English Premier League football club West Ham United (WHU) has teamed up with Sadler’s Wells to create a new contemporary dance piece that captures the highs and lows of football. Home Turf features professional dancers, WHU fans and members of Sadler’s Wells Company of Elders.
In total more than 100 dancers take part in the piece, which was choreographed by collaboratively by Pascal Merighi, Michela Meazza, Lee Griffiths, Joseph Toonga as well as dancers from Studio Wayne McGregor. The score was composed by Murray Gold, who is best known for his work on the BBC TV show Doctor Who.
Home Turf looks at several sides of football, from the jubilation of goal celebrations to the horrors of football hooliganism. WHU recently relocated to London Stadium, making them nearby neighbours of Sadler’s Wells new Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park theatre (due to open in 2021).
‘Bringing members of our community into the work we present breathes life into the theatre, contributing to our ongoing exploration of what performance is and helping us develop new audiences for dance,’ commented Sadler’s Wells artistic director and chief executive Alistair Spalding. ‘I hope this will be the first in a series of exciting collaborations between us.’
The piece premiered on Saturday 24 October, and it has yet to be decided whether further performances will be booked.
