Botis Seva's UNTIL WE SLEEP Comes to Sadler's Wells

After international acclaim for BLKDOG, Sadler's Wells Associate Artist and Olivier Award-winning choreographer Botis Seva brings his latest work Until We Sleep to Sadler's Wells East from Tuesday 24 – Saturday 28 June 2025. The production, featuring Far From The Norm's distinctive style of Hip Hop theatre, is a dark atmospheric journey through resistance, transformation and survival.

Set against the backdrop of authoritarian power, a lone nomad searches for faith while guiding a restless community through shifting realms of time. With Seva's signature blend of physicality and freeform movement, the dancers of Far From The Norm navigate a world shaped by struggle and resilience.

Driven by a haunting soundscape of percussion and guttural textures by Torben Lars Sylvest, the choreography pulses with urgency. Feathered costumes by Ryan Dawson Laight evoke warriors shedding past identities, while stark lighting from Tom Visser carves the stage into a volatile arena—one where a higher force looms, unrelenting and divine.

Until We Sleep explores the tension between hope and responsibility, asking what we cling to in order to keep going. Visceral and poetic, it's a powerful invocation of the human spirit's fight to stay awake in a world that wants it to sleep.

Until We Sleep, co-produced by Sadler's Wells, received its world premiere at schrit_tmacher Festival in The Netherlands in 2024, and has since toured internationally to The Netherlands, UK, Germany, Sweden, Greece, Belgium and Norway. Following performances the performances at Sadler's Wells East, the production tours to Colours Dance Festival in Stuttgart in July. BLKDOG tours to Rising Festival in Melbourne, Australia in June and to Waves Festival in Denmark in August 2025. Seva has also created new work Watch Ur Mouth for NDT1 which premiered in The Netherlands this May, and will be creating work for GöteborgsOperans Danskompani for their 2026 season.

Botis Seva, said: “From performing in school talent shows in Dagenham, to creating my early works in the East London dance community, it means everything to be able to present Until We Sleep in an area I very much owe the start of my career to. I'm so proud to present my next work at Sadler's Wells East after BLKDOG's run at Sadler's Wells in Angel. I really hope this space can be an entry point for young people like me who want to dream in a world of possibilities.”

Sir Alistair Spalding CBE, Artistic Director and Co-Chief Executive of Sadler's Wells, said “We are so happy to be presenting Until We Sleep at Sadler's Wells East this summer. Botis is a hugely talented choreographer, it's why we appointed him as an Associate Artist last year, and it's been great to see his work evolve over the years from his early presentations as part of Breakin' Convention to the extraordinary BLKDOG that filled our stage in Angel. He's assembled a fantastic team of creatives for his new piece Until We Sleep working with the brilliant Far From The Norm dancers. A really important pillar of our work at Sadler's Wells East is to be able to showcase the extraordinarily rich dance scene in this part of London, platforming local east London-based choreographers, and when we were pulling together our opening programme for the new venue, we knew Botis had to be part of it!”

Editors please note: there is an opportunity to see Until We Sleep on tour before it comes to Sadler's Wells East, at Théâtre de la Ville, Luxembourg from 11-12 June 2025. Please contact [email protected] if you are interested in a press trip.

 

Established in May 2009 in a youth club in Dagenham, Hip Hop Theatre company Far From The Norm was founded by Artistic Director Botis Seva and is a collective of artists renowned for experimenting with hip hop. Its performers bring to the studio a range of dance styles from Popping to Breaking, Krump to House, the company challenges perceptions of Hip Hop and create work that empowers marginalised people. Its original, vital and fearless work invites debate on social political issues and the contemporary world. Far From The Norm tour nationally and internationally and we are continuing to develop strong partnerships around the world to nurture a new generation of hip hop dance theatre. Far From The Norm is a partner company of The Lowry and is supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Arts Fund 2025.

Botis Seva is a unique and seminal choreographic voice rooted in Hip Hop dance theatre but inspired by a freefrom approach to choreography. Seva founded Hip Hop dance company Far From The Norm in 2009 and has produced critically and publicly acclaimed work on the stage, outdoor and dance film circuits. Seva has been the recipient of numerous awards including Bonnie Bird Choreography Fund, Marion North Mentoring Award (2015), Copenhagen International Choreography Competition (2016), Choreography 30 Hannover (2016), Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production for BLKDOG (2019), nominations for Black British Theatre Award and Dance Critics National Dance Awards (2022), CHANEL Next Prize (2022) and Carmen Mateux Best Choreographer Award (2023). Seva has also worked on numerous film commissions including Inside The Blind Iris with director Douglas Bernadt (2023), a collaboration with Director Freddie Leydon and Christies on Santo (2022), BBC Arts x Space CAN'T KILL US ALL (2020) and Channel 4 Random Acts REACH (2018). His film work has won Vimeo Best of the Year Awards (2023), Kinsale Sharks (2023), San Francisco Dance Film Festival (2018) and nominations include Cannes Lion Award (2023) and Young British Arrows (2023).

 

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