Alexander Whitley Dance Company The Rite of Spring / Mirror

Freesheet

Abstract silhouette of a person against bright vertical light beams. The colours are blue and white fading to orange and brown, and the image has a a grainy, distorted texture

About the show

Alexander Whitley Dance Company makes its debut at Sadler’s Wells East with its most ambitious project to date, the new double bill Mirror / Rite of Spring. Combining contemporary dance with live motion capture and AI technologies, the production investigates the tension between human agency and the forces that shape our fate.

Drawing on mythology, machine logic, and raw physicality, the two new works reflect on our past and envision possible futures, from the growing influence of algorithmic systems to ritualised acts of surrender. Together, they offer a visceral journey through observation, transformation, and the enduring human need to be seen.

The double bill opens with Mirror, inspired by philosopher Shannon Vallor‘s book The AI Mirror and set to a score by Galya Bisengalieva, who’s described as a ‘powerful force in new and primordial music’. This new work examines the risks that AI poses to human relationships when we form attachments to its reflections and mistake them for something deeper than they are. This is followed by a radical reinterpretation of Stravinsky’s seminal work, The Rite of Spring, which reframes its primal themes of community and sacrifice in the context of our collective surrender of trust to AI. The Rite of Spring / Mirror is a Sadler’s Wells co-production.

This production marks an important moment for the company, with our debut at Sadler’s Wells East and our first return to a landmark of modern dance. I’m drawn to revisiting The Rite of Spring now because it was forged in a time of social rupture that echoes the paradigm shift we’re experiencing in the age of AI, and because the music’s raw, volatile energy embodies the instability and urgency of these moments of profound transformation. Where Mirror approaches AI through the lens of an intimate relationship, Rite expands that inquiry to the scale of community. Together, they exemplify what our work is about: using new technologies creatively to engage with the deeper societal shifts they are bringing about.
Alexander Whitley

About Alexander Whitley Dance Company

Alexander Whitley Dance Company (AWDC) is an internationally acclaimed artist-led creative studio that has been redefining the boundaries of dance over the past decade through its pioneering work with digital technology. We create multi-disciplinary performance experiences across stage, screen, immersive and interactive platforms, which have been presented across many of the world’s most prestigious theatres, festivals and media channels.

Artistic Team & Credits

Artistic Director & Choreographer Alexander Whitley
Creative Technologist Luca Biada
Costume & Set Designer Mirella Weingarten
Lighting Designer Joshie Harriette
Associate Lighting Designer/Programmer Sarah Danielle Martin
Dramaturg Sasha Milavic Davies
Dancers Gabriel Ciulli (Mirror & Rite of Spring) Daisy Dancer (Mirror & Rite of Spring) Nafisah Baba (Rite of Spring) Natnael Dawit (Rite of Spring) Elaini Lalousis (Rite of Spring)
Music Mirror – Galya Bisengalieva, licensed courtesy of One Little Independent Records and published by BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited, A BMG Company © 2020 Rite of Spring – Igor Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring) – Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Gustavo Gimeno (Conductor). 2018. Under exclusive license from PENTATONE Music BV.
Technical Director Dom Martin
Costume Makers Amanda Barrow and Lynn Hamilton
Producer Stacie Lee Bennett-Worth

Co-commissioned by Sadler’s Wells. Mirror is co-produced by Hessisches Staatsballett and The Rite of Spring is co-produced by MA scène nationale – Pays de Montbéliard. Supported by Arts Council England, DanceEast, Cockayne Grants for the Arts, Foyle Foundation, The Leche Trust, Reed Educational Trust Limited, Big Give Christmas Challenge donors with core support from the John Ellerman Foundation, Coln Trust and Edwin Fox Foundation.
Special thanks to Angela Bernstein as founding patron of the company, Nicholas Berwin Charitable Trust and donors John Collins, Tony Dyson, Gerry Fox, Charles Glanville, Christopher Jones, Denis Shafranik & Melanie Precious. With generous in-kind support from London College of Fashion, Queen Mary’s University London and Sadler’s Wells.