Body & Soul

Body & Soul description

English National Ballet has done it again with Body and Soul (Part 1), the first of two powerful dance theatre works looking at the way we decode our world, and how our bodies and minds respond and react to the human experience. The magic comes from Canadian choreographer and dancer Crystal Pite and legendary dancer-choreographer Kameron N. Saunders. Pite originally created it for the Paris Opera Ballet, and this is the show's UK premiere. Saunders has worked with some of the world’s best-known artists, including commercial dance for Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan.

In a show split into three parts, the dancers move to a French-speaking voice that describes their actions. The words repeat, loop, echo and swell into gorgeous waves of movement across the stage, a mesmerising sight and a treat for the ears. Intimate duets are danced to spoken words in an energetic masterpiece that'll feel familiar to everyone who's seen Revisor, Emergence, or Figures in Extinction. The score comes from Harold Walker III and Brandon Finklea, performed to perfection by the English National Ballet Philharmonic Orchestra. An extraordinary experience!

Playing at Sadlers Wells (venue info)