Sell-out runs, an international tour and five-star reviews herald the return of this iconic double bill.

The idea of ‘exchange’ is central in this two-part programme which marks the first collaboration between the Pina Bausch Foundation (Germany), École des Sables (Senegal) and Sadler’s Wells (UK).

Bausch’s (1975) The Rite of Spring is danced by a newly assembled company of dancers from African countries. In this pioneering work, with music by Stravinsky, a ‘chosen one’ is sacrificed changing the season from winter to spring.

common ground[s] is a new work created, performed and inspired by the lives of two remarkable women: Germaine Acogny, “the mother of contemporary African dance” and founder of École des Sables and Malou Airaudo who joined Bausch in the early days of Tanztheater Wuppertal and later was a professor and director at Folkwang University. This poetic and tender piece, the duo’s first collaboration, examines their shared histories and emotional experiences.

Header image © Maarten Vanden Abeele / Pina Bausch Foundation

Image description: A company of two dozen Black dancers, all facing to the right, heads turned towards us or back over their shoulders. They float just above the ground, bare feet pointing towards the soil, as if they’ve just jumped straight up. The women wear soft slip dresses of creamy silk, while the men have bare chests and black trousers.