The sixth theatre on the Sadler’s Wells site opened on 10 October 1998 with a large community event, and had its official opening on 13 October with a performance by Rambert.

On 10 October the programme began with Morris Dancing at Spa Green Garden opposite the theatre, and an unveiling of a commemorative paving stone. The Mayor of Islington cut a ribbon to officially open the building. There was a daytime firework display, followed by a performance featuring dancers from the Royal Ballet and Rambert, and singers from English National Opera, along with plenty of celebratory cake and wine.

The official opening was not without drama. All the first performances were licensed by Islington building control on a daily basis. This was to ensure the exits were not restricted by builders’ materials, as they were still finishing the offices and rehearsal rooms, and emergency lighting had to be checked. This delayed a few performances, including the first night. The curtain went up around 20 minutes late to rapturous applause, as the then director Ian Albery went on stage waving the newly issued licence.

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200 Islington residents won a competition to attend the opening night, which was also attended by Tony Blair – the Prime Minister at the time, Richard E Grant, Lord Hollick, Ted Heath and construction workers in hard hats.

The opening season included performances by Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, William Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt, and Rambert.

The new theatre was partially funded by selling paperweights containing blocks of the old stage, which were auctioned at a gala along with Margot Fonteyn’s Dior mink hat, David Hockney lithographs and a John Piper landscape donated by Kenneth Clarke’s family were also auctioned at a gala held when the theatre closed for the rebuild. The project was an early beneficiary of National Lottery Funding, which aided the transformation from the dilapidated but much-loved pre-War building to a state-of-the-art centre for dance.

The building, designed by Principal Architects ArtsTeam@RHWL and Exterior Architects Nicholas Hare Architects, still incorporates the skeleton of Frank Matcham’s 1931 theatre and contains bricks from the Victorian playhouse it used to be.

Sadler’s Wells Theatre features a 15m² sprung stage, a welcoming 1,500 seat auditorium, and a glass-fronted foyer designed to encapsulate Lilian Baylis’ belief that theatre is for everyone. The theatre also has three rehearsal studios and the Lilian Baylis Studio, which seats 180, for small-scale work.

Over the last 25 years we’ve presented 1,870 productions on the Sadler’s Wells stage, to audiences of almost 7 million.

Having been led by Artistic Director and Chief Executive Sir Alistair Spalding since 2004, Sadler’s Wells has become one of the most important centres for dance in the world. We invite people to watch, engage with and enjoy dance in all its forms across our three stages: the Sadler’s Wells stage, Lilian Baylis Studio and at the Peacock Theatre in London’s West End. We also tour our own productions around the world.Dance artists are at the heart of our work and mission. Among our 17 Associate Artists are Sylvie Guillem, Akram Khan, Sidi Larbi Cherkoui, Wayne McGregor, Sir Matthew Bourne and Crystal Pite. We have three Resident Companies, four Associate Companies and three National Partner Companies, to strengthen the dance sector across the UK.

Our popular festivals include Breakin’ Convention, celebrating hip hop dance theatre, the Flamenco Festival, showcasing the very best talent from the world of flamenco, and Family Weekend, offering audiences opportunities to engage with dance at an early age.

In 2018 we launched a Young Associates scheme providing support for early year artists aged 18-24 over a two-year period.

Recent major Sadler’s Wells productions include Jules Cunningham’s how did we get here? featuring Spice Girl Melanie C in her first dance performance, and the Olivier Award-winning TRAPLORD by Ivan Blackstock.

We open our new venue, Sadler’s Wells East, next year as part of a new cultural district in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. With a 550-seat theatre, hip hop theatre academy and choreographic school this will further our commitment to creativity and innovation.

In our anniversary month, audiences have the chance to see a wide range of dance across our stages, including ballet, contemporary, South Asian, African, Argentinian, hip hop, and flamenco