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October dance in London

By Teresa Guerreiro on 3/10/2022

October is a bumper month for dance in London. Here are some of the highlights

The Royal Ballet, Ryoichi Hirano as Rudolf © ROH 2018 Photo: Helen Maybanks

The Royal Ballet, Mayerling 2022, Royal Opera House

The Royal Ballet kicks off the new season with one of the big beasts of its repertoire: Kenneth MacMillan's intense, haunting Mayerling, based on the tragic death of Crown Prince Rudolf of the Austrian-Hungarian empire and his teenage mistress.

WHEN

Wednesday 5 October – Wednesday 30 November, 7:30pm, Mats Saturday 15 October & Saturday 12 November at 1pm. Dur.: 3 hours inc 2 intervals

WHERE

Royal Opera House, Bow Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD

The Centre for the Less Good Idea, To What End. Image: Chris Gouws

The Centre for the Less Good Idea, To What End, Barbican Pit

Yet another ramification of South African artist William Kentridge's wide-ranging impact, the Centre for the Less Good Idea brings some of its pioneering dance/theatre work to the Barbican with the show To What End.

WHEN

Thursday 6 – Sunday 9 October, 7:45pm. Sun at 3pm. Dur.: 1 hour 30 mins no interval

WHERE

Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS

Alexander Whitley Dance Company, Anti-Body, Lilian Baylis Studio

Choreographer Alexander Whitley continues his restless exploration of the link between science and dance with his new work Anti-Body, shaped by motion capture technology.

WHEN

Thursday 6 – Friday 7 October, 8pm. Dur.: 1 hour no interval

WHERE

Sadler's Wells, Rosebery Avenue, London EC1R 4TN

German Cornejo's Tango After Dark. Photo: Federico Paleo

German Cornejo's Tango After Dark, Peacock Theatre

With Tango After Dark German Cornejo is back doing what he does best, creating high-octane tango shows, which shower the famous Argentine dance form with suggestive thrills and spills.

WHEN

Tuesday 11 – Saturday 22 October, 7:30pm, Wednesday & Saturday mats at 2:30pm. Dur.: TBC

WHERE

Peacock Theatre, Portugal Street, London WC2A 2HT

Rambert, Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby, Troubadour Wembley Park

Following its enthusiastically reviewed world premiere in Birmingham (where else?), Rambert's own take on the TV sensation Peaky Blinders comes to London for an extended run at the Troubadour Wembley Park.

WHEN

Wednesday 12 October – Sunday 6 November, 7:30pm, Thursday & Saturday mats 2:30pm, Sunday 2:30pm only. Mon dark. Dur.:TBC

WHERE

Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, Fulton Road, Wembley HA9 8TS

Dance Umbrella, de Stilte Do-re-mi-ka-do. Photo: Hans Gerritsen

Dance Umbrella 2022, various venues

London's annual festival of all things dance and beyond, Dance Umbrella, returns to a wide variety of venues across the capital, with shows for all tastes and ages.

WHEN

Friday 7 – Sunday 23 October. Starting time and duration varies according to venue

Dickson Mbi © Nick Thornton Jones & Warren du Preez

Dickson Mbi, Enowate, Sadler's Wells

Dickson Mbi is one of the most magnetic dancers on today's stage. Formerly a performer of work by others, Mbi now brings his own piece, Enowate, to Sadler's Wells.

WHEN

Friday 14 – Saturday 15 October, 7:30pm. Dur.: 1 hour, no interval

WHERE

Sadler's Wells, Rosebery Avenue, London EC1R 4TN

Momoko Hirata as Kitri in BRB's Don Quixote. Photo: Johan Persson

Birmingham Royal Ballet, Don Quixote in cinemas

Birmingham Royal Ballet offers an unmissable opportunity to catch up with its joyful, uplifting Don Quixote, when it comes to cinemas nationwide for one night only.

