Lowry unveils a breathtakingly eclectic contemporary dance programme for 2025

On Tue 14 Jan, acclaimed choreographer and performer Urja Desai Thakore presents the captivating solo piece ROOH: Within Her, a tender and uplifting exploration of unsung heroism spanning two millennia of stirring narratives.

From the tumultuous motherhood of a celebrated figure in Tamil literature to the recreation of Chaaran Kanya, the tale of shepherdess and folk heroine Heerbai who faces a fearsome lion, Thakore reimagines tales of lesser-known inspirational figures by forging resonant connections between history and timeless acts of individual courage, while celebrating the ways in which seemingly insignificant choices affect our current and future selves.

On Sat 18 Jan, Botis Seva’s latest hip hop theatre creation Until We Sleep brings a soaring, Odyssean tale of hope, defiance and heroism to The Lowry, told through fluid, pulsating movement by Far From The Norm and a guttural yet ethereal blend of percussion and guttural sounds.

Crafted as a celebration of resistance and unbowed human spirit, Until We Sleep follows a lone warrior in search of faith as they lead a rootless community through transient passages of time, where souls transcend their former identities and shards of light signal the presence of a higher power.

Featuring brand new choreography from Carlos Acosta performed by more than 20 dancers from his namesake company, Nutcracker in Havana imbues the festive ballet classic with vibrant traditional Cuban dance forms and irresistible Latin heat, set to jaw-dropping video projections and a blistering reimagination of the timeless Tchaikovsky score.

Billed as an intricate tapestry of movement, theatre, staged choreography and playful improvisation, emilyn claid’s latest work examines our innate fear of endings, unpacking the meaning of bowing out and the poetic irony of ageing against a backdrop of reality’s curious relationship with imagination.

Shot through with devastating pathos, claid confronts queering and the passage of time with inventive performance and devilish humour, crafting a collage of personal stories while transforming between hunter and creature, therapist and diva, navigating the soaring heights and crushing depths of life itself with material created in partnership with Heidi Rustgaard, Florence Peake and Joseph Mercier.

Winner of Best Classical Choreography at the 2011 National Critics’ Circle Dance Awards, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Cinderella renders the ageless story of love, courage and kindness in exquisite detail with enchanting movement, boundless originality and delightful reinventions of every magical character.

Lowry dances headlong into its spring season with Georgia Tegou’s HOMECOMING, an unmissable mixture of storytelling, dynamic choreography and state-of-the-art holographic tech which charts one woman’s quest through a spiritual purgatory to rediscover her lost sense of self.

Told from the perspective of a ghost trapped in an ethereal void between two worlds, Tegou’s masterful production embarks on a poignant journey from disillusionment to the catharsis of inner realignment, finding joy in the patience of rebuilding after burnout. Described as a story of rebirth and the indomitable strength it takes to find your way home, HOMECOMING offers a stirring, relatable tribute to the perseverance and quiet courage found in reclaiming your true self.

In a uniquely innovative theatrical twist, Lowry stages HOMECOMING both as an immersive theatre performance and a breathtaking VR experience in the lobby, where you become the ghost and navigate the story through your own movement, with an emphasis on accessibility and inclusion.

Developed as a radical interplay between the formal tools of authorship and the conventional aesthetics of horror, Malika Nashad Sharpe’s visceral new show charts a sensuous, beguiling and suspenseful odyssey into the shadowy depths of the Goner, a condemned figure bound hopelessly to death.

Along the foreboding descent into the Goner’s psyche, the piece explores themes of abuse, Caribbean migration, alienation, belonging, addiction, and violence, producing a ‘radical visual culture’ from a marginalised perspective and illuminating the oft-overlooked Black tradition of horror against a backdrop of unflinching, blood-soaked dread.

Hailed as ‘dance theatre at its most compelling’ in The Arts’ Desk glowing five-star review, Matthew Bourne’s award-winning The Midnight Bell comes to Salford for the first time in July 2025.

Inspired by English literary titan Patrick Hamilton, Bourne’s wondrous period masterpiece transports audiences to the streets of 1930s London, where a diverse cohort of workers, vagabonds and local denizens pour out of boarding houses to bask in their dreams and exorcise their regrets inside the titular Soho tavern.

Devised as a paean to the classic London pub, The Midnight Bell follows a lonely hearts club who gather to share their diverse yet transcendent stories of heartbreak, longing, betrayal and salvation in a ‘gloriously atmospheric’ dance production.

Book tickets below.

On Tue 15 Jul, Sadler’s Wells and Universal Music UK storm onto the Lowry stage on a gleaming Lambretta moped for a five-day run of their wildly inventive mod ballet, Quadrophenia.

Inspired by The Who’s iconic titular album, the blistering production reimagines the 1979 cult classic feature film with a cast of decorated dancers, as Jimmy’s story takes a new, thrilling form in a whirlwind dance adaptation packed with the sharp suits, reworked soul and social empowerment that defined a generation.

Set to Rachel Fuller’s breathtaking orchestral interpretation of Pete Townshend’s towering record, choreographer Paul Roberts and director Rob Ashford unite the best of Britain’s theatre, film and dance talent to bring fresh dimensions to one of the greatest rock albums of all time.

This September, Britain’s oldest dance troupe joins forces with French company (LA)HORDE for a gritty, epic triple-bill led by an assemblage of internationally acclaimed dancers.

Audiences are invited into the stark chaos of Bring Your Own, a ferociously sensual carnival of chaos where raw physicality and choreographical mayhem burst forth in an uninhibited sensory explosion.

In Weather is Sweet, Rambert and (LA)Horde bring the neon-flecked streets of LA’s club scene to life with an absorbing meditation on urgent questions over intimacy, consent and sex-positivity, while A Room with a View challenges the , holding a mirror to contemporary society with profound and frequently unsettling insights about our shared priorities.