Elixir Festival 2026 7 – 27 April 2026
How do we express our changing bodies and minds as we grow and age?
Celebrate creative ageing at Elixir Festival with a week of inspiring performances, workshops, talks and more.
Join us for must-see performances across Angel and Stratford, including the seminal Kontakthof – Echoes of ’78 where past and present collide, Louise Lecavalier’s raw and riveting solo danses vagabondes, and a bold double bill from Sadler’s Wells’ very own Company of Elders that redefines age and movement.
At Sadler’s Wells East, and intergenerational performance of Pina Bausch’s iconic Nelken Line will take place on Sunday 12 April and Get Into Dance Festival brings together community groups in an inspiring showcase on Sunday 19 April.
Throughout the festival you can also get involved with workshops and classes, film screenings with Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage and talks with artists and creatives.
Header image: Company of Elders © Ellie Kurttz
Header image description: A group of eight people on stage, dressed in vintage-style clothing, posing with expressive hand gestures in front of a dark background.
Play trailer
Classes & Workshops
Age on Stage Workshop
With Charlotta Öfverholm
Thursday 9 April, 10.30am – 12pm
Martha Graham Studio, Sadler’s Wells East
Free
Dance as an artform should be available to everyone. Charlotta Öfverholm offers Age on Stage workshops for anyone over 65 years old. The session is about exploring movements in our own body and how we can express ourselves through it. You will work both on a physical level with a warm-up and exercises, as well as on a creative level with improvisations, text and music. No prior dance experience needed.
Please book online to avoid missing out. Limited spots will be available on the day.
Company of Elders
Experience Workshop – Men Only
Thursday 9 April, 12.30pm – 2pm
Martha Graham Studio, Sadler’s Wells East
Free
Join us for a joyful and welcoming workshop for amateur dancers aged 60+ who identify as men. Explore different dance styles as you move between learning set steps and dancing freely. You’ll also have the chance to meet members of the Company of Elders and learn about their experience. Open to all levels – no dance experience required.
Please note: We are hosting another experience workshop for all genders later in the day at 2:30pm.
Book online only – no spots will be available on the day.
Company of Elders
Experience Workshop
Thursday 9 April, 2.30pm – 4pm
Martha Graham Studio, Sadler’s Wells East
Free
Are you an amateur dancer aged 60 and over? Join us for this joyful and welcoming workshop where you’ll explore different dance styles, moving between learning set steps and dancing freely. You’ll also have the chance to meet members of the Company of Elders and learn about their experience. This workshop is for anyone who loves to move – no matter your background or experience.
Book online only – no spots will be available on the day.
Walking and Expressing (getting involved)
Workshop for over 60s
Sunday 12 April, 10am – 11.30am
Sadler’s Wells East (Martha Graham Studio)
£15
Join artist Beatrice Libonati for a movement workshop for dancers over 60. To activate both mind and body is a challenging but rewarding process. To find yourself, it is important to forget about yourself and just get involved in the movement and the most disparate images. Beatrice was a soloist and artistic assistant in Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch from 1978 to 2006 and is currently performing in Kontakthof – Echoes of ’78.
Please note it is recommended that participants have prior dance experience at a level between novice and intermediate.
Flamenco
Free dance class
A welcoming class for beginners or participants with some experience in flamenco. Led by Lucia Caruso, she will guide you step-by-step through the fundamentals of flamenco movement and culture. Give it a try and enjoy the many benefits of flamenco dance – improved posture, balance, memory, coordination and strength. Lucia has taught all over the world, including for Strictly Come Dancing and English National Ballet.
| Tuesday 7 April | 1pm – 2pm | Martha Graham Studio, Sadler’s Wells East | Book online |
| Monday 13 April | 1pm – 2pm | The Dance Floor, Sadler’s Wells East | Book online |
Please book online to avoid missing out. Limited spots will be available on the day.
Rock and Come In
Free dance class
Step into the rhythm and style of two iconic music genres in this lovers rock and ska dance taster class. Full of Caribbean and Black British cultural history, the session is led by artist Julene Robinson whose work is accessible, joyful, and rooted in cultural storytelling. Rock and Come In for a good ol’ time.
| Tuesday 7 April | 2.30pm – 3.30pm | Martha Graham Studio, Sadler’s Wells East | Book online |
| Friday 24 April | 1pm – 2pm | The Dance Floor, Sadler’s Wells East | Book online |
Please book online to avoid missing out. Limited spots will be available on the day.
Indian Contemporary
Free dance class
Want to learn choreography inspired by our artistic programme? This class invites you to step into a dance piece developed over the course of this term by South Asian dance practitioner Showmi Das. Drawing inspiration from We Caliban by Shobana Jeyasingh Dance, the session explores how classical Indian dance vocabulary can be reimagined as contemporary choreography.
You’ll discover expressive storytelling and experience the energy of dancing as part of a collective. No prior experience with the piece is needed, just curiosity and a willingness to move together.
| Wednesday 8 April | 11am – 12:30pm | Martha Graham Studio, Sadler’s Wells East | Book online |
| Wednesday 15 April | 11am – 12:30pm | The Dance Floor, Sadler’s Wells East | Book online |
Please book online to avoid missing out. Limited spots will be available on the day.
