Best dance of 2024

In the last couple of days The Guardian published its critic’s list of the 10 best dance shows of 2024. The Stage’s critic also gave their verdict on its 5 best shows. It felt a little like a roll-call of the Lowry’s dance programme, with so many of the productions either having been shown with us, or planned for the future. It is great to see our programming choices acknowledged in the national media. But what do we mean by ‘best’? For me these works not only show exceptional dancing skills, but they connect deeply with our lives and the world we live in. Each of these choreographers has an individual strong vision and is unafraid to take risks. Here are three examples at different ends of scale: Aakash Odedra’s Mehek was nominated by the Stage, and his production Songs of Bulbul was nominated by The Guardian – and extraordinary achievement of this Kathak dancer. We have shown almost all of his works, first presenting him as a young dancer in the Aldridge Studio, later in the Quays and now on the Lyric stage. What has always impressed me in his work is not just his own tremendous technical virtuosity, but his curiosity, openness and desire to connect globally. For Rising, he invited three choreographers to create new works for him; for Je Suis he collaborated with Turkish dancers who were also activists. In Samsara, he explored connections between Indian and Chinese heritages, in Mehek he collaborated with sensational Indian dancer Aditi Mangeldas who is from a different generation. This shows a hunger to explore new avenues, to never settle on safe ground, but to push boundaries. I think it is this adventurous quest is what gives the work its quality and captivates our audiences. We are in the presence of an ever-searching mind.

I was delighted to seeing Newcastle-based Matthieu Geffre’s Rendez-Vous dance’s What Songs Can Do in the Guardian’s top list. This is a personal, emotionally rich telling of a queer love relationship: from intense desire, competition for attention, the settling into a relationship, the cracks once it has become routine and finally the settling into a new companionship – all set to existential sound of Nina Simone’s voice. What Songs Can Do tapped deeply into our emotions and how we experience love. I had to smile that this gem of a work has only been listed this year after its appearance at Edinburgh Fringe last summer. We already showed this work back in 2022. Sometimes critics and media can be a little slow until they notice what excellent work there is beyond London and August in Edinburgh.

And last not least I want to mention Stopgap’s Lived Fiction – conceived and performed by a remarkable group of disabled, non-disabled and neurodivergent dancers, who with great integrity and humanity as well as technical virtuosity (I remember the shoulder stand with a wheelchair lifted in the air.) opened their lives and world to us. Every action was audio-described, tinged with deep emotion, but also humour, irony and a playful attitude. One of the performers says: ‘We don’t give a damn about being invited to the table. We’re inviting you to ours instead’. I think this attitude is what unites this year’s ‘best of 2024’ lists and our programming. Artists that invite us in, who want to share their ideas, who are open to new influences and who observe keenly what is around them. We go on a journey with them and discover new things about ourselves and the world we live. And what makes them the ‘best’ is that they do this with their bodies and physicality.

We congratulate the other artists listed, who we have shown. And watch out: you may see some of them appear at Lowry soon again: Ockham Razor, Hofesh Schechter, Michael Keegan-Dolan/Teaċ Damsa, Northern Ballet, Rambert and Sao Paolo Dance Company.

Written by Eckhard Thiemann, Programming Associate / Dance