverholm, while Canadian legend Louise Lecavalier returns with a brand-new solo inspired by Carlo Rovelli’s writings, with further programming still to be revealed.
The main Spring season brims with landmark moments. Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch brings the late choreographer’s penultimate piece Sweet Mambo to the Sadler’s Wells stage for the first time. Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Rosas join forces with Radouan Mriziga for a climate-crisis-infused reworking of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. Two bold Shakespeare reinterpretations arrive with Dada Masilo’s final work HAMLET, told through Ophelia’s eyes, and Shobana Jeyasingh’s imaginative new commission We Caliban, inspired by The Tempest. Wayne McGregor caps a year-long transatlantic partnership with Rambert School and The Juilliard School by unveiling a full-length world premiere designed to shape the next generation of dance creators.
Three seminal British companies present evenings celebrating their body of work. Acclaimed dance company Rambert celebrates its centenary in 2026 with a mixed bill featuring work from (LA)HORDE, Emma Evelein and a brand-new commission. Sadler’s Wells Associate Artists BalletBoyz returns with their brand-new production Still Pointless: BalletBoyz at 25, the world premiere marks the 25th Anniversary of the company’s critically acclaimed debut, Pointless. Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Russell Maliphant presents three of his powerful solos, taking to the stage himself in In A Landscape as well as a performance by Alina Cojocaru.
Following a critically acclaimed runs in 2022 and 2024, world-renowned flamenco guitarist Paco Peña’s show Solera returns to Sadler’s Wells Theatre.
Sadler’s Wells continues its year-round Ballet with attitude programme, including presentations from the best companies in the art form nationally and internationally. Tiler Peck brings back her sell-out Turn It Out with Tiler Peck & Friends, and English National Ballet presents new works by Crystal Pite and Kameron N. Saunders. Scottish Ballet’s Mary, Queen of Scots, Northern Ballet’s Gentleman Jack, Carlos Acosta’s vibrant Don Quixote with Birmingham Royal Ballet, and Matthew Bourne’s iconic The Car Man all add to a ballet programme bursting with attitude.
Genre lines blur gloriously as Michelle Dorrance and Ephrat Asherie fuse tap and breaking in The Center Will Not Hold. Alexander Whitley interrogates AI through a radical The Rite of Spring. Jonzi D’s Breakin’ Convention returns with a family weekend at Sadler’s Wells East. National Youth Dance Company tours a new creation by Alleyne Dance. Smaller stages host intimate gems: Yewande 103’s archive-rich Many Lifetimes, Venice Biennale winner BULLYACHE’s A Good Man is Hard to Find, and Gecko’s reimagined The Wedding as part of MimeLondon.
At The Peacock, families can discover My First Ballet: Cinderella and London Children’s Ballet’s Anne of Green Gables. Additionally, Tango After Dark, the all-male comedy ballet company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Japanese drumming spectacle “Hito no Chikara”, urban acrobatics with 360 ALLSTARS, mythical mischief from GODZ, and the tap phenomenon Stories complete a season of breathtaking variety.
From studio discoveries to main-stage spectacles, Spring 2026 at Sadler’s Wells offers dance that speaks to every generation and every imagination. Tickets are on sale now at sadlerswells.com.
