The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative is an international philanthropic programme created to assist extraordinary, rising artists to achieve their full potential. It seeks out these artists from around the world and brings them together with great masters, for a year of creative collaboration in a one-to-one mentoring relationship.

This show in the Lilian Baylis Studio features a double bill of two ambitious collaborations that cross the boundaries of theatre, dance and visual arts.

Jason Akira Somma and Jiří Kylián

Celebrated Czech choreographer Jiří Kylián will introduce the premiere of a work in progress by his American protégé, Jason Akira Somma, performed by 90-year-old dancer Frances Wessels and cellist Chris Lancaster. The result of Jason’s experiments with a variety of media during his mentoring year, the piece will mix live performance of dance and music with real-time video and sound manipulation.

Nahuel Perez Biscayart and Kate Valk/The Wooster Group

On a rare visit to London, The Wooster Group, known internationally for their groundbreaking experiments in theatre, will showcase the talent of 23-year-old Argentinian actor Nahuel Perez Biscayart alongside his mentor Kate Valk and Wooster Group members Ari Fliakos and Scott Shepherd in the UK premiere of a new short work, I AM JEROME BEL, directed by Elizabeth LeCompte.