Details

Sylvie Guillem CBE, was born on 23 February 1965 in Paris, France. As a child, she trained in gymnastics under the instruction of her mother, a gymnastics teacher. In 1977 aged 11, she began training at the Paris Opera Ballet School, and in 1981 joined the company's corps de ballet. She was promoted to the rank of "Etoile" by Rudolf Nureyev at the age of 19. Since then she has performed all the leading roles of the classical repertoire with the world's leading companies including The Royal Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, the Kirov, The Tokyo Ballet, Australian Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and La Scala. First performed in 2006, Sacred Monsters is the hugely acclaimed collaboration between Sadler's Wells Associate Artists Sylvie Guillem and Akram Khan. Together, the pair explore the dynamics and language of two great classical dance forms, kathak and ballet, to produce a "five-star display of speed, precision and power" (The Guardian). Used in France in the 19th century as a nickname for theatre's biggest stars, Sacred Monsters is a term that marks the birth of contemporary stardom, in which the icons of the arts and sports worlds are given divine status by their audience and the media. The pressure of living up to these expectations leaves no room for failure, self-expression or emotion. The divine status becomes inhuman, monstrous. Sacred Monsters is a landmark piece featuring additional choreography by Gauri Sharma Tripathi and Lin Hwai-min, Artistic Director of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, and music created by Philip Sheppard.

Cast/Performers

Sylvie Guillem, Akram Khan

Creatives/Company

Choreographer(s): Akram Khan, Sylvie Guillem