The double Olivier award-winning smash hit returns to Sadler’s Wells. A timeless fairytale and Academy Award-winning movie, The Red Shoes has captivated audiences and inspired generations of dancers with its powerful tale of obsession, possession and one girl’s dream to be the greatest dancer in the world. Victoria Page lives to dance but her ambitions become a fierce struggle between the two men who inspire her passion. Matthew Bourne’s magical double Olivier Award-winning production of the legendary Powell and Pressburger film is set to a score orchestrated by Terry Davies, featuring the mesmerizing music of golden-age Hollywood composer Bernard Herrmann, with sumptuous designs by Lez Brotherston (set and costumes), Paule Constable (lighting) and Paul Groothuis (sound). An intoxicating drama where life imitates art with fateful consequences, The Red Shoes will dazzle your senses and break your heart. AUDIO DESCRIBED: Saturday, 10th January, 2:30pm (with touch tour)

Please note that you need to be a current Cambridge Federation WI member to book this event. The Red Shoes is based on the tragic fairytale by Hans Christian Anderson and the 1948 Hollywood film. It is the story of a talented young dancer who finds herself torn between love and her career, with heartbreaking consequences. Created by Matthew Bourne, the Red Shoes first premiered back in 2016 and has become one of his signature works, allowing audiences to capture a sense of possession, passion and all-encompassing obsession. This is an intoxicating drama where life imitates art with fateful consequences. The Red Shoes will dazzle your senses and break your heart. Pick-up Points: Lode (Bus Depot) 8.30am and Trumpington Park & Ride 9.15am We aim to arrive in London with plenty of time for lunch before the performance which is at 2.30 pm. Our seats are situated in the Stalls with minimal steps. We will leave for home after the performance, approximately 5.00pm. This event is open to CFWI members and their family and friends Booking closes: 1 October 2025

Fuel your soul this spring with Breakin’ Convention, the world’s biggest festival of hip hop theatre. Hosted and curated by Jonzi D, the festival features the freshest works from your favourite artists. Get bank holiday ready for jaw-dropping performances, live DJs, dance workshops, graffiti, emcees, and spontaneous cyphers all over Sadler’s Wells in an unforgettable experience. Welcoming all hip hop heads from the old school to the new school. BSL INTERPRETED: Saturday, 2nd May, 6:00pm, Sunday, 3rd May, 6:00pm

First staged in 2008, the penultimate work of legendary choreographer Pina Bausch makes its long-awaited London premiere at Sadler’s Wells in 2026. Created in the final years of her life, ‘Sweet Mambo’ urges you to experience the legacy of the one of the most influential and revolutionary choreographers of the 20th century, almost two decades after it was first performed. Desire. Fear. Laughter. Pain. Human emotion is captured, questioned and torn apart in this moving expressionist piece. Bausch’s dancers-turned-collaborators bring years of experience, influenced by their own personal recollections, to communicate in movement what can’t be said in words. Created in the renowned Tanztheater style Bausch made famous, this performance explores our inner motivations and lays bare the sweetness and severity of life. Witness an intimate ensemble turn tender moments into expansive emotions and let this poetic work wash over you. AUDIO DESCRIBED PERFORMANCE: Wednesday, 18th February, 7:30pm TOUCH TOUR: Wednesday, 18th February, 7:30pm

As death approaches, Elizabeth I of England is haunted by memories – real and imagined – of her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots. This major new production from Scottish Ballet’s choreographer-in- residence Sophie Laplane and co-creator, James Bonas (The Crucible), draws on the complex relationship between these two extraordinary queens. Laplane’s bold choreography blends classicism with modernity, reshaping a familiar story with powerful originality. Soutra Gilmour’s striking, contemporary set is complemented by dazzling costumes that capture the grandeur of the era, with nods to haute couture and punk. New music, by the team behind 2022 hit Coppélia, is performed live by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra. An iconic story, unconventionally told, Mary, Queen of Scots was a critical hit that had audiences on their feet in Edinburgh, where it won Best International Festival show at The List Awards. AUDIO DESCRIBED: Saturday, 7th March, 2:30pm (with touch tour)

Matthew Bourne’s award-winning The Car Man is back! Loosely based on Bizet’s ever-popular opera, The Car Man has one of the most thrilling and instantly recognisable scores in New Adventures’ repertoire. The familiar 19th Century Spanish cigarette factory becomes a greasy 1950s garage-diner in the American Mid-West where the dreams and passions of a small-town are shattered by the arrival of a handsome and enigmatic stranger. Fuelled by heat and desire, the inhabitants are driven into an unstoppable spiral of greed, lust, betrayal and revenge. Matthew Bourne’s vivid storytelling combines with one of the most passionately dramatic scores ever written, with music by Terry Davies featuring Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite (after Bizet’s Carmen), to create a dance thriller like no other. The Car Man will ignite your senses and leave you breathless. AUDIO DESCRIBED WITH TOUCH TOUR: Sat, 8th August, 2:30pm

Masters of storytelling Northern Ballet bring to the stage the extraordinary story of Anne Lister – better known as Gentleman Jack. A powerful Yorkshire woman often referred to as ‘the first modern lesbian’, it was only after her death when her secret diaries were decoded that a truly exceptional life was uncovered. Anne lived, dressed and loved as she desired, not as 19th century society expected her to. With her words dancing across the pages, she vividly chronicled her adventures, heartbreaks and triumphs with striking honesty and wit. Inspiring biographies, novels, a hit TV series and now a ballet, Anne’s story leaps from page to stage in this thrilling new production choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and performed to new live music by Peter Salem. AUDIO DESCRIBED: Saturday, 23rd May, 2:30pm (with touch tour)

How do we interpret the world around us? How do we respond and react, in our bodies and in our minds? Crystal Pite and Kameron N. Saunders create two powerful works which go to the very core of the human experience. This bold new programme features the UK premiere of Body and Soul (Part 1) from acclaimed choreographer Crystal Pite, who originally created the piece for Paris Opera Ballet and has worked with companies across the world. This hypnotic work explores our response to bereavement and the resulting conflicting impulses. It opens with two dancers in black suits and white shirts, bathed in a stark light. They move to a voice, speaking in French, describing their actions. As the words repeat, with loops and echoes, the duet swells to a crowd, seamlessly blending precision and fluidity and morphing to create mesmerising waves of movement across the stage. With intimate duets set to spoken text, and powerful moments harnessing the energy of a group of dancers, Body and Soul (Part 1) is reminiscent of Pite’s acclaimed pieces seen on stage at Sadler’s Wells, including Revisor (with Kidd Pivot), Emergence (with National Ballet of Canada) and Figures in Extinction (with NDT and Complicite). Kameron N. Saunders has built a huge following as a commercial dancer for some of the world’s biggest artists, including Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan. He is also a prize-winning choreographer who has created pieces for Joffrey Ballet and Dallas Black Dance Theatre. For this world premiere, Saunders brings his fresh choreographic voice to a new work in three parts, inspired by his personal experience. Saunders invites us to explore the battle to find our authentic self under crushing societal scrutiny – how we deal with judgements projected upon us, the decisions we make, and their impact on us and those around us. Harold Walker III and Brandon Finklea compose a new score, performed by English National Ballet Philharmonic.

With signature irreverence and a discerning eye for beautiful dance, BalletBoyz return in May 2026 with their brand-new production Still Pointless, marking the 25th Anniversary of the company’s critically acclaimed debut, Pointless (yes, it’s really been that long!). 10 world-class dancers open with the world-premiere of a brand-new commission, taking audiences through a retrospective journey. With 25 years of commissioning, producing, and performing dance, the company has consistently pushed the boundaries of how dance is presented by artists and enjoyed by audiences. Incorporating live dance and film, the evening will feature excerpts of work from the company’s history including choreographers Christopher Wheeldon, Iván Perez, Maxine Doyle, Liam Scarlett, Xie Xin, and Javier de Frutos, and composers Cassie Kinoshi, Keaton Henson, and Max Richter. At once looking forward to the future with enthusiasm and ambition, and looking back to celebrate all the company has achieved, the show will culminate with Russell Maliphant’s seminal work Critical Mass, performed as part of the original show at the Roundhouse back in 2001. Come and experience an evening of dance that could only be BalletBoyz.

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Director, Carlos Acosta, promises entertainment for all ages in this revival of his production of this 19th-century masterpiece. Don Quixote introduces us to Cervantes’ famous knight himself, lovers Kitri and Basilio, and a host of supporting characters. As the Don sets out on a quest to track down his true love, with his loyal friend and servant Sancho Panza at his side, he finds himself embroiled in an unlikely adventure of love and dreams. If you like Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty, you shouldn’t miss this classic tale, full of thrilling pas de deux, delightful music played by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, and much, much more! AUDIO DESCRIBED: Saturday, 25th April, 2:30pm (with touch tour)

This is Rambert; now, as they’ve always been; living and breathing dance DNA; committed to putting the spotlight on voices, visions and ideas shaping our world today. Dance that’s alive with urgency, energy and relevance. For their centenary, Rambert bring together handpicked, bite-size, high-impact works from artists with something urgent to say – including work from (LA)HORDE, Emma Evelein, and a brand new commission. Works that speak of the now, amplify untold stories, thrive on difference and match the speed and intensity of modern life. This programme captures what matters right now – a glimpse of the future from the company that has always led the way. This is Rambert.