Here are a few companies that are touring the UK but not visiting Manchester... the list isn't exhaustive but two things stand out - how few companies are on the road this season and how few of them are playing Manchester.
The Lowry has no more than 4-5 dance shows this season. The Palace Theatre and Opera House have only the northern ballet's excellent but safe choice The Nutcracker (again) and the ENB's Strictly Gershswin - which in my view is a populist ballet show for people who don't have any interest in ballet i.e. a safe choice to fill a large theatre. Greenroom is of course no more. The Dancehouse is a joke - nothing but comedy and amateur dance shows. Contact Theatre - we need you to step up...
Obviously it is not out of the question that companies will announce further tour dates, especially for 2012 but...
As far as 2012 goes I can only confirm the Birmingham Royal Ballet's Beauty and the Beast and Matthew Bourne's revival of Nutcracker! Oh, and some terribly Russian Swan Lake at the Bridgewater Hall - ballet for people who like classical music... As of 1 November The Lowry have confirmed that they are running their Dance Moves 'season' for the second time in 2012. This is welcome news but I would still argue that it is more about marketing than an actual 'season' in any meaningful sense.
Based on 2011, post-arts cuts, The Lowry didn't show more dance in their Dance Moves season so much as show less dance during the rest of the year. As for the other Manchester theatres, the presence of dance is chronically lacking, apart from the Northern Ballet and the English National Ballet - who both only seem to grace Manchester with their most populist and crowd-pleasing repertoire - and a bare minimum of that. The loss of the greenroom is the main cause of this paucity of dance in the current climate but Manchester's lack of a significant dance venue or any companies of significance (Company Chameleon being the only real exception) is a cause of real concern to anyone with a reasonable interest in this type of theatre.
Hopefully will book for 2012 -
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The Lowry has no more than 4-5 dance shows this season. The Palace Theatre and Opera House have only the northern ballet's excellent but safe choice The Nutcracker (again) and the ENB's Strictly Gershswin - which in my view is a populist ballet show for people who don't have any interest in ballet i.e. a safe choice to fill a large theatre. Greenroom is of course no more. The Dancehouse is a joke - nothing but comedy and amateur dance shows. Contact Theatre - we need you to step up...
- Ben Wright's bgroup - The Lessening of Difference
- Tavaziva Dance
- The Featherstonhaughs - edits + Egon Schiele
- Earthfall - At Swim Two Boys - playing Liverpool and Huddersfield but not Manchester (more dates due in 2012) - will appear at The Lowry in 2012
- 2Faced Dance Co - In The Dust - huge tour but not Manchester...
- Darshan Singh Bhuller - Caravaggio: Exile and Death
- Retina Dance Company - Layers of Skin - playing Leeds and Edgehill nr Liverpool but not Manchester
- Bare Bones / Bare Bones The Decade- very small tour but naturally, not Manchester
Obviously it is not out of the question that companies will announce further tour dates, especially for 2012 but...
As far as 2012 goes I can only confirm the Birmingham Royal Ballet's Beauty and the Beast and Matthew Bourne's revival of Nutcracker! Oh, and some terribly Russian Swan Lake at the Bridgewater Hall - ballet for people who like classical music... As of 1 November The Lowry have confirmed that they are running their Dance Moves 'season' for the second time in 2012. This is welcome news but I would still argue that it is more about marketing than an actual 'season' in any meaningful sense.
Based on 2011, post-arts cuts, The Lowry didn't show more dance in their Dance Moves season so much as show less dance during the rest of the year. As for the other Manchester theatres, the presence of dance is chronically lacking, apart from the Northern Ballet and the English National Ballet - who both only seem to grace Manchester with their most populist and crowd-pleasing repertoire - and a bare minimum of that. The loss of the greenroom is the main cause of this paucity of dance in the current climate but Manchester's lack of a significant dance venue or any companies of significance (Company Chameleon being the only real exception) is a cause of real concern to anyone with a reasonable interest in this type of theatre.
- NDT2 - UK tour via Dance Consortium in March 2012. Not playing Manchester.
Hopefully will book for 2012 -
- DV8 - will appear at The Lowry in 2012
- Wayne McGregor | Random Dance - will appear at The Lowry in 2012
