Manchester International Festival - Dance Events You Don’t Want to Miss

Manchester International Festival - Dance Events You Don’t Want to Miss

By Move Dance on 12th Jul 2019

The Manchester International Festival has well and truly kicked off in style and this year the city’s bringing all you dance lovers a real treat.

The festival is an annual event in the heart of the city which brings together performers across multiple industries including singing, acting and dancing from all over the world.

We’ve rounded up the dance acts in the festival appearing over the next couple of weeks that you won’t want to miss!

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Invisible Cities

Immerse yourself into the non-fictional cities brought to life by Leo Warner, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Lolita Chakrabarti, 59 Productions and Rambert. Explore Zenobia, a city of joy, Beersheba, a celestial city of gold and Isadora, a city of promise, seduction and desire in the world premiere 2 hour spectacular.

Enjoy this combination of dance, theatre and magic as you follow the relationship between explorer, Marco Polo, and the head of an empire, Kublai Khan. The two men do not speak the same language and, therefore, communicate using visions of cities both real and fantasy, hence the title, Invisible Cities. The story is based loosely on the novel by Italo Calvino of the same title.

The ‘Invisible Cities’ are created through digital animations used as backdrops to set each scene, with themes of power and imagination being prominent throughout.

Here’s a brief insight into the show.

Performed in the location it was created for, Mayfield, Manchester’s iconic and once derelict railway depot, Invisible Cities is being performed on Thursday 11th July and Sunday 14th July. For tickets and more information click here.

Maggie the Cat


From Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Maggie the Cat is the centre focus of this dance performance choreographed by Trajal Harrell. Power, gender and rejection are just some of the themes explored and addressed through dance.

The act is said to be inspired and influenced by a wide range of eras, places and events, from ancient Greek theatre to the Harlem underground. The show is set to make you feel a range of emotions as you progress through the story, but ultimately, entertained.

Here’s a little clip of Trajal Harrell talking about the performance.

Maggie the Cat is being shown at The Dancehouse from Thursday 11th July until Sunday 14th July. For more information and ticket prices click here.

Maggie the Cat is to be premiered at the Manchester International Festival as the first part in an upcoming trilogy - so look out for the next two performances!

Thank You Very Much


A performance that has been put on by dance choreographer Claire Cunningham, and some of her leading disabled performers, who explore the world of professional tribute artists.This performance is set to be a show of glitz and glamour filled with song and dance.

Research for this performance has been done as all performers have spoken with tribute artists to get a feel of what it’s like to entertain as a tribute act, so it’s set to be a spectacular show!

Check out this video for a little taster of what to expect.

You can watch Thank You Very Much from Wednesday 17th July to Saturday 20th July at the Ukranian Cultural Centre. For more information and to buy tickets click here.

If you can’t make the show in Manchester, Thank You Very Much will be heading up to Scotland for some performances in October and November in Glasgow.

Which performance would you most like to see this year at the Manchester International Festival?

If you’ve already been to the Manchester International Festival, perhaps you’ve seen some of the earlier performances such as Alphabus and Abida Parveen. Let us know via our socials what you thought!