Candoco Dance Company Return To Sadler's Wells With Double Bill

This Autumn, Candoco Dance Company presents a thrilling double bill with the world premiere of Jeanine Durning's perpetually unique Last Shelter alongside a reprisal of their recreation of renowned choreographer Trisha Brown's seminal Set and Reset/Reset.

The evening begins with Set and Reset/Reset, in which the company of disabled and non-disabled dancers move with dream-like fluidity, set to a driving Laurie Anderson score, in their 2021 reimagining of Trisha Brown's original choreography. In contrast, Jeanine Durning's Last Shelter unfolds uniquely at each performance. Teetering at the edge of what could be in an ever-shifting environment, this choreography highlights the velocity and precision of each dancer's decision-making from moment to moment, somewhere between agency and collective will. After a year of working invisibly through a pandemic, it is an act of intimacy to witness the labour and desire of the dancer attending to themselves and one another, in their practice.

Distinct in form, these works share the vitality and virtuosity that promises an unforgettable double bill from the company that continues to expand perceptions of what dance can be.

Abigail Yager (Set and Reset/Reset) said, "The Set and Reset/Reset Project examines the shifting nature of choreography in relation to underlying structures that anchor a dance to itself. The process of re-construction (as opposed to replication) is a negotiation between freedom and limit - an exploration of possibility as the dancers create a new version of Trisha Brown's landmark choreography."

Jeanine Durning (Last Shelter) said, "What strikes me about the Candoco ensemble is their intimacy, trust and generosity toward one another and this is a perfect place from which to interrogate choreography as a container for radical togetherness and transformation."

Charlotte Darbyshire, Artistic Director, Candoco Dance Company said, "I honestly cannot wait for Candoco Dance Company to be back on the main stage of Sadler's Wells with these two vital and virtuosic works. The full company has not performed since January 2020 at The Royal Opera House and yet we have been working tirelessly behind closed doors. We are so excited to reconnect with a London audience and to share these intensely physical but contrasting works. Trisha Brown's seminal 1983 work Set and Reset is a well known and much loved piece, but 'Reset' and developed by the unique dancers of Candoco, it retains a compelling vitality nearly 40 years after its inception. Jeanine Durning's piece is a new work created during the pandemic. Each performance manifests in utterly different ways depending on the moment to moment choices the dancers make in relation to each other and a honed set of choreographic scores that Jeanine has been developing over the past 20 years. Though these are very different works, they share a quest for freedom and connection, which in these times I find important and affirming. "

For 30 years, Candoco Dance Company has been blurring the lines between the mainstream and the experimental. From presenting work on the world's most prestigious stages to delivering ground-breaking participatory projects and highly-regarded professional training, Candoco's bold approach and powerful collaborations create distinctive performances and far-reaching learning experiences. The company celebrates different ways of seeing, of being and of making art, putting it at the forefront of conversation around dance and disability.