Sadler’s Wells presents the first dance production by acclaimed fashion designer and artist Hussein Chalayan. Gravity Fatigue is a major new Sadler’s Wells production in the theatre’s Autumn / Winter 2015 season.
Gravity Fatigue receives its world premiere from Wednesday 28 – Saturday 31 October 2015, directed and designed by Chalayan working with choreographer Damien Jalet.
Hussein Chalayan is an internationally renowned fashion designer and artist whose collections are acclaimed for innovative design, bold use of technology and elegant minimalism. He was named British Designer of the Year in 1999 and 2000.
Chalayan says “I feel very honoured to be given this opportunity at Sadler’s Wells, to be able to extend my interests and world view into the realms of performance and dance.
“Fashion for me is a very important part of culture, however, in many cases clothes can limit the expression of certain ideas. This production will allow me to showcase ideas which I have been collecting for many years and to build narratives around and with the body in a much broader context than ever seen before in my work.”
Throughout his career Chalayan has partnered with musicians, actors and members of the design, art, theatre and fashion fields, including Tilda Swinton, Nick Knight, Antony Hegarty from Antony and the Johnsons.
In his practice as a visual artist his work is regularly shown in major galleries including Musée Des Arts Décoratifs at the Louvre, London Design Museum and National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo.
In his first theatrical work, Chalayan combines the visual creativity of his designs and concepts with contemporary dance to bring to life a transformational imaginary world. Working with award-winning choreographer Damien Jalet, the production takes its inspiration from themes of identity and displacement.
Chalayan’s work has previously been seen on the Sadler’s Wells stage when his fashion show After Words was presented at the theatre in Autumn 2000. The show included some of his best known designs such as ‘the table dress’. The show featured a bare, white stage and contained 1950s-style furniture that the models adapted as clothing in the show’s finale and either carried or wore off the stage.
Chalayan also designed the costumes for Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Faun, part of the Sadler’s Wells production In the Spirit of Diaghilev in 2009. Chalayan has also designed costumes for Michael Clark’s current/SEE and Sasha Waltz & Guests’ Passion with Pascal Dusapin.
Tickets for the Autumn/ Winter 2015 season are on sale from Monday 11 May, via 0844 412 4300 or www.sadlerswells.com.
Pre-show talk with Hussein Chalayan (BLS-interpreted): Thursday 29 October 6 – 6.45pm, £4
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