Wild Card returns with a new generation of artists invited to curate their own night in Sadler’s Wells’ Lilian Baylis Studio. On Thursday 12 & Friday 13 May, we welcome Livia Rita with her Wild Card, FUTURA Glitch. Experience a cross-pollination of musicians, designers, dancers, writers, thinkers, and activists.
Livia Rita creates her own mythology, populating Lilian Baylis Studio with unearthly creatures that build bridges between worlds. Ritualistic spells will be cast to help collectively heal and grow superpowers, to shift our fears and desires. You may enter fearful, but will leave with a fresh perspective as you dance your path through this soft rave in utopia, having briefly escaped our increasingly precarious reality.
Livia Rita is an emerging singer, designer, choreographer and visual artist, based between the Alps and London with a devotion to a progressive way of thinking. Her electronic avant-pop melodies have expanded into the conceptual debut album FUGA FUTURA which will drop in July 2022. Livia Rita describes the album as “a place of healing and fantasy, where nature rebels and magic abounds all in an attempt to unite otherworldly revolutionaries”. Livia Rita is forming her own eclectic genre-defying sound by mixing electronic beats with romantic vocals and experimental synths, stretching beyond pop boundaries into a “fluid post-everything era”.
Join us before the show in the Fox Garden Court Café from 7.15pm onwards to meet the Covern, and stay after the performance to enjoy live music.
This performance features haze, flashing lights and loud music.
Co-Produced by Sadler’s Wells and Livia Rita.
FUTURA Glitch features mystic eco-pop from Livia Rita’s debut album FUGA FUTURA – delve into her entrancing world of fantasy-horror where nature rebels and magic surrounds.
YASS Magazine met Livia Rita and here is everything you need to know!
What is your Wild Card, FUTURA Glitch about and what shall we expect to see?
FUTURA Glitch is about world-building, metamorphosis and glitching into alternative ecosystems to enact the future in the present. The starting point of FUTURA Glitch was FUGA FUTURA, my upcoming debut album, which encompasses my fears and dreams of projecting the “now” into the future. It’s a very personal narrative for my journey of healing, growing up, interacting with magic, orientating myself in an apocalyptic landscape, intertangling with nature… Generally about searching for who I am and finding my way in an overwhelming world.
With my work, I unite the forces of mystic Eco-Pop music, dance, and ArtFashion (this is what I call my wearables) for soft raving. You can expect an immersive, collective experience that weaves together various artistic mediums to explore future identities, create deeper connections with nature and search for new forms of togetherness without losing our sense of self.
In your project you have created your own mythology and included unearthly creatures that build bridges between worlds. Where do you find your inspiration?
I think the mystical and unearthly aspects come from a desire for life, for a fullness of existence. To not just be good or adequate, but to be magical, to fulfil an endless potential. It’s like this stubborn dreaming… I feel the need to intermingle utopia and dystopia, giving voices to both, letting them push and pull. Picturing the future through a mystical lens creates an imaginative and loving space that gives me energy to interact with the future in the now.
Ideas come to me most when I spend time alone. Taking the time to try and digest everything, floating in the emotions that stick with me, or haunt me, or feel meaningful. My favourite place is to find inspiration in nature, my second favourite is in a cafe, where one can be alone amongst many people without feeling lonely. Besides that, I also do get really inspired by the people around me!
What is the message that you want to spread with your Wild Card, FUTURA Glitch?
FUTURA Glitch is about rewilding —through exploring new connections with personal identities and with nature. Its message is to go beyond social polarisations and dictations of genders. Its message is also one of self-empowerment – with awareness that not everything is in our control. And to seek a larger power that lies in the collective.You are collaborating with several musicians, designers, dancers, writers, thinkers, and activists for Wild Card, FUTURA Glitch.
How was the creative process and what are the challenges you faced?
The creative process, because I collaborate with many people all over the place, consisted of doing a lot of phone calls! Each individual interwove their thoughts with mine, and their ideas spilled over into the whole concept. Then I developed a script, an initial version of the show in a kind of cinema in my mind.
Otherwise, it’s really an exercise of the imagination. I can only physically rehearse the week before the show, and the dress rehearsal is the day of the show, so most of the planning done in advance is all in my mind. The challenge there is definitely that it sometimes feels like we’re so far away from being ready, before the puzzle pieces come together at the last minute. This is actually a nightmare of mine, having a big show and not feeling prepared at all. So it’s really a bit of anxiety, but usually balanced by an overwhelming feeling of excitement and gratitude that also peeps through.
With my creative family, the core of the swampy circle of creatives that makes up the Avantgardeners Community, we do daily zoom calls. Right now, we are mainly focused on the UK tour that will follow Sadler’s Wells as well as our album release in London. There is also a wider circle of people who have their focus on other themes and interests, and I have a steady exchange with them, letting ideas unfold and formulating clear collaborations.
How do you feel about presenting your work in Sadler’s Wells, Lilian Baylis Studio?
I’m maybe the most excited I’ve ever been in my life!! Obviously, it is also scary, as it is such a big opportunity. I was always hoping for such a possibility to realise a bigger show and was a bit impatient with my journey, but now I think, gosh, maybe I wouldn’t have been ready for this earlier. So, it really feels like it might be the right time.
I feel most calm about it when I focus on letting my creativity flow, for example crafting the ArtFashion or practising singing, or when I send out an updated draft of the script to the people involved. Haha.
