Dance Umbrella

Name: Dance Umbrella
Address: Somerset House, West Wing, Strand, London, WC2R1LA, GB
Telephone: +442072579380
Price range: $

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Dance Umbrella

London's annual international dance festival, taking place across the capital and online ✨ Artistic Director and CEO: Freddie Opoku-Addaie

09/09/2026

🌊 Landscapes can hold traces of brutal displacement and erasure, yet often bear few visible signs of the histories they contain.

The Coast captures a unique meeting between performer and landscape. Filmed in Cape Coast, a historic port city in Ghana, the short film explores how histories can linger within spaces, and how dance can become a way of witnessing, remembering and reimagining what has been obscured.

Watch The Coast with a Digital Pass (from £7), which gives you access to Dance Umbrella’s ENTIRE digital festival programme 7 Oct-30 Nov.

Get yours now: https://danceumbrella.co.uk/digital-pass-checkout/

Choreographer & Performer: Yinka Esi Graves
Filmmaker: Miguel Ángel Rosales

08/09/2026

We are deeply saddened by the passing of choreographer Sir Richard Alston CBE, a truly iconic figure across the UK and international dance ecology.

In 1978, Richard was presented in the first ever Dance Umbrella Festival (both as a performer and a choreographer), marking the beginning of a decades long relationship. Over the years, we had the pleasure of presenting more than 30 of his dance works to London audiences at ICA, The Place, Southbank Centre and the Barbican Centre, including his company's debut at Sadler's Wells in 2002.

Some words from our Artistic Director & Co-CEO, Freddie Opoku-Addaie:

“Richard was not just a British choreographic icon, he influenced the global dance ecology. His musicality as a choreographer was unique.

He was always so generous with his time, including when I was a teenager in the Youth! Dance company at The Place. As a student at LCDS (London Contemporary Dance School) he introduced me to Val Bourne, Dance Umbrella’s founder, during an unforgettable evening at the Barbican. It’s with profound gratitude that we celebrate his life and what he’s given to the craft.”

Photo credit: Richard Alston by Hugo Glendinning

07/09/2026

📝 Today is your final chance to apply!

03/09/2026

London, you heard it here first 🗣️

💥 Dance Umbrella Festival is BACK
🗓️ 7-27 October
📍 Across London

Featuring:
Akram Khan Company
Anthea Lewis
Arno Schuitemaker
Charlotte Mclean
Jack Anderson
Malin Lewis
Mamela Nyamza
Miguel Altunaga Jr
Omar Rajeh
Poliana Lima
Theatre Rites
Yinka Esi Graves
and more

Coming to:
Barbican Centre
Brixton House / CASA Festival
Cecil Sharp House
Rich Mix London
Sadler's Wells East
Albany Deptford
The Bhavan, London
The Place

🎟️ Limited £10 tickets available at every performance, book now: https://danceumbrella.co.uk/ticket-scheme/

27/08/2026

🗣️ We’re so excited to reveal the panelists for our Curating in Context discussion!

When dance travels across borders, it is shaped not only by artists but also by the frameworks through which it is presented, contextualised and understood.

Curating in Context explores how dance is programmed across different geographies, and whose perspectives inform those choices.

Facilitated by Isabel Moura Mendes, Senior Relationship Manager for Theatre and Dance at the British Council, the panel will be comprised of:

- Senegalese cultural administrator Ndèye Mané TOURE
- Dutch-Ghanaian artist and curator Richard Kofi
- Mozambican curator, artistic director and cultural producer Quito Abrão Tembe
- Creative Practitioner, Curator & Producer Anthea Lewis

🗓️ Wed 7 Oct
📍 Somerset House
🎟️ Tickets £8
✨ Part of Dance Umbrella Festival
🤝 Supported by British Council

The full recording will be available to watch online with a Digital Pass!

Book now: https://danceumbrella.co.uk/event/panel-discussion-curating-in-context/

25/08/2026

What does it really mean to belong? Here’s our Artistic Director & Co-CEO Freddie Opoku-Addaie to tell you about A Place to Dance: a captivating new show shaped by rhythm, dialogue and an innate desire to celebrate our shared experiences.

