Review: The Sticky Dance, Sadler’s Wells

It’s rare that a show for little children reduces me to tears, but Second Hand Dance‘s The Sticky Dance is so joyfully empowering and beautiful it left me choked with happiness. This is a hugely creatively generous production for ages 3-5 years that, although non-verbal, speaks volumes about the importance of play, respect for the young and the value of child-led dance

It’s a really simple premise: put three dancers and some atmospheric music and lighting in a room full of small children with their adults – then add lots and lots of sticky tape. And lights, camera, action! – an intensely complex, organically fertile creative experience begins, like you’ve never known before.

Everything about this show is inviting, inclusive and flexible. It takes place across a two hour time period, so you can drop in and out whenever suits you. The piece is non-verbal and appropriate for people of any age, nationality or dis/ability. We sit on the floor (chairs available if needed) where our circle is punctuated with comfy islands, so children have a safe space to go back to at any time.

At the centre, three exquisitely fluid and talented dancers (Andrei Nistor, Chloe Mead, Mariana Camiloti) move to the music, making eye contact with the audience, interacting and creating a feeling of welcome. The performers start to tear off strips of colourful tape and stick them down: on the floor, on the set, on the children – anywhere! It’s wonderfully surprising, with the giggling audience instantly becoming curious, eager to be involved with what is happening. The dancers mark out squares on the floor, draw lines across it, and the intrigued children start to help – sticking the tape down or perhaps ripping it up, redefining boundaries and making the stage their own. Some come into the centre, others stay where they are most comfortable, happy to watch from the edges: but the work is led by them and what they are happy to do, which has a delightfully impressive impact.

The dancers are not only extraordinary movers, elegantly playful and fun, but are impressively sensitive to the space, moving around and with the children to encourage inventive play. When I attended, a small baby happily sat safely in the middle of the dance for most of the show, becoming part of it.

It’s an aesthetically lovely production. Supported by evocative music and lighting, the performers shift organically between atmospheres, at one point wearing lights that spill starlight across the floor and over the children, who react in their own individual ways to the ebb and flow of energies.

This becomes a room filled with flourishing positivity and connectivity, as the youngsters tune in and learn to negotiate each other, create and respond spontaneously, share time and space with others. All generations are invited to dance together and it’s a liberating feeling to know you won’t be judged on your choice of how to contribute.

As the session goes on, the children become courageous, take the stage for themselves and make decisions about what their show will be. A highlight is when a monster made entirely from scrunched up sticky tape arrives and the kids enthusiastically add to it with their own tape, growing it through their actions.

And this is indeed a production about growth, about self-worth, about co-existing and creating a world of positivity together. It’s a beautifully enjoyable experience, unique every time, and truly exceptional theatre. Kudos to the prestigious new Sadler’s Wells East venue for validating the value of this often underrepresented work in their programming. It bodes well for a bright future of outstanding performances for young audiences.

Read more about The Sticky Dance in our recent interview with Co-Directors of Second Hand Dance, Rosie Heafford and Claire Summerfield here.

Co-created by Rosie Heafford & Takeshi Matsumoto
Designs by Alison Brown
Lighting design by James Ball
Soundscape by Dinah Mullen

The Sticky Dance has completed its current run.