Sharon Eyal: Into the Hairy at Sadler’s Wells

text by Lara Monro

photographs by Katerina Jebb

This Thursday, Sadler’s Wells will showcase Into the Hairy, the newest work from Sharon Eyal and longtime collaborator Gai Behar. Created for S-E-D Dance Company, the piece further refines Eyal’s unique choreographic language: a vocabulary of subtle intensities where sensation becomes form and form becomes meaning.

Those familiar with Eyal’s universe will recognize the pulse: a charged, hypnotic physicality that sits somewhere between ritual, runway, and rave. But Into the Hairy marks a shift, a paring back. As Eyal has recently said, her work has become “more precise, more clean, more pure, more minimalistic… less is much, much more.” What remains is movement distilled to its emotional core. 

Co-commissioned by Sadler’s Wells and created in close dialogue with London-based producer Koreless, the work is set to an original score that seems to emerge like breath through the body. Eight dancers move in unison that is both fierce and strangely intimate, the kind of togetherness that, as Eyal herself puts it, can make one feel “even more alone.” Clad in Maria Grazia Chiuri’s sculptural bodysuits, their forms are sharply visible; muscles, tremors, and the subtle hesitations of choice read like text.

Eyal often speaks of being uninterested in comfort. She wants the struggle, the fracture lines, the place where control and surrender collide. “Everything you see starts with my body,” she has said, improvisations that are then mapped, repeated, and refined until they become something shared. In Into the Hairy, that process is palpable. The dancers carry a vulnerability so present it feels like a kind of heat on the surface of the skin.

The result is both sensual and severe. A work that holds the paradox of contemporary life: closeness and distance, ecstasy and restraint, the collective pulse and the solitary self. It is a reminder that the body is an archive, that movement can speak before language, that emotion doesn’t need to explain itself to be understood. At Sadler’s Wells, Into the Hairy arrives not simply as a work of choreography, but as a deepening of Eyal’s ongoing inquiry into presence, power, and the vulnerability of being seen.

Into the Hairy is showing at Sadler’s Wells Theatre on November 13, 14, and 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Step into the Infinite: HUMANHOOD Dance Company Unveils a Visionary Performance @ Sadler’s Wells East

text by Lara Monro
photographs by Tom Visser

This February, dance lovers are invited on a cosmic journey as HUMANHOOD Dance Company presents ∞ {Infinite}, an extraordinary dance theatre meditation. Marking the second production at the newly opened Sadler’s Wells East, this visionary work blends movement, energy, and spiritual practice in a mesmerising display of artistic innovation.

At the heart of ∞ {Infinite} lies a unique fusion of Artistic Directors Julia Robert and Rudi Cole’s signature choreography and shamanic influences. The performance seamlessly integrates spectacular dance and profound internal awareness, designed to illuminate the infinite power that moves through us all. With eight dancers, including Cole himself, the stage transforms into a dreamscape of fluid motion, pulsating tribal rhythms, and transcendent storytelling.

In the unprecedented theatrical experience, audiences are not merely spectators but participants in an immersive meditation. Through channelled words by Julia Robert, the production invites individuals to explore the depths of their consciousness, offering an exploration of infinity within. This innovative approach to dance theater aims to bridge the gap between the physical and metaphysical, transforming the stage into a sacred space where energy and movement become one.

Speaking about this milestone production, Julia Robert and Rudi Cole share their excitement:

“The time has come for us to break out of our shell and share with the world the fusion of our spiritual practice with our artistic voice. ∞ {Infinite} is the culmination of decades of metaphysical experiences around the world and our vision to take audiences to a brand-new theatre experience. This is our first Dance Theatre Meditation, marking an exciting chapter in HUMANHOOD’s expansion.”

For the duo, the theater is more than a performance venue—it is a modern-day temple where audiences can collectively engage with new ideas and challenge their perceptions of the universe. ∞ {Infinite} offers an invitation to step into a realm of possibility, where the limits of the body and mind dissolve into an expansive, boundless adventure.

This philosophy stems from HUMANHOOD’s broader mission: to bring the power of movement to communities worldwide. Julia Robert and Rudi Cole believe that dance is not a privilege for the few, but an essential element of human existence. To them, movement is life, and as long as we breathe, we are dancing. Their work is deeply rooted in the idea that through dance, we access our body’s portal and create a state conducive to liberation.

Beyond performance, HUMANHOOD fosters a global movement of individuals seeking a deeper connection with themselves and their surroundings. By practicing continuous awareness, they cultivate a collective union of empowered and awakened individuals, expanding their presence to transform not just their own lives but the lives of others around them.

Their ongoing research delves into the fusion of ancient mysticism and modern science. Julia and Rudi have travelled the world to connect with spiritual hermits, shamans, and Indigenous tribes from Ecuador, India, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, and beyond—absorbing sacred wisdom, rituals, and traditional practices. Simultaneously, they have collaborated with renowned scientists, including NASA physicists, to deepen the dialogue between movement, consciousness, and scientific discovery.

Their holistic movement practice, developed through extensive hours of exploration both in the studio and in nature, seeks to push the limits of human potential. By integrating ancient spiritual knowledge with cutting-edge scientific inquiry, HUMANHOOD crafts performances that are not only visually and emotionally profound but also energetically transformative.

∞ {Infinite} opens tonight and will be playing through Saturday @ Sadler’s Wells East