Métier Meets Sir Alistair Spalding

Métier: Tell us about your journey. When did dance and movement first capture your attention and how did you become the Artistic Director of Sadler's Wells?

Sir Alistair Spalding: It’s still a bit of a surprise! I grew up in a household that didn’t have much of a relationship with dance or the arts at all. I first got to enjoy it during my adolescence. I was a terrible student. I left school at 16 and worked in a solicitor’s office for a while. At the time, I was still searching for my vocation. I spent six years teaching and although I have an incredible admiration for teachers, I realised I wasn’t destined for it.

I thoroughly enjoyed culture, the arts. My first job in the arts was at a theatre in Crawley, the Hawth Theatre. That is when I came to realise the appeal of dance. I really started to watch it, starting with ballet and flamenco, and then contemporary dance. It became a secret world I could get into.

I got a job at the Southbank Centre where I stayed for six years, programming dance and performance, anything that wasn’t directly music-related. I then got a call in 2000 to become the programmer, the curator if you will, of Sadler’s Wells. In 2004, I became CEO, which allowed me to start implementing my vision at the theatre.

M: What do you believe makes Sadler’s Wells so special?

AS: There are two main reasons. The first one is that I decided we should only be doing dance at Sadler’s Wells—at the time, a radical change. The second is that our attention is set on the choreographer, the artist. We started with five and have now grown to seventeen artists. I love the idea of pushing boundaries and moving forward. The focus isn’t placed on where we are, but rather on moving forward. I greatly admire William Forsythe for this. He came from ballet but constantly pushed it and moved it forward, and brought it to where it is in the 20th and 21st century. 

M: We have just seen Acosta Danza's 100% Cuban show which was breath-taking. Could you tell us a bit more about Acosta and more broadly about your many collaborations with Carlos? 

AS: Carlos came to see me about 15 years ago, with an idea sketched out on a single sheet of paper. He wanted to do a ballet, Tocororo, about his life. I only knew him a little but I said yes, which my chair at the time thought was a rather bold decision. The night Tocororo premiered in Havana and to great success, I was sitting next to Fidel Castro.

At the time, Carlos was still a dancer at the Royal Ballet. What was meant to be a project on the side led, over the course of ten years, to the creation of a full-time dance company that is doing incredibly well and still touring today: Acosta Danza. Carlos was adamant about wanting a fully Cuban dance company, not only because Cuba has incredible dancers and music, but also because he wanted to encourage young choreographers in Cuba where funds can be limited. As such, apart from one choreographer, Swede Pontis Lindberg—whose contribution is in fact inspired by his time in Cuba—every dancer and choreographer in the dance company is Cuban.

Sadler’s Wells supported Carlos, not only in terms of production, but also with finances. We are all about following the artist, identifying what is their path and responding to the artist’s direction.

M: What were some memorable performances that most surprised you with their outcome?

AS: It must be Sutra, choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui in collaboration with Antony Gormley and nineteen monks. They received a standing ovation on the night of the premiere.

Every single performance is a journey. You never quite know how it will turn out. I’ve learnt that in this field, you should never have too much of a fixed idea of what the end result should look like. You have to be open to changes that go on.

For instance, take William Forsythe’s A Quiet Evening of Dance. The first half of this piece was in total silence, where the music was in effect the movements and the breath of the dancers. No other distractions. I attended a dress rehearsal and noticed the house lights had been left on during the first half—I asked whether this was a mistake. No, he told me: the audience shares this silence, they are complicit in this silence. They don’t stay in the anonymity of the darkness. The second half was set to Rameau music and the house lights switched off. I told William that the first half was like a lecture to the audience and that the show only happened in the second: effectively, he was teaching the audience before showing them how it all came together. 

A Quiet Evening of Dance became one of our biggest successes. The artist knew what he was doing by incorporating the audience in the performance, and allowing them to relax only in the second half. I never would have thought of that. 

M: Do you draw inspiration from a multitude of art forms and sources? Painting? Politics? Music? Social movements? Fashion?

AS: What I find the most interesting is to bring people from different fields together, so that they can bring their own way of thinking to the table. For Undance, Mark Wallinger’s set scenery influenced some of the direction of the narrative and choreography. For Sutra, Larbi always had an interest in martial arts. Antony and he spent a week with the monks at the Shaolin Temple in China, experiencing their daily lives. Antony created twenty-one box coffins for the monks as part of the piece’s scenography, and he brought a way of thinking from his practice as an artist Hussein Chalayan in his show Gravity Fatigue asked ‘how does the body respond to garments?’ and dressed the monks in suits. It’s more about bringing a certain way of thinking, rather than just visual skills. 

M: Which young choreographers should we be looking out for at the moment? Has any other global dance stages or dance companies caught your eye that we should be following?

AS: Without a doubt, Botis Seva. A young choreographer born in Dagenham, he came via the hip-hop route. He performed at the Breakin’ Convention we hold in May, and then at Wild Card. In 2018, I commissioned him a short 25-minute piece as part of our 20th anniversary. Titled BLKDOG, it was nominated at the Olivier Awards for Best New Dance Production which Botis went on to win that year. This piece was then developed into a full-length piece that premiered last autumn at Sadler’s Wells—it sold out. 

Sadler’s Wells is all about developing the next generation of artists. We are opening a new space in Stratford—Botis went from 180 to 1500 seats, so we’re hoping for something mid-range in the new Sadler’s Wells Theatre.

Another choreographer to look out for is Ivan Blackstock whose TRAPLORD we co-produced. He also comes from the hip-hop route, there is a lot of new noteworthy talent from there. Alesandra Seutin, from African descent and Julie Cunningham are two other fantastic artists we support.

M: What performances can the public expect from Sadler’s Wells this year?

AS: Sadler’s Wells has a whole series supported by Van Cleef & Arpels, called Dance Reflections that takes place in March. One of the most exciting performances is the Pina Bausch’s Rite of Spring dance by African dancers in June that has been delayed since March 2020. Extraordinary.

M: Where are some of your favourite places to travel to? Any places you are hoping to visit next?

AS: I miss travelling a lot, to discover and speak with new talents and find inspiration. I like to travel north and east. I love Scandinavian countries, the way they operate, the people. My parents were from Scotland so I seem to like the northern climes. As for the east, China is an incredible place that is quite something to wrap your head around. Japan has to be my favourite country, although I have yet to see more than Tokyo. I also love spending time in Germany, my wife being German and my children bilingual. I have a certain fondness for German cities and not just for Berlin—Hamburg and Munich for instance are very sophisticated places with a lot of culture. 

M: And finally—favourite places for after show dinner and drinks?

AS: There’s a good selection in Exmouth Market but Morro is one of my favourite places. I also have to put in a word for Frederick's in Camden Passage. It’s a great spot for lunch that’s been there for years, which is rare in London’s ever-changing restaurant scene. A lot of our audience members go there after seeing a performance.