Curtain raised on International Dance at The Lowry in 2023
Regional audiences have the chance to see some of the world’s best international dance thanks to The Lowry’s impressive Spring/Summer season.
The Lowry, Salford plays a seminal role in the national dance sector, presenting some of the most significant national and international productions of the year as well as showcasing a new generation of artists.
From cutting edge Korean dance to Rambert’s smash hit Peaky Blinders, Akram Khan’s Jungle Book reimagined to Kate Prince’s Message In A Bottle, there’s a wealth of stunning dance on offer for audiences in the coming months.
Eckhard Thiemann, The Lowry’s Programming Associate for Dance, said: “2023 must be our most global year to date in terms of our dance offer, with works from three continents and countries including Korea, South Africa, Tunisia and Germany. It proves once again that dance is a powerful voice to express the human condition, stir emotions, and offer joy and inspiration.
“Many of the productions have important regional impact, as they are borne out of important national and international relationships and partnerships – so regional audiences have an exclusive chance to see the best of international touring.
“This year also brings ‘home’ important works that we have co-commissioned and helped bring to life. These have been supported by The Lowry and include Rambert’s Peaky Blinders and Message In A Bottle.”
This week saw performances of both Tony Adigun’s Avant Garde Dance’s Illegal Dance, a multi-sensory dance theatre experience in which every audience member must decide where they stand – rebel or conform and Rambert Dance’s Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby.
These productions kick off what is an exciting few months for dance at the Salford arts venue.
The Overhead Project, a German contemporary circus and dance company is embarking on their first UK tour with their show “What is Left?”. The audience can expect a unique and unforgettable experience, as Overhead Project pushes the boundaries between circus and dance, performing a piece that is both visually stunning and emotionally impactful. Monday 20th March.
Dada Masilo’s The Sacrifice. South Africa’s award-winning Dada Masilo and her company of incredible dancers return with the UK premiere of The Sacrifice. Featuring live music on stage, The Sacrifice is inspired by Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, combining the European heritage of this monumental piece of music with the uniquely rhythmic and expressive movements of ‘Tswana’, the traditional dance of Botswana. Tuesday 21st to Wednesday 22nd March.
U.Dance Regional North West. Our regional youth dance platform, U.Dance 2023, is here. Experience two exhilarating evenings of exciting and diverse dance performances, celebrating some of the finest youth dance companies and young people’s choreography from across the region. Saturday 25th to Sunday 26th March.
National Youth Dance Company. Over the last 10 years National Youth Dance Company (NYDC) has worked with more than 300 young dancers from across England to create and perform high-quality, critically acclaimed productions and tour them around the country. Now for this special anniversary year guest artistic director Wayne McGregor CBE will create a brand-new work for the company, highlighting the power and creativity of young people from all dance styles and backgrounds. National Youth Dance Company show is a premiere and the company also have their final rehearsals and production week at the Lowry before premiering here.Saturday 15th April
Kontemporary Korea – Korea National Contemporary Dance Company. Established in 2010, the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company is Korea’s only national repertoire company commissioning new works from a range of Korean and international contemporary choreographers and the annual Festival of Korean Dance will be coming to The Lowry for the first time. Five companies will be performing in the festival in a series of work across two dates at The Lowry this summer, with a third performance to be held in the Autumn. Monday 24th April and Saturday 6th May.
Bert and Nasi bring two very different productions over two nights. First is The End, a funny and poignant account of the ongoing climate catastrophe. In this new show, Bert and Nasi dance the end of their relationship, imagining what a future without each other might look like. Their dance is a reminder and a celebration of our own mortality, and of everything around us. The following night they present The Beginning, an alternative dance piece of beginnings: beginnings of shows, beginnings of relationships, beginnings of difficult moments in which they explore and muse on the different ways they can or could have started their shows and lives working together. Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th April.
