A big West End venue owned and operated by acclaimed dance company Sadler’s Wells. This is the populist part of their enterprise and turns a handsome profit with shows like Tango Fire, Shaolin Monks and the recurring Christmas smash The Snowman, based on the well loved Raymond Briggs comic.

Dance can thrill huge crowds and this is the venue that proves it. In addition the ticket sales from excellent if lowbrow shows here support the parent venue. (Along with a healthy government grant.)

Some would argue that this populist agenda forces mainstream scheduling at the original Sadler's Wells - but it does mean that this company, unlike the Royal Opera, avoids multi million pound bail outs each year from the tax payer. And what's wrong with being popular?

Anyway, this isn’t meant to be a treatise on arts funding. Dance is clearly a vital scene and feeds into every aspect of popular culture from pop video choreography to animation. The fact is that this accessible theatre has turned into a smash and has a blinding programme – you won’t see a duff show here. Sadler’s Wells and their associates have a clear sense of the locus of both arse, and elbow.