Hot tickets: First Sadler's Wells East shows

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Tickets have gone on sale for the first 20 shows in the debut season at the new Sadler’s Wells East. The venue, which opens on East Bank in the Olympic Park in February 2025, will be home to all kinds of dance; everything from hip hop to ballet, rave to rhumba and kathak to krumping.

The purpose-built flexible auditorium can accommodate traditional seated shows and also more immersive opportunities, when the seats are stored away for audiences to be among the dancers on an open floor.

The first show (6th-9th Feb) will be Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu’s Our Mighty Groove, where Vicki’s Uchenna company and young dancers from across East London join you on the Club Groove dancefloor, a space where ‘anything can happen’. The cast of nightclub characters fuse house, waacking and vogue, with African and contemporary dance all aound.

Also in the opening month are HUMANHOOD’s ∞ {Infinite} (12th-15th Feb), a mystical journey where dance theatre meets meditation, and Irish choreographer Emma Martin’s London debut with Birdboy, an all-ages tribute to all the weird kids left on the sidelines.

Tickets are available from only £15, too.

🎨 Inspired by their scenes of the old East End, In the Footsteps of the East London Group brings together the work of 22 contemporary artists to show their new paintings alongside their historic counterparts. The show explores the city across time – remembering long-demolished buildings, revealing hidden streets, and celebrating communities from the 1920s to the present day. All are welcome to the private view tomorrow night at Bow Art’s Nunnery Gallery. Runs until 22nd December

🖼️ Angus Vasili fuses screen-printing, photography, and hand-finished textures, inspired by urban decay and its unexpected beauty. An exhibition of his colourful work can currently be seen on the walls of plant shop Repot until November, where all original artworks and unframed prints are available for purchase along with your next house plants.

♀️ Female Unlocked is the new deeply personal and spiritual show from artist Catherine Amakars at Unlock Pizza. It dives into the themes of feminine strength and beauty, exploring the female body through abstract depictions that merge traditional iconography with a modern twist.

🩻 You can’t have failed to have encounter the emotive skeleton characters of Squarms adorning the streets of Hackney Wick and far beyond. Two More Years is currently home to a solo show of their drawings and paintings as the latest in the venue’s ongoing series of month-long gallery pop-ups.

🏗️ Wicked Changes IV is the latest edition in Felstead Arts exhibition series exploring how East London artists respond to current social and urban challenges of large-scale redevelopment; who is involved in creating the new image of the area, and who is left behind. See the exhibition at The Trampery now. Runs until November 30th.

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🔊 Mexico City’s in-demand reggaeton and cumbia spinner Rosa Pistola begins a month-long residency at Colour Factory this Saturday, 5th October. For the opening night she’s invited Freebot, King Doudou and Architect, with other heavyweights over the next consecutive Saturdays in October.

🎤 Early punk and then post-punk heritage group Swell Maps C21 play live at No.90 this Thursday, 3rd October, with support from Double Virgo and Eterna, plus it’s soundtracked by Katie Shannon.

📲 Do you work at night in London? You could earn up to £100 simply by taking part in a research workshop run by University College London’s UCL Urban Lab. Take the Voices of Nightworkers survey 

🫙 There’s an intimate workshop focusing on terrarium-making from upcycled pickle jars at Repot in Hackney Wick, on Wednesday, 9th October. You’ll create your own living ecosystem inside the large jars, the paint the lid to make yours truly unique. The workshop will be led by Sam Crees, (a local face you might recognise from Grow) and is limited to just 8 people, so don’t delay booking.

🆙 UP Projects have just launched this year’s Constellations Assemblies, an online learning programme designed for artists, curators, producers, and all those interested in the expanded field of public art. It comprises three online events exploring the relationship between creative practice and policy. The Wick readers can book for free using the promo code: constellations24.

😤 Learn about the transformative power of conscious breathing at a special one-off event at Akasa on 20th October, Become a Magnet for Miracles: HypnoBreathwork Experience with breath practitioner Suzy Perry. She’ll take you on a profound HypnoBreathwork journey to access your highest frequency state and, she says, to ‘start attracting miracles’.

🧘 Yoga is back at Barge East this Sunday, 6th October from 9.30am with the Morning Yoga Synergy Flow offering some stretching and mindful moments on the waterside for a relaxed weekend option.

💅🏻 Two new nail bar openings in the area this month, and both are offering tasty introductory offers. TW Nails Club at Omega Works currently has 30% off all treatments to celebrate their grand opening, while the new Rookwood Way canalside branch of Dream Nails has a promotional soft launch period of 50% off all treatments running from 24th Sept - 15th October. 

💻 If you’re an 18-30-year old local creative and have ever wondered about sending or being sent a contract, you should join the free Protecting your Ideas: Intellectual Property & Understanding Contracts Masterclass, led by legal company Orrick - an informative session on safeguarding your work as a creative freelancer. Learn about how to protect your creative ideas and empower yourself and your freelance business in this session at The Good Growth Hub on Thursday 17th October.

💁🏻‍♂️ The Help to Grow: Management Programme is an opportunity for local SME founders to boost their leadership skills and their business performance. The programme is delivered by business experts at Fashion Business School, LCF and is 90% funded by the UK Government, but if you are an alumnus and/or networked with UAL and meet the eligibility requirements, you can get a bursary so the entire 12-week programme, including 1-1 mentoring, will be fully funded. The next course begins on 30th October

♻️ After the success of the recent Open House event, The Loop, is hosting a Circular Neighbourhoods Conference as part of London’s Circular Economy Week, this Friday 4th October. Sign up for free and join the event which will include panel discussions, keynote talks, hub tours and stalls. The Mayor of Hackney will also be giving a speech announcing further details of the borough’s Circular Economy Strategy and Action Plan.

📈 Discover more about the ecosystem of innovation, culture and talent now based around the Olympic Park and wider East London at a special morning event called The Future is Now, taking place at Plexel on Wednesday 9th October. Podcast hosts and former politicians Ed Balls and George Osborne will give their take on the area, followed by a networking reception.

❤️‍🩹 Legal & General and UCL’s Institute of Health Equity have launched a £3m Health Equity Fund to support place-based projects addressing social issues around health. Charities, social enterprises, NHS Trusts or primary care organisations, university or academic organisations and community groups can all apply for grant funding to support initiatives or early-stage projects, up to £75k per project. Register your interest now.

📋 Local e-cargo company Zhero and UCL are looking for a Research Assistant to work on their New Organisational Model Project, exploring how impact investment and alternative ownership models can help tackle society’s biggest challenges. It’s a fixed term position until next June with some great benefits. Applications by 6th October.