Body & Soul by English National Ballet at Sadler’s Wells is an exciting double bill of large-scale dance, featuring the UK premiere of Body & Soul (Part 1) by acclaimed choreographer Crystal Pite and Proper Conduct by Kameron N. Saunders.
Originally created for the Paris Opera Ballet, Body & Soul (Part 1) opens with a single dancer moving to a short form of words in French spoken by Marina Hands. These are repeated at intervals.
Increasing numbers of dancers are divided into large, sweeping groups. The simple right, left movement of a walk is transmuted into swelling, growing movement, becoming metaphors for resistance and order. Choreographed cross patterns become a masterclass in timing, pacing and use of space on the Sadler’s stage. Resistance is shown as pressure exerted by one dancer on another, at times creating tension that feels heavy to watch. Then, as relief arrives, a moving pas de deux of closeness, danced to Chopin. When one of these dancers is subsequently felled and no longer able to move, the words that have until then accompanied only human bodies in movement become almost unbearably poignant.
As a choreographed metaphor on resistance and authoritarianism, Body & Soul (Part 1) is extraordinary, powerful and sublime.
After the interval, there’s a world premiere of Proper Conduct. It’s choreographed by Kameron N. Saunders, who is a prize-winning choreographer as well as having built a huge following as a commercial dancer for some of the world’s biggest artists, including Taylor Swift.
It’s bold, in three segments, and though not all of it works, it’s dynamic, surprising and thematic. Proper Conduct also draws on the movement and music of the contemporary club scene in London and is the sort of work that might be capable of bringing a new audience into Sadler’s and ballet. ENB director Aaron S. Watkin is right to include Proper Conduct in the company’s repertoire, but not everyone will appreciate the jolt he’s giving.
Review by Marian Kennedy
How do we interpret the world around us? How do we respond and react, in our bodies and in our minds? Crystal Pite and Kameron N. Saunders create two powerful works which go to the very core of the human experience.
This bold new programme features the UK premiere of Body and Soul (Part 1) from acclaimed choreographer Crystal Pite, who originally created the piece for Paris Opera Ballet and has worked with companies across the world.
This hypnotic work presents variations on a theme of conflict. It opens with two dancers in black suits and white shirts, bathed in a stark light. They move to a voice, speaking in French, describing their actions. As the words repeat, with loops and echoes, the duet swells to a crowd, seamlessly blending precision and fluidity and morphing to create mesmerising waves of movement across the stage.
With intimate duets set to spoken text, and powerful moments harnessing the energy of a group of dancers, Body and Soul (Part 1) is reminiscent of Pite’s acclaimed pieces seen on stage at Sadler’s Wells, including Revisor (with Kidd Pivot), Emergence (with National Ballet of Canada) and Figures in Extinction (with NDT and Complicite).
Kameron N. Saunders has built a huge following as a commercial dancer for some of the world’s biggest artists, including Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan. He is also a prize-winning choreographer who has created pieces for Joffrey Ballet and Dallas Black Dance Theatre.
For this world premiere of Proper Conduct, Saunders brings his fresh choreographic voice to the new work in three parts, inspired by his personal experience. Saunders invites us to explore the battle to find our authentic self under crushing societal scrutiny – how we deal with judgements projected upon us, the decisions we make, and their impact on us and those around us. Brandon Finklea and Harold Walker III compose a new score, performed by English National Ballet Philharmonic.
English National Ballet
BODY & SOUL
Sadler’s Wells
19 to 28 March 2026
