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. For this Sadler’s Wells / Sylvie Guillem production, William Forsythe creates a new duet for her and Paris Opera Ballet etoile Nicolas Le Riche, with a commissioned score by David Morrow. Commissioned by Sadler’s Wells, the iconic dance-maker works with Guillem again following his now legendary In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, created for her in 1987 at Paris Opera. This duet is the fourth work he has created for her, preceded by France/Dance, In the Middle Somewhat Elevated, and Firstext. Also at Guillem's request, acclaimed Swedish choreographer Mats Ek creates a new solo for her, set to Beethoven’s last piano sonata. The fourth collaboration between Ek and Guillem, commissioned by Sadlers Wells follows Wet Woman for television, the duet Smoke for Guillem and Niklas Ek, and the title role of Carmen staged by Mats Ek at The Royal Ballet in London; a work he originally created for the Cullberg Ballet. The playful title Ajo (Bye) is described by Ek as being "... about a woman who takes leave of a certain stage in her life. It is a conversationthat she has with herself that leads to new experiences.' Ajo features interactive video by set and costume designer Katrin Brannström. It was previewed in Stockholm in December 2010 and described as a "masterpiece" by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writerWiebke Huster. Guillem also invites Jirí Kylian, another choreographer that she has worked with many times in her career, to contribute a new work for her. In response, Kylian has chosen to create a film, the medium that has fascinated him particularly through his previous collaboration with the film maker Jason Akira Somma, with whom he worked as a Rolex mentor. Kylian and Somma’s film, featuring Guillem and Sabine Kupferberg, completes the evening along with a duet from Kylián’s work 27’52”'performed by dancers handpicked by the choreographer.

Cast/Performers

Sylvie Guillem

Creatives/Company

Producer(s): Sadler's Wells, Sylvie Guillem, Holland Dance Festival (with support from Dansenshus Stockholm)
Choreographer(s): Mats Ek, William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian