8 Minutes © Johan Persson

Performances

8 Minutes

29 September 2018

It takes just eight minutes for sunlight to travel 93 million miles to earth. In this unique collaboration with scientists from STFC RAL Space, choreographer Alexander Whitley takes inspiration from solar science research and its stunning imagery.

Dance, film and music take us on a journey through the universe, revealing the drama of the burning ball of plasma that illuminates our planet and exploring the numerous ways in which we relate to our home star. With an installation of high-definition imagery from visual artist Tal Rosner and a specially created score by the electronic music innovator Daniel Wohl, 8 Minutes captures our curiosity and wonder for this unimaginably vast subject.

“Whitley’s choreography establishes its own enriching animating narrative: the burnished pulsing duet that feels like the heartbeat of the universe, the languid, insouciant ensemble where the dancers look like a freebooting drift of cosmic matter.”

The Guardian

8 Minutes is a Sadler’s Wells, DanceEast and Trinity Laban Conservatiore of Music and Dance co-commission.