Dance Umbrella 2022, various venues

Dance Umbrella (DU) has been going from strength to strength for more than four decades, each annual edition reflecting the interests of its director, and always with the aim of pushing the boundaries of what can be called dance and extending its appeal to ever more diverse audiences.

This year's festival of all things dance is under the brand-new directorship of Freddie Opoku-Addaie – dancer, choreographer, performer and educator – who's become known to regular DU audiences as guest programmer for the past few years.

DU 2022 reflects Opoku-Addaie's aim to promote a new generation of artists and communities who, in his own words, 'are fuelling a shared movement beyond the established mainstream platforms'. To that end, the festival will consist of seven live acts spread over a wide variety of venues, as well as a digital programme, panel discussions and a series of podcasts, Sound in Motion.

The full programme DU2022 programme can be found here. Below is Culture Whisper's selection of festival highlights:

• Oona Doherty, Navy Blue – Sadler's Wells, Friday 21 October, 7:30pm (Dur.: 55 mins)
An award-winning choreographer and dancer, Belfast native Oona Doherty is definitely one of the most intriguing and impactful artists working today. For her Sadler's Wells debut she returns to DU with her latest, large-scale work. Faithful to her unflinching exploration of the depths of human nature, Doherty and her 12 dancers look at where we've been and where we're going within a dark, unsettling atmosphere. The work is set to music by Rachmaninoff and Jamie xx.

• Chiara Bersani, Seeking Unicorns – National Gallery, Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 October, 12pm & 3pm (Dur.: 40 mins)
The august National Gallery provides the setting for this Italian performer's award-winning work, which uses the unicorn as a symbol of those historically abused and misunderstood. Seeking Unicorns won the Total Theatre & The Place Award for dance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2019.

• Georgia Tegou & Michalis Theophanous, Reverie, The Place, Friday 7 & Saturday 8 October, 7:30pm (Dur.: 50 mins)
Creating a metaphorical universe that blurs the boundaries between the real and imaginary, Reverie has its UK premiere at DU 2022.

• de Stilte, Do-re-mi-ka-do – Saturday 15 to Sunday 23 October at various venues and times (Dur.: 40 mins)
With an age guidance of two years and over, this one is for the whole family, with children encouraged to play and explore their own creativity. de Stilte looks at the connection between movement and sound, while dancers and musicians create their own unique dialogue.