Sanjoy Roy

Montpellier Danse presents a wide-ranging contemporary dance programme under its new four-person leadership, featuring high‑energy ensemble work by Jann Gallois, metaphor-rich circus choreography by Collectif XY, experimental performance by Lisbeth Gruwez and Maarten Van Cauwenberghe, and a reflective duet on parallel lives by Héla Fattoumi and Sondos Belhassen. The festival juxtaposes large-scale spectacle with intimate storytelling, showcasing bold physicality, inventive imagery and diverse cultural influences.

A review praises Yukiko Masui’s anime‑inspired dance work Ronin for its accessible, visually immersive staging and dynamic sword‑based choreography. Cher Nicolette Ho leads a cast navigating shifting roles in a digitally animated universe enhanced by Barret Hodgson’s visuals and Ruth Chan’s varied soundscore. While the second act diffuses narrative focus, the production’s sharp movement, fluid pacing and striking combat sequences deliver a compelling theatrical experience.

Alexander Whitley’s double bill contrasts a technology‑driven duet, where digital projections overshadow the emotional core, with a stripped‑back interpretation of The Rite of Spring that emphasizes physicality but lacks choreographic impact. Digital effects dominate Mirror, diminishing the human narrative, while The Rite of Spring uses similar visual tools yet dissipates its energy despite strong performances and Stravinsky’s score in Gustavo Gimeno’s arrangement.

A 25th‑anniversary double bill from Ballet Black pairs Mthuthuzeli November’s powerful social drama Ingoma, inspired by the 2012 Marikana miners’ strike, with Hope Boykin’s uplifting new work celebrating community and idealism. Strong performances and contrasting themes of resistance and hope shape an evening marked by emotional intensity and expressive choreography.

Retirees describe how joining dance classes transformed their physical, emotional and social lives, helping them overcome nerves, expand their creativity and form new communities. Personal stories from older dancers are supported by research showing significant health benefits of dance, with experts highlighting improved cardiovascular outcomes and emotional regulation. Initiatives such as Angela Rippon’s Let’s Dance campaign and community programmes aim to raise awareness of these benefits and encourage participation. Several dancers credit their involvement with restoring confidence, reducing anxiety and creating renewed vitality in later life.

A revival of Glen Tetley’s 1962 Pierrot Lunaire at the Royal Ballet showcases stark design, bold choreography and strong performances by Marcelino Sambé, Mayara Magri and Matthew Ball. The production blends classical technique with Graham-inspired movement and Schoenberg’s tense atonal score, creating a striking atmosphere. Its psychologically charged, Freudian symbolism feels antiquated and unsettling, generating a tension between the ballet’s stylistic refinement and its retrogressive thematic elements.

A multimedia theatre work blends mythological horror with themes of immigration and family dysfunction through the story of non-identical twins whose father relocates from Hong Kong to the US. Puppetry, dance, video and theatrical elements shape an exploration of cultural displacement and haunting familial ties, with strong performances contributing to its imaginative impact.

A wide-ranging showcase at the 2025 Lyon Dance Biennale features William Forsythe’s sharply crafted Undertainment, Ioannis Mandafounis’s expansive Lisa, and other works exploring structure, conformity, endurance and identity. Pieces range from Christian Rizzo’s atmospheric choreography to Jan Martens’ demanding minimalist revival and Marco da Silva Ferreira’s visually striking but less impactful F*cking Future. François Chaignaud’s collaboration Último Helecho stands out for its expressive depth. The festival’s themes of freedom and resistance gained renewed poignancy after three invited artists were racially attacked in Lyon shortly before the event concluded.

A ballet adaptation of Christopher Isherwood’s A Single Man divides its protagonist into mind and body, portrayed by John Grant and Ed Watson, to explore grief and dissociation. The production follows George’s emotional reawakening through desire, memory and connection, supported by a strong creative team and shifting visual designs. While the staging and performances are praised, the music and choreography are seen as uneven, and the ending departs from the novel’s starker conclusion in favor of greater comfort.

Crystal Pite and Simon McBurney develop the final part of their Figures in Extinction dance trilogy, exploring humanity’s relationship with death, mystery and the natural world. The collaboration, rooted in ecological and philosophical themes, evolves from examining non‑human extinction to probing human neurological and existential experience. The creators describe death as an essential mystery rather than a failure, aiming to translate these expansive ideas into physical performance through their joint artistic process.

