Wayne McGregor at the Manchester International Festival 2015

Wayne McGregor is set to choreograph a new ballet, based on the book Tree of Codes, for next year’s Manchester International Festival. The ballet is one of three new pieces of work that have been announced for the festival, which runs from 2 July to 19 July in 2015. Tree of Codes will have music by Jamie xx and is based on Jonathan Safran Foer’s book of the same name. The iconic creator McGregor is teaming up with visual artist Olafur Eliasson for the piece, which will run for a limited period during the festival, from 2 July to 10 July at the Opera House in Manchester. The company of dancers working on the production for McGregor will be formed of performers from the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet as well as McGregor’s own company, Random Dance. It is produced by Manchester International Festival, Paris Opera Ballet and Random Dance in a unique piece combining the talents and collaborations of the dance companies and festival organisation. Next year’s festival in 2015 will also include The Tale of Mr Tumble, a family show starring Justin Fletcher. This production will run from 13 July to 18 July and is also produced by Manchester International Festival. Also announced for the Festival is a new work called The Age of Starlight, which will see professor Brian Cox tell the story of the events that led to our existence on Earth. It will be directed by Kevin MacDonald and will feature computer-generated imagery from Tim Webber and Framestore, the visual effects team behind the film Gravity. This piece too is produced by Manchester International Festival and DNA. The full programme for next year’s Festival will be announced in February 2015.