Happy New Year from Dincwear Pro Dancewear.

January 2026 Edition

We hope that all our friends had a great Christmas and wish you a fantastic New Year!!

Upcoming 2026 News Highlights.

Recent dance production news highlight.

Major UK tours like Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Don Quixote, Sadler’s Wells launching a new Dance Digital festival, and ongoing international showcases via Dance Consortium and One Dance UK. Key themes include celebrating anniversaries (BalletBoyz), fostering new talent (Breakin’ Convention’s Emerge+See), digital innovation (Sadler’s Wells’ Dance Digital), and evolving industry challenges with new leadership appointments in major companies.

Major Productions & Tours.

• Birmingham Royal Ballet is touring Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote across the UK in 2026 after a successful run with Black Sabbath – The Ballet.

• BalletBoyz is celebrating 25 years with a new production, Still Pointless, marking their return to the stage.
• Breakin’ Convention, the hip hop dance festival, announced a major UK tour for 2026.

Festivals & Digital Initiatives.

• Sadler’s Wells launched Dance Digital, a new dance film festival, and offers free classes to kick off 2026.
• Eliot Smith Dance presented MERGING, a digital fusion of dance, music, and art.

Industry Developments.

• Dance Consortium expanded its network with four new UK venues (Aberdeen, Blackpool, Buxton, Wycombe Swan) to bring international dance to more audiences.
• National Dance Company Wales (NDCWales) appointed Amanda Roberts as Executive Director and Joint CEO.
• The Place appointed Professor Roni Brown as its new Chair of the Board of Governors.

Dance Consortium Brings Michael Keegan-Dolan’s Acclaimed ‘MÁM’ on Debut UK Tour.

   

Dance Consortium is making history with its latest tour, marking two significant firsts: the organisation’s inaugural presentation of an Irish company and the long-awaited UK debut of Michael Keegan-Dolan’s Olivier Award-nominated masterpiece MÁM, performed by Teaċ Daṁsa.

This nine-venue tour runs from 3 February to 4 March 2026, opening at The Lowry in Salford Quays and visiting major theatres across the UK, including Birmingham Hippodrome, Brighton Dome, and Mayflower Theatre Southampton.

MÁM, which premiered to sell-out crowds at Sadler’s Wells in 2020, represents a deeply personal milestone for Keegan-Dolan. It is the first work fully conceived and created after he relocated his company Teaċ Daṁsa to West Kerry in 2019, drawing profound inspiration from the region’s native language, rugged landscape, musical traditions, and community.

Legally Blonde musical tour sets full cast joining Amber Davies.

The much-loved musical, which follows a misjudged young woman who overcomes social expectations and becomes a successful Harvard Law School graduate, is heading out on a new tour this year.

With music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, and a book by Heather Hach, the musical is based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture of the same name.

It was first seen on Broadway in 2007, with a West End production opening in 2010, where it won three Olivier Awards.

Curve artistic director Nikolai Foster will direct the new production, produced by Curve and ROYO, who also collaborated on the tour of Kinky Boots set to arrive in the West End. Legally Blonde will open at the Leicester venue in 2026 and tour across the UK into 2027.

As already revealed, Amber Davies will lead the company as Elle. Joining her will be Hannah Lowther as Margot and the alternate Elle Woods. Lowther and Davies will star alongside George Crawford as Emmett, Karen Mavundukure as Paulette, Adam Cooper as Callahan, Jamie Chatterton as Warner, Annabelle Terry as Vivienne, Jocasta Almgill as Brooke, Rosanna Harris as Serena and Remi Ferdinand as Pilar. Ty-Reece Stewart will play Kyle and Bradley Delarosbel will play Carlos.

The cast is completed by Keanna Bloomfield, James Lim, Aaron Shales, Jaime Tait, Daisy Twells, Louie Wood, Raiaz Fisher, Dylan Gordon-Jones, Lauren Hampton and Ollie Hart-Bradford.

Joining Foster on the creative team are choreographer Leah Hill, musical supervisor and additional arrangements Matt Spencer-Smith, set designer Colin Richmond, costume designer Tom Rogers, wigs, hair and make-up designer Sam Cox, lighting designer Ben Cracknell and sound designer Adam Fisher.

General News & Sighting

• Former Lioness Karen Carney and pro dancer Carlos Gu won the 2025 series of Strictly. The evening also marked the final time presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman co-hosted the live weekend show together.
• Equity UK is balloting members working in film and television to gauge their support for taking industrial action short of a strike over the use of AI on screen projects. (The Stage 4/12/25)
• Corey Baker won the Best Choreography award at the 2025 Astra Creative Arts Awards for his work on the Netflix series “Wednesday”. At the ceremony, his “Dead Dance” was performed by Evie Templeton and Emma Myers.
• Graham Watts, the leading dance critic, listed his 12 top dance shows of 2025.
• Base Dance studios in London unveiled plans for a major upgrade to its facilities, aiming to become the UK’s largest open dance studio.
• TV star Scarlett Moffat was crowned the winner of the 2025 Strictly Christmas special with her partner Vito.
• Strictly stars Amy and Carlos announced their “Reborn” tour which will begin in May.
• The Olivier Awards will take place at the Royal Albert Hall on the 12th of April. This year marks its 50th anniversary.
• Musical Con will take place at the Excel Centre in London on the 17th & 18th of October.
• The “William Wallace” hip hop musical will tour Scotland next year. It will begin at the Beacon Arts Centre in Greenock on the 23rd of September.
• The full cast has been revealed for the upcoming UK tour of “Legally Blonde”. The show will star Amber Davies, Hannah Lowther, Adam Cooper and Remi Ferdinand and have choreography by Leah Hill. It opens in Leicester on the 7th of February.
• “High Society” is to be revived at the Barbican theatre in London on the 19th of May before touring the UK. The show has choreography by Anthony Van Laast.
• “Barnum” announced the full cast for its UK tour. The show will open in Windsor on the 3rd of February and have choreography by Oti Mabuse and Matt Nicholson.

