Dance
Astonishingly for The Guardian I saw three of the shows below (Shechter II, Michael Keegan-Dolan/Teaċ Daṁsa and Rendez-Vous Dance) and had tickets for Ockham's Razor'Tess, which I couldn't attend, for some reason.
10. Akram Khan: Gigenis
A return to Akram Khan’s roots in classical Indian dance, and a return to the stage for Khan himself – as compelling as ever – but this time sharing it with expert performers in different dance forms (bharatanatyam, Odissi and Kutiyattam). Even if the meaning was sometimes elusive, the quality of the performance at Sadler’s Wells was sky high. Great musicians, too.
9. Stopgap: Lived Fiction
A truly accessible touring show from the company of disabled, non-disabled and neurodivergent dancers, which accommodated every audience member and upended any tacit ideas around whose experience takes priority. “We don’t give a damn about being invited to the table,” one of the dancers said. “We’re inviting you to ours instead.”
8. Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir: When the Bleeding Stops
One of the year’s most unexpectedly joyful performances, from Icelandic dancer Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir. An autobiographical story finding parallels in the impact of career-ending injury and the advent of menopause, this show at the Place in London was a rediscovery of the pure, nourishing pleasure of moving to music, and ended in a mass dance-along.
7. London City Ballet: Resurgence
Rising from the ashes, London City Ballet was revived this year after lying dormant for nearly 30 years. Getting it back on its feet is an impressive enough feat from artistic director Christopher Marney, and the touring programme was an intriguing mix of old and new, unearthing a little-seen Kenneth MacMillan quartet, Ballade, from 1972.
6. Ockham’s Razor: Tess
A surprisingly warm adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s depressing tale of Tess of the D’Urbervilles. This was contemporary circus company Ockham’s Razor’s first attempt at a literary narrative and the show proved they could express character through acrobatic skill and atmospheric mood thanks to Aideen Malone’s lighting and a soundtrack by Holly Khan. Touring from February.
5. Michael Keegan-Dolan/Teaċ Daṁsa: Nobodaddy
The world created by Irish choreographer Michael Keegan-Dolan can be at once quotidian and wildly surreal, but at its core is a deep connection between music, dance and community. At Sadler’s Wells, American folk singer Sam Amidon was in the middle of the fray, spurring movement that was really something to relish.
4. Shechter II: From England With Love
Hofesh Shechter’s critical eye and often pessimistic view of humanity benefited here from having a tight focus: England – the Israeli choreographer’s adopted home. A work both humorous and horrified about Albion’s chequered history, this touring show had some incredible dancing from Shechter II, the younger offshoot of his main company.
3. Rendez-Vous Dance: What Songs May Do
This duet was a trio, really, for two dancers and the mighty voice of Nina Simone, which soundtracked the ups and downs of a relationship, filling out all the grey areas between “He loves me” and “He loves me not”. A sensitively crafted and danced hour at the Edinburgh fringe from choreographer Mathieu Geffré.
2. Aakash Odedra: Songs of the Bulbul
A piece of dance that unashamedly embodied light and joy, with its surging, exultant soundtrack by film composer Rushil Ranjan. Always a beautiful performer (specialising in the Indian classical form kathak), Aakash Odedra has stepped up a notch in recent years. Staged at the Edinburgh international festival, Songs of the Bulbul offered simple pleasure and a sense of hope. On tour in 2025.
1. Abby Z and the New Utility: Radioactive Practice
The highlight of this year’s Dance Umbrella festival, from New York choreographer Abby Zbikowski, had something I’d never seen before: dancers egging each other on, shouting “You got this!” or “I see you!” from the sidelines as muscles were straining. English modesty prevented the audience from joining in (which they were allowed to do), but the interaction instantly heated up the room and tore away the sheen of effortlessness that is dance’s default. With wildly athletic moves taken from sports, the gym, street dance and street life, it was an exhaustingly impressive display of skill, but also a study in the nature of work, effort, motivation and community.