Armitage Gone! Dance

Not seen in London since 1985, 1980s wild child and punk ballerina Karole Armitage returns to Dance Umbrella with a world premiere and the revival of a seminal classic.

Alongside Armitage's more leftfield work, she is also known for having choreographed the videos for Madonna's Vogue in 1991 and Michael Jackson's In the Closet video in 1992.

Striking, elegant and dramatic, Two Theories - Quantum & String is performed by the company of ten captivatingly brilliant dancers, and explores the poetry underlying the pillars of 20th-century theoretical physics.

Armitage's signature work from 1981, Drastic-Classicism, is performed to avant-garde pioneer Rhys Chatham's clangorous score, played live by five guitarists amidst the dancers. When this outrageously high-energy performance premiered in New York 30 years ago, it shocked audiences with its audacity, pairing classical movement with the raw energy of punk's wall of sound. Today its impact is no less striking.

'Such a flashing of legs, such speed, such fervour! They throw a stratospheric party and yank ballet into it.' (The Village Voice on Drastic-Classicism)

This is the world premiere of Two Theories.

Tuesday 11 October, post-performance - Meet the Artist. Free to same-day ticket holders.