Sky, Europe’s leading entertainment company, has partnered with the UK’s leading touring ballet company English National Ballet (ENB) to offer audiences a ground-breaking virtual reality piece inspired by Akram Khan’s Giselle.

By combining a mixture of leading-edge technology, new choreography and the world class talents of ENB’s artistic director and Lead Principal Tamara Rojo, Giselle VR will give audiences the opportunity to experience ballet in an entirely different way. 

The  two-minute piece, featuring original choreography by Khan, and music by Vincenzo Lamagna,  sees Rojo use the 360º space entirely, moving from left to right, forward and back, leaving behind a 3D trail of light and dust which will show the course of her movements.

Ahead of the launch of the piece, Sky has today released a unique, behind-the-scenes 360º teaser, which is available to view here. The full Giselle VR experience will then become one of the first pieces available on Sky’s new VR app, set to launch in October 2016.

The app will become home to work created by Sky VR Studios, launched earlier this year to bring Sky’s expertise in storytelling and unrivalled access to major cultural and sporting events to the creation of immersive Virtual Reality content. 

Giselle VR will be produced by Factory 42, a new immersive content production company with a BAFTA winning creative team, and was commissioned by Neil Graham, Executive Producer of Sky VR Studios. 

One of the greatest romantic ballets of all time, Giselle is the first full length ballet choreographed by Akram Khan. Giselle sees a community of migrant workers cast out of their jobs in a condemned garment factory. English National Ballet and Akram Khan previously collaborated together on the award-winning piece Dust, part of its Lest We Forget programme.

Neil Graham, Executive Producer of Sky VR Studios, commented: “Performance – especially dance – and virtual reality are as perfect a combination as Akram Khan and Tamara Rojo. Being able to experience what is sure to be a stunning work in such an immersive way is something that we, as a broadcaster, are very excited about offering to audiences. We hope that in creating this innovative piece that we, and English National Ballet, can give everyone who sees it a bit more insight into the beauty, drama and technical majesty of ballet.”

Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director of English National Ballet commented: “Collaborating with Sky and Factory 42 on Giselle VR has been an incredible experience. Ballet, more than any other art form, has the ability to be reinterpreted and transformed, and this is vital to drive our art form forward. This platform provides another wonderful opportunity for us to engage with new audiences, and show ballet in a unique and exciting way.”

Choreographer Akram Khan commented: “I think virtual reality is unchartered territory with immense possibilities. It’s incredibly exciting to have worked with Sky and Factory 42 on Giselle VR, and to plant a small seed, that in future could grow and offer new ways of presenting dance.”

John Cassy, Chief Executive of Factory 42, added: “Sky have an incredible track record in marrying technological innovation and entertainment, and we’re delighted to have been commissioned by them to create ground-breaking cinematic quality VR with English National Ballet.”

For more information:

Amy Holland

Product & Brand PR, Sky

amy.holland@Sky.uk

Manisha Ferdinand

Factory 42

manisha.ferdinand@factory42.co.uk

English National Ballet

Robert James 

PR Manager 

Robert.james@ballet.org.uk 

About Sky

Sky is Europe's leading entertainment company. The group serves 21 million customers across five countries: Italy, Germany, Austria, the UK and Ireland. We offer the best and broadest range of content, deliver market-leading customer service and use innovative new technology to give customers a better TV experience, whenever and wherever they choose.

Sky has annual revenues of over £11 billion and is Europe's leading investor in television content with a combined programming budget of over £4.6 billion. The company employs 31,000 people and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).

For more information visit sky.com/corporate 

About English National Ballet

English National Ballet has a long and distinguished history. Founded in 1950 as London Festival Ballet by the great English Dancers Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, it has played a major role in the growth and history of ballet in the UK. Today, English National Ballet is renowned for taking world-class ballet to the widest possible audience through its national and international tour programme, offsite performances at festivals including Glastonbury and Latitude, its distinguished orchestra English National Ballet Philharmonic, and being a UK leader in creative learning and engagement practice and delivery, building innovative partnerships to deliver flagship programmes such as English National Ballet’s Dance for Parkinson’s. Under the artistic directorship of Tamara Rojo, English National Ballet has gained new acclaim as it introduces innovative new works to the Company’s repertoire while continuing to honour and reinvigorate traditional ballet.

English National Ballet is an Associate Company of Sadler’s Wells.

www.ballet.org.uk 

About Akram Khan Company 

Co-founded in 2000 by award-winning choreographer Akram Khan and producer Farooq Chaudhry, Akram Khan Company has established itself as one of the foremost innovative dance companies, performing to sell-out audiences in leading festivals and venues around the world. Embracing Khan’s artistic vision that both respects and challenges tradition and modernity, the Company has become renowned for its intercultural, interdisciplinary collaborations, and has developed a significant range of works from classical kathak and modern solos to artist-to-artist duets and ensemble productions. A milestone in the Company’s journey was the creation of a section of the London Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in 2012.

The Company has been showered with prestigious honours including an Olivier Award for DESH and a record-breaking six Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards. Akram Khan Company is currently practitioner-in-residence at University of the Arts London, and enjoys artistic associations with Sadler’s Wells in London and Curve Theatre in Leicester.

About Factory 42

Factory 42 is a new immersive content production company, which works at the intersection of television, film and games to create multi-platform stories with a variety of technologies, including virtual and augmented reality. Working with renowned on and off screen talent across multiple genres, Factory 42 also deliver bespoke campaigns and experiences for leading brands. Factory 42 was founded by John Cassy, former director of Sky Arts and Sky 3D, and BAFTA award winning director Dan Smith. 

Akram Khan’s Giselle performance details 

Akram Khan’s Giselle 

National Tour 

Tuesday 27 Sept - Saturday 19 Nov 2016 

http://giselle.ballet.org.uk