Brazilian choreographer Poliana Lima and British flamenco dance artist Yinka Esi Graves join forces to create an encounter that places the body at the centre of a force capable of transforming space, connection and community.

🗓️ 9-10 Oct
📍 The Place
🎟️ Tickets £10-£22
✨ Part of Dance Umbrella Festival 2026

Sign up to our £10 ticket scheme: https://danceumbrella.co.uk/ticket-scheme/
Book your tickets: https://danceumbrella.co.uk/event/poliana-lima-yinka-esi-graves-a-place-to-dance/

20/08/2026

🔥 The line-up is here for Touch The Floor: a day-long event exploring the evolution of Black British social dancing and music.

Zine making, panels, talks, DJ sets, dancing, food, archiving and more, there is SO much to look forward to and take part in.

Specially curated by Dance Umbrella Festival 2026 Guest Curator Anthea Lewis

The line-up:
Amarnah Ufuoma Cleopatra
Benji Reid
Cyndi Handson
Dean Bryce
Dr Aleema Gray
Dwayne Church-Simms
Gary Nurse
Lisa Anderson
Natifah White
Paradigmz
Spider J
Stuart Thomas

🗓️ Sat 24 Oct, 1pm til late
📍 Rich Mix London
🎟️ Tickets on sale now £0-£15

🔗 Explore the full programme: https://danceumbrella.co.uk/event/anthea-lewis-blulili-projects-touch-the-floor/

19/08/2026

Want to take part in Dance Umbrella Festival 2026? ✨ We’re recruiting for volunteers to work at various dance shows and events, taking place 7-27 Oct across London!

As a Dance Umbrella volunteer you will get:

🎟️ Free ticket for the festival show/event you are working
🚂 Travel costs covered (up to £15 per day)
🌐 Digital Pass to experience the 2026 digital programme
👕 DU26 t-shirt & tote bag

⏰ Deadline Monday 7 September

Apply now: https://danceumbrella.co.uk/about-us/work-with-us/

29/07/2026

🎥 A landmark film from a landmark dance company.

Playful, inventive and quietly revolutionary, Outside In (1994) from Candoco Dance Company challenged perceptions of dance and disability at a time when inclusive performance was rarely seen on mainstream screen.

The film uses the camera as a creative partner, transforming movement into something intimate, cinematic and unexpected.

Watch the film exclusively on danceumbrella.co.uk 7 Oct - 30 Nov with a Digital Pass, which gives you access to Dance Umbrella Festival’s ENTIRE 2026 digital programme.

Get yours now: https://danceumbrella.co.uk/digital-pass/

Director - Margaret Williams�Choreographer - Victoria Marks
Dancers - Helen Baggett, Celeste Dandeker, Jon French, Kuldip Singh-Barmi, Sue Smith, David Toole

22/07/2026

🇮🇹 We had the pleasure of attending La Biennale di Venezia in Venice, so here’s what we got up to 🤩

We’re so excited to welcome Mamela Nyamza & Omar Rajeh - Maqamat to London this October, as they bring their unique choreographic voices to Dance Umbrella Festival ❤️

Keep an eye out for their interviews… 🎥👀

1. Mamela Nyamza receiving her Silver Lion award 🏆
2. Our Co-CEOs Freddie Opoku-Addaie & Tania Wilmer with Studio Wayne McGregor and Maqamat 🫶
3 & 4. Filming an interview with Mamela 🎥
5 & 6. Watching the European premiere of THE HERD/LESS, coming to Sadler's Wells East this October 👏
7 & 8. Chatting to Omar about his work across stage and screen - you can catch Omar's work at Barbican Centre and online later this year 🎥
9 & 10. Exploring the streets of Venice 🛶
11. Watching the World Cup final 🇪🇸🇦🇷

Address

Somerset House, West Wing, Strand
London
WC2R1LA

Telephone

+442072579380

Website

http://www.danceumbrella.co.uk/

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