The best dance shows coming to Lowry in 2026

This April, Cassa Pancho’s Ballet Black celebrates 25 years with a landmark double-bill featuring Ingoma, the Olivier Award-winning debut by former dancer Mthuthuzeli November.

Inspired by the 1946 South African miners’ strike, the piece captures suffering and resilience, bringing rarely told stories of resilience to the ballet stage with profound storytelling and striking choreography.

Then, Alvin Ailey alumnus Hope Boykin makes her UK choreographic debut with a vibrant, joyful new commission celebrating Ballet Black’s journey and bold vision for the future.

Billed as a celebration of Indian dance that showcases fresh creative voices within ancient tradition, Milap’s Timeless features three solo works and a culminative trio, each blending rhythm, expression and narrative physicality, from artists Elena Catalano, Kinga Malec and Santosh Nair.

The unmissable one-off evening promises spellbinding artistry, cultural richness and cross-generational energy across a series of intricate, memorable performances.

From Wed 6 to Thu 7 May, EXXY follows queer disabled artist Dan Daw on a journey through identity, self-worth and societal pressure, joined by three other dancers in a physically daring and achingly raw performance marked by breathtaking visuals, whip-smart humour and dazzling stagecraft.

Titled after the Australian slang for ‘that’s expensive, mate’, EXXY probes the cost of ambition and belonging, asking what it takes to maintain confidence when the world challenges you and how to navigate timelessly human contradictions in a production hailed as “truly remarkable and life-affirming.” (The Herald)

Returning to Salford later in the month, the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company presents a double bill of precision and creativity, including the latest work from Olivier-nominated choreographer Young-doo Jung, as part of the 2026 Korean Festival of Dance.

Voyage explores isolation and curiosity inspired by NASA’s Voyager probes, blending rock, classical and Korean rhythms as Jung leads the audience into an unknown realm with a tongue-in-cheek score that includes snippets from the ‘Golden Record’ – the copper disk aboard the probe that aimed to embody life and culture on Earth if found by extraterrestrial races.

Hakkō draws from the Japanese cup-and-ball toy to examine transformation through simple, deliberate movement, with dancers entering a trance-like state of focus against arrangements inspired by club culture and electronic innovation.

From Thu 4 to Sat 6 Jun 2026, Dance-based storytelling masters Northern Ballet present a vivid and soul-stirring account of the extraordinary life of Anne Lister, better known as Gentleman Jack.

Choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and performed to new live music by Peter Salem, the brand new production honours the inspirational, unapologetic 19th century Yorkshire woman whose secret diaries uncovered a tale of liberation, heartache and triumphant social resistance following her death.

This June, Lowry presents two very special events featuring blazing Spanish flamenco, embodying the form’s singular passion, intensity and virtuosity.

In Baile Sonoro (Sat 13-Sun 14 Jun), Olga Pericet blends tradition and innovation with live guitar and singing in a mesmerising dance-concert described as ‘pure living art’.

Meanwhile, Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía (Tue 30 Jun) journeys through Andalusia with Tierra Bendita, showcasing iconic music and storied dances from around the region.

Loosely based on Bizet’s beloved opera, Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man transforms the familiar 19th-century Spanish cigarette factory into a 1950s American garage-diner in a thrilling drama full of desire, betrayal and revenge.

Described as ‘a shatteringly good piece of storytelling’ (Observer) and ‘gripping, gasp-making, edge-of-your-seat stuff’ (Daily Mail), Bourne’s latest production follows the inhabitants of a small Midwest town who, following the arrival of an enigmatic stranger, spiral into a vortex of greed, lust, betrayal and revenge.

Celebrating its remarkable centenary, Britain’s oldest dance company presents This is Rambert, a high-impact showcase of works from (LA)HORDE, Emma Evelein and others that speaks to contemporary life with urgency and energy, while capturing the company’s ethos of innovation and ambition.

The programme features bold, concise pieces each highlighting untold stories, pushing boundaries of movement and theatre with the propulsive intensity that engenders the pace of modern society.