Skateboarding comes to Sadler’s Wells East in April with the UK premiere of Mette Ingvartsen’s Skatepark, a large-scale performance for skaters, dancers and local skatepark communities. Together with a group of skaters and dancers, Mette Ingvartsen explores the speed and energy of movement on wheels; a passion from her youth and its own kind of beautiful choreography.
Legend has it skateboarding was born when low waves forced surfers onto the Los Angeles asphalt, where they glided through the streets conquering every new obstacle. Like many forms of boundary-pushing dance, skateboarding has formed its own subculture and community, and has inspired numerous generations to defy limits through self-expression in movement.
First selected as one of the discretionary sports at the 2020 and 2024 Olympic games, skateboarding will be inducted as one of the mandatory sports at the 2028 games in Los Angeles.
In the midst of its European tour, Ingvartsen held community skate workshops at Sadler’s Wells East, attended by those in the local East London skateboarding scene, which provided a space for local skaters to connect and exchange knowledge. From these workshops, Ingvarsten handpicked seven young skateboarders between the ages of 10 and 24, all local to east London, to join the cast of Skatepark.
Mette Ingvartsen is a Danish choreographer and dancer. She established her company in 2003 and her work has since been shown throughout Europe, as well as in the U.S, Canada, Australia and Asia. She has been artist-in-residence at Kaaitheater in Brussels (2012-2016), Volksbühne in Berlin, and holds a PhD in choreography from Stockholm University of the Arts / Lund University. Skatepark first premiered in 2023.