Little Murmur is a new dance theatre show for everyone age 7+ that features groundbreaking projection, an extraordinary soundscape and a blizzard of paper and confetti. Diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age, Aakash Odedra found school very challenging: he spelt his name wrongly until he was 21 and it wasn’t until he “found the missing ‘A’ that he felt he belonged. Defined by his learning difficulties, not his abilities, dance became his mode of expression. Combining visual design and technology with dance and humour, Little Murmur explores the warped and exaggerated realities of living in a world you struggle to process. Sunday 7th May
Strictly Come Dancing’s The Professionals. This exhilarating show will showcase the exceptional talent of TV’s hugely popular professional dancers, performed within the wonderful world of the BBC show, with its stunning costumes and sparkling sets. Enjoy world-class dance, stunning choreography and glamorous costumes, live and up close from 10 talented Strictly Professionals: Dianne Buswell; Vito Coppola; Carlos Gu; Karen Hauer; Neil Jones; Nikita Kuzmin; Gorka Marquez; Luba Mushtuk; Jowita Przystal; and Nancy Xu. Tuesday 9th and Wednesday 10th May.
Akram Khan’s Jungle Book reimagined is a magical dance-theatre retelling of Kipling’s classic. In a near future world, a family is torn apart as they escape their homeland ravaged by the impact of climate change. Arriving alone in a deserted modern city, and with wild animals claiming the streets as their own, the child soon discovers unlikely allies in this strange new jungle. Akram Khan Company’s new dance-theatre production is based on the original story of Rudyard Kipling’s much-loved family classic. Akram and his team reinvent the journey of Mowgli through the eyes of a climate refugee. Featuring an original score, ten international dancers and state-of-the-art animation and visuals, Jungle Book reimagined is a beautifully compelling and vital piece of storytelling. Saturday 13th May.
Mama is the latest work from Olivier award winning choreographer Botis Seva and Far From the Norm. Through generational stories of colonised bodies and questions of what race and culture mean in today’s world, Mama mixes the beauty of chaos with the quietness of the human soul. It plunges audiences into an unforgiving world fraying at the seams; a world where dark colonial secrets start to see the light, where once loved communities crumble. Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd June.
In The Power (of) The Fragile, a tender portrait of a close relationship, Tunisian/Brussels-based choreographer Mohamed Toukabri invites Latifa, his mother with him on stage. After being apart for several years, they find each other again in the theatre. The Power (of) The Fragile is a meeting of two worlds, two bodies, two minds. Latifa always dreamt of being a dancer, Mohamed made it his profession. The borders of their bodies blur, making it hard to decipher where one ends and the other starts. Their lives and dreams start to merge, and only time claims its space between mother and son. This performance is part of Shubbak Festival. Supported by The Lowry, Shubbak is the UK’s largest biennial festival of contemporary Arab culture. Saturday 1st July
Matthew Bourne’s Romeo + Juliet gives Shakespeare’s timeless story of forbidden love a scintillating injection of raw passion and youthful vitality. Confined against their will by a society that seeks to divide, our two young lovers must follow their hearts as they risk everything to be together. A masterful re-telling of an ageless tale of teenage discovery and the madness of first love, Romeo and Juliet garnered universal critical acclaim when it premiered in 2019, and now returns to the New Adventures repertoire alongside the very best of Bourne’s world renowned dance theatre production. Tuesday 11th to Saturday 15th July.
Message In A Bottle is a spectacular new dance-theatre show from triple-Olivier Award nominee, Kate Prince, inspired by and set to the iconic hits of 17-time Grammy Award-winning artist Sting, including Every Breath You Take, Roxanne, Walking On The Moon and more. With a mix of exhilarating dance styles, high energy footwork and breath-taking athleticism, Message In A Bottle tells a unifying and uplifting story of humanity and hope. Message In A Bottle is the latest masterpiece from the ground-breaking creator behind West End hits Some Like it Hip Hop, Into the Hoods, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (choreography) and SYLVIA (Old Vic), and features the astonishing talents of dance storytelling powerhouse, ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company. Thursday 27th to Saturday 29th July.
For more information on Dance at The Lowry please visit https://thelowry.com/whats-on/genres/dance/