Our visitors, students and staff are our top priority and after careful consideration on the growing concerns of coronavirus (COVID-19) we have come to the difficult decision to postpone Strange Stranger until November 2020. We apologise for any disappointment caused.
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Alexander Whitley has received significant attention for his past works that have investigated the impact of technology, such as artificial intelligence, on contemporary human experience and his groundbreaking use of interactive technology to redefine the parameters of choreography.
For this new work commissioned by Sadler’s Wells Theatre and York Mediale, Alexander collaborated with Dutch light installation artists Children of the Light (renowned for their stunning lighting designs and scenography for Nicolas Jaar), British composer Beatrice Dillon and Italian creative technologists, Luca Biada and Michele Panegrossi of FENYCE Workspace
Drawing upon the notion of a ‘data shadow’, the digital profile formed from the traces of information we unintentionally leave behind through our routine interaction with technology, Strange Stranger explores the paradox of how, the more information we have access to, the stranger and more incomprehensible the world seems. It questions the idea of presence in the information age, considering the growing divide between the spaces in which our bodies are situated and the places in which we are active, asking: How can you be present but not here? How can you be here but not present?
5 years + (children must be accompanied by an adult)
Please be aware this performance contains flashing lights
Photography by David Lindsay
Alexander Whitley is an interdisciplinary dance-maker exploring the new creative possibilities for choreography emerging through digital technology. Working with leaders in digital design and technology and drawing on his background in classical and contemporary dance, Alexander creates innovative and highly crafted productions noted for
their intricate choreography, strong musicality and striking visual design.
Established in 2014, Alexander Whitley Dance Company exists as a platform for enquiry: bringing together artists and academics from a wide range of disciplines to explore, develop and disseminate ideas about movement. Building on a distinguished performing career, AWDC was founded in response to the new spheres of knowledge and creativity being opened up by digital technology and a widening interest in dance from thinkers in other fields including science, design and architecture.
Alexander’s work is of particular interest and significance for the way in which it engages with contemporary thinking and current issues. He creates not only beautiful and interesting forms of movement but conceives of choreography as the embodiment of an intellectual pursuit.Alistair Spalding, Artistic Director and Chief Executive, Sadler’s Wells Theatre