Dancers in colourful casual clothes in Acosta Danza: A Decade in Motion
Photograph: Hugo Glendinning
Photograph: Hugo Glendinning

The best dance and ballet shows in September 2025

The biggest and best dance shows to hit London up this month

India Lawrence
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The dance world leaps back into action in September after a much-needed summer holiday. 

This back-to-school season will be no dissapointment, with Michael Keegan-Dolan, (La)Horde and Acosta Danza all hitting the London stage. 

The popular free dance extravaganza that’s part of Greenwich and Docklands International Festival also returns this month, and there is some exciting experimental stuff to get stuck into over at the Coronet. 

Here we’ve rounded up the best dance in London this September. 

India is in charge of dance listings at Time Out. She was first shoved into a leotard and ballet shoes aged four, and has loved it ever since. Nowadays India prefers contemporary (or dancing in a sweaty club) to ballet, but still has a soft spot for the odd grand jeté every now and again. India has been reviewing dance in London since joining Time Out in 2022. 

MORE STAGE:

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Dance in September

  • Dance
  • Contemporary and experimental
  • Olympic Park

Created during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 by the acclaimed Irish choreographer, Michael Keegan-Dolan’s How to be a Dancer in Seventy-two Thousand Easy Lessons tells a coming of age story tracing back to Keegan-Dolan’s own roots in Dublin. Featuring spoken word, physical comedy and contemporary movement, Keegan-Dolan combs through the history of Ireland from the 1970s to present day through his own personal experiences, exploring themes of nationality, identity, xenophobia, ancestor worship, shame, death, defiance, love and dance.

  • Dance
  • Contemporary and experimental
  • Notting Hill

Russel Maliphant, known for his hypnotic explorations of light, movement and music, returns to the Coronet with his acclaimed double-bill that saw sell out success earlier this year. Dancing with light-as-gossamer drapes in In A Lanscape, Malipahant plays with light and shadows. This is followed by AfterLight a 15-minute solo inspired by photographs and geometric drawings of the legendary Russian dancer Vaslav Nijinsky.

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  • Dance
  • Clerkenwell

Carlos Acosta’s acclaimed Cuban dance company Acosta Danza celebrates 10 years of moving in 2025. Bringing a slice of Havana to the Big Smoke, the mixed bill will show works from Hispanic including two UK premieres; 98 Días and Llamada. Fusing classical, contemporary and Cuban, expect a night full of passion, energy and charisma. 

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