Tree of Codes, the much-anticipated collaboration between choreographer Wayne McGregor, artist Olafur Eliasson and musician Jamie xx receives its London premiere at Sadler’s Wells from 4–11 March, following critical acclaim at Manchester International Festival in 2015. The contemporary ballet is inspired by Jonathan Safran Foer’s book of the same name, inspired by the text of Bruno Schulz’ Street of Crocodiles.
Tree of Codes is therefore a translation of the book into dance, imagery and sound through visual, sonic and kinaesthetic images. The creative team have worked together over two years to make this contemporary ballet, including a cast made up of soloists and dancers from Paris Opera Ballet and Sadler’s Wells Resident Company, Company Wayne McGregor. McGregor has previously created new works for Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, New York City Ballet, The Australian Ballet, English National Ballet and Rambert, among others, and recently celebrated 10 years as Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet.
McGregor’s consequent style is dynamic and ground-breaking, always a collaborative approach across dance, film, music, visual art, technology and science. This has seen him create an exceptional body of work as a Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist, and McGregor is renowned for his physically testing choreography and highly innovative collaborations.
McGregor’s works are in the repertories of many leading ballet companies throughout the world, including the Bolshoi Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Boston Ballet and Joffrey Ballet. He has directed movement for theatre and film including Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and has choreographed music videos including the Grammy-nominated Lotus Flower for Radiohead, and Ingenue for Atoms for Peace. His other recent productions include Atomos at Sadler’s Wells, and Woolf Works for The Royal Ballet.