January
February
- Macbeth - HOME - 2-6 February ****
Read my review for The Reviews Hubhere
- Echoes and I Imagine - Aakash Odedra - The Lowry [Quays Theatre] - 16 February ***
Read my review for The Reviews Hubhere
- SALIGIA - LIPA, Liverpool - 25-27 February ****
Unexpectedly good. Eirik Dreyer Sellevoll is a dancer to watch out for in future. Read my review for The Reviews Hubhere
March
- Romeo and Juliet - Birmingham Royal Ballet - The Lowry [Lyric Theatre] - 2-5 March ***
Read my review for The Reviews Hubhere
- Spring Tour 2016 - Folk - National Dance Company Wales - Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield - 10 March 2016 ****
Fantastic programme, staging and performances from NDCWales in Huddersfield. Looking very good under new Artistic Director Caroline Finn.
- Verve - Z-Arts - 11 March 2016 **
A mixed programme in every sense of the word. Read my review for The Reviews Hubhere
April
- NDT2 (Nederland Dans Theater) - The Lowry [Lyric Theatre] - 19-20 April ****
Read my review for The Reviews Hubhere
- Turn 2016 - Contact - 22-23 April
Read my reviews for The Reviews Hub here - Night 1 (Friday) - Night 2 (Saturday)
- An Anatomie in Four Quarters - Clod Ensemble - The Lowry - 28-30 April *****
I don't give a lot of 5* reviews but this show was something else. Read my review for The Reviews Hubhere
May
- Give Me A Reason To Live - Claire Cunningham Projects - The Lowry [Studio] - 10 May ****
Read my review for The Reviews Hubhere
- My Father Was A Terrorist - Igor Vrebac - Contact - 12 May [part of: Flying Solo 2016][Physical Theatre] ****
Not to everyone's taste - you should see the other reviews - but very much my kind of show from a charismatic performer. Read my review for The Reviews Hubhere
- A Classical Farewell - Carlos Acosta - The Lowry [Lyric Theatre] - 13-15 May ***
Read my review for The Reviews Hubhere. Acosta has unusual star power with audiences. Generally we are more used to star choreographers than dancers (which is a much more balanced affair). I have never seen Acosta perform in a full-length ballet or at the height of his career, but this is the second time I have seen him and I have to say, I find it hard to establish what the fuss is about. The audience response and standing ovation he received on Friday (and I hear, Sunday, so presumably Saturday) seems entirely driven by who he is rather than what he does.
- Physicalfest 2016 - Unity Theatre, Liverpool - 20-28 May [Physical Theatre festival. Click on link for full programme]
- Correction - VerTeDance - The Lowry [Quays Theatre] - 23 May ****
Read my review for The Reviews Hubhere
- 32 Rue Vandenbranden - Peeping Tom - HOME - 23-25 May *****
I have been aware of this show for a few years and finally got the opportunity to see it last night at HOME. And it is a remarkable piece of dance theatre. Wonderfully staged, dark, funny, shocking - with some of the most extreme physicality I have been privileged to witness. Quite extraordinary.
June
- Swan Lake - Scottish Ballet - Liverpool Empire - 1-4 June
Finally got to see Scottish Ballet and a brand new version of Swan Lake by David Dawson. And it was good. Read my review for The Reviews Hubhere
- EDge (London Contemporary Dance School) - Z-Arts - 7 June ****
A decent and varied programme featuring new work from Joseph Toonga, Phillippe Blanchard, Alexander Whitley and Tom Roden. Worryingly small audience (I counted 39) - much the same as for Verve in March, which casts doubts on Z-Arts ability to continue to programme dance, as well as making you feel bad for these postgraduate companies performing to such small audiences in such a large space.
- Butterflies and Bones: The Casement Project- Fearghus Ó Conchúir - The Place, London - 11 June ***
I mainly booked to see this out of an interest in Roger Casement and a desire to see two of the perfomers on stage - Theo Clinkard and Matthew Morris. Ultimately, although I felt privileged to see a show that will only be performed in the UK twice - there will be further shows in Ireland - I found much of the content baffling and prop-bound, and the show rather short of dancing. Theo Clinkard was great though.
- A Triple Bill - Ballet Black - The Lowry [Quays Theatre] - 19 June ****
I didn't love the first two pieces but Christopher Hampson's Storyville was tremendous. Read my review for The Reviews Hubhere
- A Room For All Our Tomorrows - Igor and Moreno - The Lowry [Studio] - 29 June [!] Igor and Moreno's Idiot-Syncrasy was a highlight of last year for Methods of Dance.
Read my review for The Reviews Hub here
July
- Paradise Lost (lies unopened beside me) - Lost Dog - The Lowry [Quays Theatre] - 14 July ****
Read my review for The Reviews Hub here
August
- Alla Prima - Tiago Cadete - HOME - 20 August [Physical Theatre] ****
September
- Shakespeare Triple Bill - Birmingham Royal Ballet - The Lowry [Lyric Theatre] - 14-17 September ****
Read my review for The Reviews Hubhere
- Akram Khan's Giselle - English National Ballet - Palace Theatre - 27 September - 1 October *****
I absolutely loved this re-imagining of Giselle. Choreography, staging, music, performances, lighting, everything was on point. Both Guardian reviewers had issues with the narrative but I had no problem following it and thought Khan's tweaks actually made it more powerful, if less Romantic. I'm sure this kind of work is seen often in London, but, for Manchester, this felt like a game changer, a real event. Read my review for The Reviews Hubhere
October
- to a simple rock'n'roll... song - Michael Clark Company - The Lowry [Lyric Theatre] - 19 October ****
- Institute - Gecko - HOME - 19-22 October [Physical Theatre] *****
Read my review for The Reviews Hubhere
- Soul's Paths - Matrafisc Dance Company/Vonnegut Collective - The Wonder Inn - 28 October ****
- Disappearing Acts - Flexer & Sandiland - The Lowry [Studio] - 31 October ****
Read my review for The Reviews Hubhere
November
- Because of Gravity - Bridget Fiske and Co - The Lowry [Galleries] - 5 November *****
- YAMA - Scottish Dance Theatre - The Lowry [Quays Theatre] - 15 November
Read my review for The Reviews Hub here. Hint: I loved this distinctive and different show.
- Double Bill [incl. Set and Reset/Reset- Candoco Dance Company - Contact -16-17 November ****/**
I really enjoyed seeing Trisha Brown's Set and Reset/Reset. The second piece by Hetain Patel (Let's Talk About Dis)was way too talky and not enough dance for my taste, although enjoyable enough in it's way.
- The Peony Pavilion - National Ballet of China - The Lowry [Lyric Theatre] - 22-26 November *****
Read my review for The Reviews Hubhere
- Happy Hour - Tmesis Theatre - The Lowry [Studio] - 24-25 November [Physical Theatre] *****
Read my review for The Reviews Hub here
- Witness - Company Chameleon - The Lowry [Quays Theatre] - 29-30 November ***
Read my review for The Reviews Hub here
- The Red Shoes - Matthew Bourne's New Adventures - The Lowry [Lyric Theatre] - 29 November-3 December *****
I found Cinderella not Cinderella enough. I found Sleeping Beauty: A Gothic Romance incomprehensible and annoying. I didn't fancy The Lord of the Flies. But for me, The Red Shoes marks a triumphant return to form.
- Nutcracker - English National Ballet - Liverpool Empire - 29 November-3 December
December
- COAL - Gary Clarke Dance - Contact - 7-8 December