Future Dance Events News

• A musical stage adaptation of the film “Coyote Ugly” will come to the West End in 2027. It will be directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell.
• “Just For One Day; The Live Aid Musical” is to embark on a UK tour in 2027. The show has choreography by Ebony Molina.
• “Heathers the Musical” will return to the UK from Summer 2026 for a new tour. The show will have choreography by Gary Lloyd.
• A new production of “Fame” will run from the 28th of July until the 15th of August 2026 at the Theatre Royal Plymouth. It will have choreography by Tom Jackson Greaves.
• “Dirty Dancing” will be touring the UK from the summer of 2026. The show will have choreography by Austin Wilkes and open in Milton Keynes on the 27th of August 2026.
• A new revival of “Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” has been confirmed for this year as part of the new season from the Birmingham Rep.
• The cast has been revealed for the revival of “Singin’ in the Rain”, at the Royal Exchange theatre in Manchester. It will star Louis Gaunt, Laura Baldwin and Danny Collins and have choreography by Alistair David. The show will run from the 29th of November until the 18th of January 2026.
• “Barnum” will be touring the UK from February 2026. The show has choreography by Oti Mabuse and Matt Nicholson and will star Lee Mead.
• “Mean Girls The Musical” will open on tour in Manchester on the 23rd of February 2026. The show has choreography by Casey Nicholaw.
• A musical version of “10 Things I Hate About You” is officially in the works. It will have choreography by Christopher Wheeldon.
• “Prescilla Queen of the Desert” will embark on an International tour from February 2026, opening at the Palace Theatre in Manchester. The choreography is by Matt Cole

Auditions & Vacancies

• Pearson Casting has an open audition for unrepresented dancers in London on the 17th of January. See the website for details.
• Peel Talent has an audition for dancers wanting to work on cruise ships on the 8th of January in London. For more details: auditions@peeltalent.com
• Royal Caribbean has an audition for dancers in Manchester on the 24th of January. Visit: royalcarribeanproductions.com
• GG Staffing are auditioning dancers for jobs in Cyprus at Pineapple on the 9th of January. To apply for a space contact: info@ggstaffing.co.uk
• RWS Global Talent has auditions for dancers looking to work on cruise ships on the 13th & 14th of January in London. Contact: casting@rwsglobal.com
• Cunard is holding auditions for dancers in London at Danceworks from the 13th to the16th of January. Check the website for details.
• Slick Casting is looking for street dancers aged between 16 – 21 for a major new TV series. Email: castingteam@slickcasting.co.uk

Dance Classes

• Sir Matt Bourne’s New Adventures company has open dance classes for pro dancers on the 15th & 16th of January in London. Book your place via the company website.
• Christina Andrea has classes on Tuesday from 5.00 – 6.00 pm at Pineapple, Wednesday from 7.30 – 8.30 pm at Pineapple and Thursday from 5.00 – 6.00 pm at the Manor.
• Amy Ireland has a Tap Technique class for beginners on Fridays from 12.00 – 1.00 pm at Pineapple.
• Darcey Bussell has a masterclass at the Royal Ballet Studios on the 8th of February. For more info contact: @vanessafeltonmasterclasses
• Danielle Barton has classes on Wednesdays and Fridays at Pineapple and on Saturday at the Base Dance Studio.
• London City Ballet has a series of masterclasses with Alina Cojocaru on the 22nd of February and with Lynne Charles on the 29th of March.
• Branwen Marie Owen has a Commercial class at the Arts Bar in Liverpool on the 14th of January from 8.00 – 9.15 pm. Message Branwen to book.
• Lauren Gore will be teaching a Tap class at Move It on the 20th of March at 11.15 am

Film & TV

• “Wicked: For Good” has been shortlisted for 7 catagories at the 2026 Oscars. The film has just been released on digital platforms for streaming in the UK.
• We spotted Holly Skiggs performing with Olly Murs on the BBC One Show Live.
• We spotted Rachel Muldoon, Hannah Veerapen and Jo Dyce performing at the Honorable Artillery Company Christmas Ball.
• We spotted Erin Scarfe in the latest advert for Puma.
• We spotted Nadiya Bychkova in “10 Dance” out on Netflix.
• We spotted Devon Young, Carmelle Rudder & Jo Dyce performing with Sister Sledge at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
• We spotted Hannah Veerapen in the Christmas campaign for Greene King pubs.
• We spotted the following dancers in “Whats In The Box” on Netflix: Josie Pocock, Rachel Muldoon, Hannah Veerapen & Kelly Chow. The choreography was by Matt Flint and Stephanie Powell Baxter.
• We spotted Alana Rixon in the new movie “The Running Man”.
• We spotted Ruby Hood, Darcey Simmons & Tom Fryearson on “The Masked Singer” Christmas special.#We spotted Zadie Amelia, Lashay Harvey, Renae Hughes & Elise Clinton performing with Rita Ora in Austria.  The choreography was by Kieran D-W.

Pro Dancer News Published by the Dincwear Pro Dancewear Team.

Who’s Wearing Dincwear Dancewear?

From all the news team at Dincwear Dancewear, See you all in the Next Edition!

This post has been created by the Dincwear Dancewear Team.