A glitter-covered witch and a naked man putting his flag where the sun doesn’t shine – there’s always something unexpected to see at Dance Umbrella. After 44 years and now under its fourth artistic director, Freddie Opoku-Addaie, the festival continues to bring new local and international voices to the London stage.
This triple bill comprises three very personal solos, each an intense internal journey. The witch is Joy Alpuerto Ritter, best known in the UK for performing with Akram Khan. Babae (meaning “woman” in the Philippine language Tagalog) is inspired by early 20th-century dance pioneer Mary Wigman’s Witch Dance and her use of ritual and trance. Ritter draws on Philippine folk dance, classical, contemporary and voguing. She has a sage presence and extraordinarily expressive feet and hands, her fingers scuttling off like independent creatures, putting a spell back on her own body.