Indian Contemporary and Bollywood
Free dance class
Led by Showmi Das, expect a joyful and energising class where you will explore expressive storytelling through movement, combining vibrant Bollywood routines with graceful classical and rhythmic folk dance elements. Showmi is a freelance South Asian dance practitioner, who has trained in the Indian classical dance style of kathak as well as Bengali folk dance.
| Wednesday 8 April | 1pm – 2pm | Martha Graham Studio, Sadler’s Wells East | Book online |
| Wednesday 15 April | 1pm – 2pm | The Dance Floor, Sadler’s Wells East | Book online |
Please book online to avoid missing out. Limited spots will be available on the day.
House and Waacking - Step into the groove
Free dance class
Join House of Suraj for a dynamic session of club-style dance inspired by house and waacking, drawing on the energy and themes of the V&A East Music is Black exhibition.
This uplifting and welcoming workshop celebrates Black music and movement culture through rhythm, groove, and community.
- Build confidence in House dance foundations
- Develop your musicality
- Improve fitness and coordination
- Groove to the music
- And most importantly – become embodied
All levels welcome. Come as you are. Move together.
| Wednesday 8 April | 2:30pm – 3:30pm | Martha Graham Studio, Sadler’s Wells East | Book online |
| Monday 20 April | 1pm – 2pm | The Dance Floor, Sadler’s Wells East | Book online |
Please book online to avoid missing out. Limited spots will be available on the day.
Lindy Hop and Vernacular
Free dance class
Join us for an energetic and soulful African American art form that developed alongside jazz music. You will learn how to move to jazz and blues through some improvisation, classic steps, choreography and a lot of play. Led by Korantema Anyimadu, who has taught at swing dance festivals across Europe and is known for her uplifting and joyful style.
| Friday 10 April | 1pm – 2pm | Martha Graham Studio, Sadler’s Wells East | Book online |
| Friday 17 April | 1pm – 2pm | The Dance Floor, Sadler’s Wells East | Book online |
Please book online to avoid missing out. Limited spots will be available on the day.
Argentine Tango
Free dance class
Join Anna Alvarez for a rich and connected dance session rooted in the African, Indigenous and European traditions of Buenos Aires. You will learn how to move with presence and sensitivity through tango technique, improvisation, and playful exploration, blended with Feldenkrais and contemporary dance principles. Feldenkrais is a gentle movement practice that develops awareness and ease to improve how we move, feel, and learn. Anna Alvarez is a dancer, choreographer, movement director, and Feldenkrais practitioner, whose work draws on her Argentine heritage and a joyful commitment to embodied learning.
| Friday 10 April | 2:30pm – 3:30pm | Martha Graham Studio, Sadler’s Wells East | Book online |
| Wednesday 22 April | 11am – 12:30pm | The Dance Floor, Sadler’s Wells East | Book online |
| Wednesday 22 April | 1pm – 2pm | The Dance Floor, Sadler’s Wells East | Book online |
Please book online to avoid missing out. Limited spots will be available on the day.
Talks & Screenings
Post-show talk
Louise Lecavalier with Alistair Spalding
Monday 27 April, 8:45pm – 9:15pm
Sadler’s Wells East
Free to same performance ticket holders
Louise Lecavalier in conversation with Sir Alistair Spalding CBE. BSL interpreted.
Cinema Club
Meet the director, Meryl Tankard
Friday 10 April, 1:30pm – 3:30pm
Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells Theatre
Free
Join us for this special Cinema Club event with dancer, choreographer and filmmaker Meryl Tankard. The event includes a screening of Dancing Through Time (15 mins), a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Kontakthof – Echoes of ’78, followed by an in-conversation with Tankard, before the UK premiere screening of Meryl Tankard’s one-woman tour-de-force performance Two Feet (70 mins).
Please book online to avoid missing out. Limited spots will be available on the day.
Cinema Club
Dancing Through the Years: An Evening of Film
Friday 10 April, 6pm – 7pm
Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells Theatre
Free
Join us for a special screening of Dancing Through Time (15 mins), a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Kontakthof – Echoes of ’78, followed by an inspiring programme of dance films celebrating older artists.
The Digital Stage films featured are: Memorias (7 mins) a film with world-renowned flamenco guitarist, Paco Peña; The Real Me (5 mins) a behind-the-scenes film about the Company of Elders’ 2025 performance inspired by the music and era of the Mods and Rockers; Mollika (8 mins) by Olivier Award-nominated Mythili Prakash, which reflects on the ephemeral nature of time and the power of intergenerational relationships through the dancing body; Crossing the Bar (7 mins) where Men! Dancing! gather on a deserted beach, inspired by Tennyson’s poem of the same title and Juice (7 mins) a film about opening up to the unexpected featuring Charlotta Öfverholm and 35 performers.
Please book online to avoid missing out. Limited spots will be available on the day.
Artist Talk
Meryl Tankard, dancers from Kontakhtof – Echoes of ’78 and Salomon Bausch
Sunday 12 April, 3pm – 4pm
Sadler’s Wells East (Martha Graham Studio)
Free
Join choreographer Meryl Tankard, dancers from Kontakthof – Echoes of ’78 and Founder of the Pina Bausch Foundation Salomon Bausch for a discussion of Kontakthof – Echoes of ’78, their lives and careers including their work with Pina Bausch and their thoughts around creativity and ageing. BSL interpreted.