Review: BODY & SOUL at Sadler’s Wells

Stuart King 20 March, 2026, 09:03

Crystal Pite and Kameron N. Saunders bring a touch of the modernist to English National Ballet's offering at Sadler's Wells with their double bill of BODY & SOUL, although having attended opening night, it might more readily be titled SOUL & BODY.

English National Ballet in Crystal Pite's Body and Soul (Part 1) © Photography by ASH

PART 1: — We open beneath a spotlight where a formally dressed pair respond to the choreographic notation as it is read aloud in French by Marina Hinds. This piece which was originally created for Paris Opera Ballet uses movement to accentuate the notion of conflict vs unity, the individual vs the collective. What is at first a series of duets, morphs into the response of groupings or a fully combined group. Initially a marionette, the voice becomes subsumed by the mass which reacts to each command, eventually becoming an undulating murmuration, and a voice all its own.

As an abstract concept it doesn't possess the narrative complexity of Pite's usual work, but is dynamic nonetheless and superbly executed. It is unusual in such a piece, to pick out a key dancer, but Zai Calliste (in his Scene 6 pairing with Ivana Bueno) marked himself as one to watch and deserving of his speedy elevation through the ranks.

PROPER CONDUCT — After the interval, an arc-lit figure dressed in sci-fi modern attire marks the contrast in our fallible human world, with one where automatons take control and ensure we are oblivious of the day-to-day. It is both colourfully joyous and insidiously convenient, presenting the age of machines as though it is imminently upon us and the antidote to the chaos of humankind (to which we should perhaps gratefully submit, albeit with Terminator reservations at the back of our collective minds).

This second piece is set to the music of Brandon Finklea and Harold Walker III, and is performed live by the musicians of the English National Ballet Philharmonic. Again, it perhaps asks more questions than it attempts to answer, but the energetic stylings created by Saunders with the unwavering support of Prince Lyon's, present very current matters for consideration in a world where (apparently) some individuals with a platform, prefer to close their minds to the multitudinous and valuable contributions which ballet and opera can bring. Go figure! I shan't involve myself in such musings for fear of being late for my 12.30 table tennis match.

BODY & SOUL runs 1 hour and 20 mins with an 15-20 minute interval and continues at Sadler's Wells until 28th March.

Body & Soul Tickets