WHEN

Wednesday 26 October. Times vary according to venue. Dur.: 2 hours 50 mins, inc two intervals

Artists of The Royal Ballet in Crystal Pite's Flight Pattern © ROH 2017. Photo: Tristram Kenton

The Royal Ballet, New Crystal Pite, Royal Opera House

The acclaimed Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite, reshapes and extends her award-winning ballet Flight Pattern, which portrays the harrowing journey of a group of refugees.

WHEN

18 Oct 2022 – 03 Nov 2022, 19:30 Sat 22 Oct at 14:00 and 19:00 Dur.: TBC

WHERE

Royal Opera House
Bow Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DD

Born to Exist: The Woman I Know, Joseph Toonga. Photo: Harrison Dante

Born to Exist: the Woman I Know, Joseph Toonga, The Place

Recently mentored by the Royal Ballet as part of the company's emerging choreographer programme, Joseph Toonga presents his new work Born to Exist: the Woman I Know, performed by his own company at The Place.

WHEN

Tuesday 25 – Wednesday 26 October, 7:30pm. Dur.: 60 mins, no interval

WHERE

The Place, 17 Duke's Road, London WC1H 9PY

Aakash Odedra Company, Samsara. Dancers: Aakash Odedra, Hu Shenyuan. Photo: Nirvair Singh Rai

Aakash Odedra Company, Samsara, Sadler's Wells

A cross-cultural collaboration between Indian and Chinese cultures, Aakash Odedra Company's Samsara has its London premiere at Sadler's Wells.

WHEN

Monday 17 – Tuesday 18 October, 7:30pm. Dur.: 1 hour, no interval

WHERE

Sadler's Wells, Rosebery Avenue, London EC1R 4TN

Andrew Tomlinson, Mathilde Lambert, Darragh Hourrides & Carlotta Pini in Ugly Duckling. Photo: Brian Slater

Ugly Duckling, Northern Ballet, Linbury Theatre

Last but not least, one for the younger dance audiences: Northern Ballet, with its unmatched reputation for creating children's ballets, brings its production of Hans Christian Andersen's tale Ugly Duckling to the ROH Linbury theatre.

WHEN

Saturday 29 – Sunday 30 October, Performances at 12pm, 2pm, 4pm. Dur.: 40 minutes

WHERE

Royal Opera House, Bow Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD

October dance in London

October is a bumper month for dance in London. Here are some of the highlights

The Royal Ballet, Mayerling 2022, Royal Opera House

The Centre for the Less Good Idea, To What End, Barbican Pit

Alexander Whitley Dance Company, Anti-Body, Lilian Baylis Studio

German Cornejo's Tango After Dark, Peacock Theatre

Rambert, Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby, Troubadour Wembley Park

Dance Umbrella 2022, various venues

Dickson Mbi, Enowate, Sadler's Wells

Birmingham Royal Ballet, Don Quixote in cinemas

The Royal Ballet, New Crystal Pite, Royal Opera House

Born to Exist: the Woman I Know, Joseph Toonga, The Place

Aakash Odedra Company, Samsara, Sadler's Wells

Ugly Duckling, Northern Ballet, Linbury Theatre

October Dance

The Royal Ballet

Mayerling

Flight Pattern

Crystal Pite

The Centre for the Less Good Idea

To What End

Alexander Whitley

Anti-Body

German Cornejo

Tango After Dark

Rambert

Peaky Blinders

Dance Umbrella 2022

Dickson Mbi

Enowate

Birmingham Royal Ballet

Don Quixote

Born to Exist: The Woman I Know

Joseph Toonga

Aakash Odedra Company

Samsara

Northern Ballet

Ugly Duckling

Royal Opera House

Sadler's Wells

Lilian Baylis Studio

The Place

Mixtape – Celebrating 20 Years of ZooNation, Sadler's Wells

Neon Dance, Prehension Blooms, The Place

Russell Maliphant Dance Company, Silent Lines, Excelsior Studios