Dance Around London: August 2012

Jemma
By Jemma Last edited 139 months ago
Dance Around London: August 2012

After the dance mania that was July, London’s taking its annual breather.. oh, and that sports thing is on. August still has some great dance nuggets though, and there’s plenty that’s free and outdoors, so let’s hope for a bit more sun, please.


Just one sports-related dance mention: Endure, a run woman show. Melanie Jones, a Canadian artist-cum-runner, invites you to follow her, exploring the endurance needed for the marathon which is life. Her inner monolgue plays on mp3 players plugged into each audience member, but don't worry, she's only running 5km, and you can watch her from afar! 2-5 August at 7pm, Riverside Studios, tickets £10.

There's a lot of South Asian dance about London these days, but rarely do you see it combined with Aerial work. The reworking of Bells by Akademi includes Aerial artists Theatre Tol, descending spectactularly as the dancers feverishly stamp out their Kathak rythmns. What's best is that it's free, and showing in various outdoor venues as part of London's SHOWTIME Festival. 2 August 9.45, Blackheath Common and 4 August Turnham Green Park, 9pm, free.

Now for some more languid promenade. You can't go wrong with an accordion in our book, so being led by a charming girl playing one, as part of performance group dANTE OR dIE's site-specific show La Fille a la Mode is enchanting. The glamourous ladies, styled on Coco Chanel, drape their vintage charm around the nooks and crannies of the V&A museum, evoking British elegance in all its glory. 3 August at 7pm and 8.30pm, V&A, free.

There's some great music at this year's Meltdown Festival at the Southbank, but something really special is their dance-concert event Antony and the Ohnos featuring Japanese Butoh dance and film excerpts in tribute to one of Butoh's founders, Kazuo Ohno. The bizzare and moving film loops will mingle with music from Antony and the Johnsons and Johanna Constantine. 5 August at 8pm, tickets £20-£30.

Enough moving. In the wonderfully freaky The Revery Alone, you just lie down in a hospital bed. Billy Cowie has created a 7 minute steroscopic screen-dance installation of a naked, hanging dancer, who contorts herself above you and looks so real you could touch her. 3D glasses never seemed so clever. 13 July-26 August at The Wapping Project, noon-10.30pm Mon-Sat, 2.30pm-5.30pm Sun, free.

Watch dANTE OR dIE:

Last Updated 01 August 2012