Former Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm is set to dance at Sadler’s Wells in January.
She will appear in a new dance piece called How Did We Get Here?, which will open Sadler’s Wells’ spring season in January 2023.
The dance is a collaboration with choreographer Jules Cunningham and dancer Harry Alexander.
Mel C trained in ballet, tap and jazz as a child, but this will be the first time she has performed contemporary dance.
Melanie Chisholm said: “As a classically trained dancer, it’s a dream come true for me to perform at Sadler’s Wells and even more so on an adventurous and groundbreaking project like this. My mind is blown when I think about starting my career with the Spice Girls, in the
crazy glare of popular culture and then 25 years later I’m coming to perform with artists of the calibre of Jules, on the stage at Sadler’s Wells. It’s a full circle cultural moment for me and I’m pinching myself!”
Liverpool-born choreographer Jules Cunningham danced for a decade with the Merce Cunningham company in New York. The new work will see three performers tell their own physical stories through dance.
Cunningham said: “As a young dancer from the north west, witnessing the Spice Girls explosion when I was 16 was pivotal. Particularly in Melanie C, I saw possibilities and ways of being myself that were outside of what was expected. Many years later, after all the experiences I’ve had, it’s a real pleasure to be in the process of creation with Melanie and my long-time collaborator Harry Alexander. Together we are working through our shared dance histories and differences to explore what this moment of being together is.”
Mel C is no stranger to the West End, having performed in Blood Brothers at the Phoenix Theatre in 2009.
How Did We Get Here? plays at Sadler’s Wells in London from 19 to 29 January 2023.