Dance Umbrella 2026

Last Updated on September 21, 2026

London’s International Festival of Dance Returns to Stage and Screen

Dance Umbrella has been bringing both established and experimental dance to London every year for almost half-a-century. Over that period the annual festival has necessarily evolved, gradually moving away from established companies to shift its focus to boundary-busting artists, whose work sometimes stretches the definition of dance itself. Post-Covid, Dance Umbrella has also added a digital element to its programming. This year’s festival, under the diection of Freddie Opoku-Addaie, is divided into In-Person and Digital Sections, with eight shows in the former and seven to watch online.

Below I offer a selection of the most intriguing shows in Dance Umbrella 2026.

IN-PERSON:

Mamela Nyamza: The Herd/Less – The South African artist Mamela Niamza returns to Dance Umbrella, following a first appearance two years ago with a show that has since won the 2026 Venice Biennale Silver Lion. Her brand new piece, The Herd/Less, draws on powerful elements from African culture to explore the relationship between the individual and the group to reveal the everyday tension between harmony and control in a vibrant and colourful stage display.

The Herd/Less is at Sadler’s Wells East 8 – 10 October at 7.30 pm.
Dur.: 65 mins no interval. Tickets: £20 – £30 (+ booking fee)

Sadler’s Wells East
Stratford Walk
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
London E20 2AR

Theatre-Rites & Miguel Altunaga – Eshu at the Crossroads – A special for all the family, this Dance Umbrella collaboration between British-based Afro-Cuban dance artist Miguel Altunaga and pioneering puppet company Theatre-Rites takes us on an adventure inspired by Yorubic culture, myth and story-telling, We follow a traveller, who’s looked after by a rooster and watched by Eshu, an unpredictable trickster spirit. Suitable to ages 5+

Eshu at Crossroads is at the Albany (14 Oct 10am & 1 pm); Brixton House (25 Oct 2pm & 5pm); The Place (27 Oct at 11 am & 2 pm). Dur.: 40-45 mins. Tickets: £16 (children £12)

The Place
17 Duke’s Road
London WC1H 9PY

Cie Omar Rajeh & Maqamat – Dance is Not for Us. French-Lebanese choreographer, festival director and cultural architect makes a rare London appearance with an intimate solo, intended as a personal memoir and a political act. Rajeh dances and speaks of a past that no longer exists in a performance overshadowed by the destruction of his native Lebanon, and described as “raw, urgent and deeply human.”

Cie Omar Rajeh & Maqamat – Dance is Not for Us is at Barbican Pit 16 & 17n October at 7.45 pm
Dur.: 60 mins no interval. Tickets £21.50

Barbican
Silk Street
London EC2Y 8DS

Jack Anderson & Charlotte Mclean with Malin Lewis, not for glory – direct from Scotland this blend of Highland dance, Irish dance and live piping, is billed as a dance-theatre gig that’s “virtuosic, visceral and uncompromising”. Furthermore, we’re told, it combines “kilts, queerness and ceremonial violence.”

not for glory is at Cecil Sharp House 13 & 14 October at 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm)
Dur.: 75 mins inc one interval. Tickets: £20.50 (concessions available)

Cecil Sharp House
2 Regent’s Park Road
London NW1 7AY

DIGITAL:
All shows in the digital section are available to watch on demand from 7 October to 30 November. You need to acquire a £15 Digital Pass

Garumbé: Afro-Andalucian Memories – this fascinating documentary from Intermedia Producciones delves into the roots of Spain’s perhaps best known cultural export, flamenco, to find the fundamental contribution of Afro-Andalusian communities to the music, dance and cultural expressions that shaped it.

Dur.: 72 minutes

MJW Productions & Candoco Dance Company, Outside In. Candoco Dance Company, which features disabled and non-disabled dancers, celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, and this film captures its remarkable spirit, which helped redefine what could be seen on stage. Credited to choreographer Victoria Marks and filmmaker Margaret Williams, the film uses the camera as a creative partner to shape a new and unexpected format.

Dur.: 14 mins

Akram Khan Company, Artist Encounters – Anatomy of a Story

Akram Khan is one of the most influential dance makers working in Britain today. In Anatomy of a Story, which will take place simultaneously in-person at The Bhavan and through digital, he is joined by Royal Ballet director Kevin O’Hare, who will facilitate a conversation on Khan’s ideas, influences and creative practices, with the participation of English National Ballet repetiteur (and forner lead principal) Erina Takahashi and first solist James Streeter.

Dur.: 90 mins

Dance Umbrella 2026 is live at various venues 7 – 27 October and on its digital platform,