I also feel very excited about stepping up my work through working with a professional team for the first time, from a Lighting Designer to a Stage Manager. This will hopefully take a lot of weight off my shoulders!
What has been the best part while getting ready for the premiere?
Those moments where I can leave the computer behind and jump into the flow of creating. Some of the most beautiful moments were probably the couple of Saturday evenings where I decided to stay home instead, lighting a candle, taking out my notebooks, and letting the wildest dreams flow out. I really appreciated the energy and perspective these opportunities allowed.
Also, being able to approach so many amazingly talented collaborators with this exciting opportunity to perform has been quite a joy!
How can your art help us escape our increasingly precarious reality and enter a new utopia?
My original characters and mythologies build bridges to new worlds which are full of superpowers and mysticism, which I hope can inspire our ambitious dreams beyond the constraints of present reality. I hope to create a maximalist, multi-sensory experience of sonic and visual landscapes that people can immerse themselves in, finding collective emotional connection in a space of beauty and healing.
How did your career start?
Hm, the earliest memory of excitement of doing arts / music is from a keyboard with karaoke songs on it, which I won at a drawing competition.
I also remember how addictive it was to play songs when I first learnt to play chords on the guitar – I fell in love with the feeling I got while singing, where I can connect to all of these emotions that made me feel alive, and it just grew from there.
Then, another strong memory I have is about my high school degree; I had to realise 1 outfit for a specific graduation project. And I realised an entire fashion show with 38 looks, dressing up my entire friend group and throwing an event. That feeling, of reaching something that one thought would be impossible, feels really addictive and wicked!
At least this was the start of my passion… but the actual ‘career’ probably started when some people I didn’t know answered one of my many emails, and opened a door to opportunities for me… or for sure the day I decided I can’t sit back and wait for opportunities because they wouldn’t come, but I have actively start to set up DIY projects… je ne sais pas!
How would you describe yourself as an artist?
Hm, I like the feeling of being an Alpine witch with a love for the (multi)sensual, interweaving and spreading mystical, natural and emotional essences. In more classical words, I am a singer, designer, choreographer, visual artist and climate striker.
Please talk to me about FUTURA Glitch. What can the audience expect?
My main performance of Fuga Futura brings to life the future-focused mythology through pop songs, electronic beats, transformative outfits, sculptures, and dance! The rest of the night brings the cosmic and the earthy through an interactive mystic funpark with witches and rituals, Creature Metamorphosis game cards, spellbooks, live music and much more!
What are your future plans?
We will be touring the UK following the premiere at Sadler’s Wells Lilian Baylis Studio from 25th May to 8th June. We are bringing the Sadler’s Wells show to Colour Factory on 28th July, along with some of the same performers, and will also be releasing my debut album then. In the coming months, I will be releasing two singles and later also bringing some shows around Europe.
In the long-term, I’m trying to go to every climate strike I can around me. I already have new ideas for a new show I want to work on and develop while on the road. I also hope to take some inspiring breaks in different natural environments while travelling across land.
Wild Card: Livia Rita
FUTURA Glitch
Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, EC1R 4TN
Performances: Thursday 12 – Friday 13 May at 8 pm
Tickets: £17
Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com
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About Wild Card
Wild Card is the unique initiative providing a glimpse of the rich variety of work that makes up the current dance landscape. Increasingly popular with audiences and artists alike, Wild Card opens the stage to an exciting and adventurous community of dance-makers, giving a broad range of artists the unique opportunity to curate their own evening of dance. These specially curated nights feature exploratory approaches to choreography and combine different mediums, broadening perspectives on dance made today.
Wild Card is part of Sadler’s Wells’ talent development programme of support for dance artists, alongside other initiatives including New Wave Associates, Sadler’s Wells Summer University and hosting the National Youth Dance Company.
About Sadler’s Wells
Sadler’s Wells is a world-leading dance organisation. We strive to make and share dance that inspires us all. Our acclaimed year-round programme spans dance of every kind, from contemporary to flamenco, Bollywood to ballet, salsa to street dance and tango to tap.
We commission, produce and present more dance than any other organisation in the world. Since 2005, we have helped to bring close to 200 new dance works to the stage, embracing both the popular and the unknown.
Each year, over half a million people visit our three London theatres – Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Lilian Baylis Studio and Peacock Theatre. Millions more attend our touring productions nationally and internationally or explore our digital platforms, including Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage. In 2023 we’re opening a fourth London venue in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Sadler’s Wells East will house a 550-seat mid-scale theatre, as well as facilities for the Choreographic School and Hip Hop Theatre Academy.
Supporting artists is at the heart of our work. We have associate artists and companies, which nurture some of the most exciting talent working in dance today. We host the National Youth Dance Company, which draws together some of the brightest young dancers from across the country. Sadler’s Wells Breakin’ Convention runs professional development programmes to champion and develop the world’s best hip hop artists, as well as producing, programming and touring groundbreaking hip hop performances.
Around 30,000 people take part in our learning and engagement programmes every year. We support schools local to our theatres in Islington and Stratford, designing experiences for children and young people to watch, explore and critically engage with the arts. We also run Company of Elders, a resident performance company of dancers aged over 60 who rehearse with renowned artists to make new work for public performances locally, nationally and internationally.
Sadler’s Wells is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.
Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com
Tickets for Livia’s upcoming tour: https://www.liviarita.com/upcomingshows)
YASS Magazine 