Puppetry director Yngvild Aspeli explores how puppets reveal unseen emotional and psychological dimensions in her large‑scale staging of Moby-Dick for the MimeLondon festival. Her work blends actors, puppets, music, and projections to evoke themes of scale, the supernatural, and the blurred boundary between life and lifelessness. Aspeli describes puppetry as a medium that enables parallel layers of storytelling and connects to deeper, haunting aspects of human experience. The production emphasizes magnitude, obsession, and fate while drawing on Aspeli’s wider body of psychologically charged and visually inventive theatre.

A 30th‑anniversary revival of Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake highlights the choreographer’s distinctive blend of drama, humour and psychological depth, centring on the troubled dynamic between a conflicted Prince and his authoritative mother. Harrison Dowzell’s dual portrayal of white and black swan figures intensifies the themes of desire, freedom and inner turmoil, while strong performances from the supporting cast enrich the narrative. Despite occasional structural constraints from the existing score, the production’s emotional scope and imaginative staging reaffirm its status as a modern classic.

A two‑hander set in a small room expands into a rich exploration of intimacy as a tempestuous couple navigates conflict, humour and desire through both language and choreographed physicality. dkfash’s direction blends heightened movement, shifting registers of dialogue and metaphorical staging to evoke unseen emotional forces and past influences. Strong performances by Reba Ayi-Sobsa and Ivan Oyik help transform the compact space at Theatre503 into a multidimensional world of psychological depth.

Michael Keegan-Dolan reflects on the evolution of his artistic identity as he premieres Nobodaddy, a musically driven and stylistically varied work exploring themes of death, spirit and cultural memory. He describes moving beyond a fixation on origins, distancing himself from nationalism and embracing a broader sense of place through his company Teaċ Daṁsa. His journey includes leaving classical ballet ambitions, founding experimental dance companies, and creating works rooted in Irish history while remaining accessible internationally. Nobodaddy continues his shift toward music-led, less narrative dance, marking an ongoing effort to build a personal and artistic home unbound by heritage.

A performance at Battersea Arts Centre stages a looping cycle of stylized violence that shifts from shock to playful theatricality before transforming into blood‑soaked comedy. Ocean Chillingworth leads a second act that blends horror and humor through exaggerated, messy visual effects. While the structure feels uneven and some elements are left unresolved, the closing moments deliver a haunting psychological impression.

Northern Ballet’s revival of A Christmas Carol delivers a visually rich and charming production featuring atmospheric staging, characterful performances, and moments of both humor and emotional resonance. Strong design work and standout roles enhance the experience, particularly in the ballet’s spookier sequences, though some elements feel padded and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is underused. The production offers an engaging, family‑friendly seasonal escape.

Four contemporary ballets presented by the Royal Ballet showcase contrasting choreographic voices, from the flowing lyricism of Kyle Abraham’s The Weathering to the sharply detailed, unsentimental humour of Pam Tanowitz’s Or Forevermore. The programme highlights moments of emotional depth, technical precision and playful visual design, with standout performances including Joshua Junker’s introspective solo and the stylised duets and ensembles shaped by Tanowitz’s angular, witty movement language.

Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theatre’s Wing Chun uses a cinematic framing to retell the life of kung fu master Yip Man, blending a 1990s film-crew narrative with his early years in Hong Kong. The show is praised for its dynamic staging, striking design, and exceptional dance and martial arts sequences, featuring a series of stylistically varied fight scenes executed with precision and visual flair. While the action and production quality are consistently impressive, the drama becomes heavy‑handed toward the end, with sentimentality overshadowing the otherwise finely tuned choreography and visual composition.

Aven by Fuerza Bruta is depicted as an energetic, spectacle-driven production filled with acrobatics, special effects and club-like atmosphere, but criticized for lacking emotional depth. Its short, visually striking scenes cater to social media appeal rather than offering a meaningful live experience, resulting in a show that feels more like a marketing package than a cohesive artistic work.

A review of Kim Brandstrup’s Echo and Narcissus highlights its refined choreography and thematic focus on desire, perception and mirroring, supported by evocative lighting and staging at the Ustinov Studio in Bath. Performances by the cast are praised for their sensitivity and precision, particularly the interaction between Narcissus and his reflection. While the production’s visual and emotional power is acknowledged, the absence of Echo’s defining mythological curse is noted as a limitation. The piece is presented alongside Brandstrup’s earlier film Leda and the Swan and a live performance of Britten’s Six Metamorphoses after Ovid.