Julie Cunningham & Company how did we get here?
Play Trailer
An intimate evening of dance featuring renowned choreographer Jules Cunningham, Spice Girl Melanie C and award-winning dancer Harry Alexander.
Internationally recognised dancer and choreographer Jules Cunningham (Julie Cunningham & Company) premieres their latest Sadler’s Wells commission, sweeping audiences into an intimate journey through space and time. With seating surrounding the stage, this constellation of three distinctive performers creates a space to collide, drawing on personal and universal questions, asking how did we get here?
What do we hold in our bodies?
The fullness of our experience is alive and present in every moment.
We feel our power, all the way to the edges of ourselves,
The loneliness of living and never fully being understood,
And the chaos that lives within and around us.
The longing in our hearts,
The unexpected happenings at the edges of our lives,
Our memories and the inrush of the future,
The voices of those near us, and those far away.
How did we get here?
[Image description] Three figures are crouched against a black background in a row wearing full length black leotards with white smoke-effect detailing. On the right is Jules Cunningham, facing forward and knelt down. They have their hair clipped short on the sides and long on the top and back. Their left hand is held behind their back and the right reaches out and rests on Melanie C’s back. In the centre is Harry Alexander, also kneeling and facing front on with his eyes gazing to the side. His hair is sectioned into locs and pulled back, and he has dark stubble on his jaw and chin. On the left is Melanie C, crouched profile and facing away from Jules. She is resting on her palms and feet with her back arched and head hanging toward the ground. Her hair is neatly plaited into a single Dutch braid.
Commissioned by Sadler’s Wells. Jules Cunningham is a Sadler’s Wells New Wave Associate. Supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
Header image © Dolly Brown
Chisholm joins two of the most eloquent bodies in British dance. Harry Alexander, monumentally tall, has the wingspan of an unusually hench albatross. Cunningham is fragile but sculptural. It’s some pedigree.EVENING STANDARD
This is a proper piece of dance art – spare, emotionally sensitive and marked by a quietly moody dynamic.★★★★ THE STAGE
Clearly relishing the challenge, Chisholm holds her own with these two talented and experienced dancers; she can hit a lovely ballet line, has impressive stamina and is an immensely watchable stage presence.TIME OUT
They’re not just bodies. Cunningham is interested in the dynamic of three, and in among the slow, contemplative, minimal sequences come very human interactions.★★★★ THE GUARDIAN
Play trailer
Post performance talk
Watch the full post performance talk recorded on 19 January 2023 at Sadler’s Wells. From Left to Right: Sir Alistair Spalding, Harry Alexander, Melanie C, Jules Cunningham and BSL Interpreter Jeni Draper.
Performances
Age 16 - 30?
See the best dance in the world for £10 with Barclays Dance Pass at Sadler’s Wells.