Resolution, The Place’s annual festival of new choreography returns to the London venue from 10 January – 15 February 2025 to celebrate its 35th anniversary next year.
Created by John Ashford years ago, Resolution is one of the best and fewest opportunities to witness bold and eclectic early and new-career dance, made by artists from a diverse array of disciplines.
Each year we put a list together of what to see across the festival, in order to amplify the voices and work of the early career artists that a festival such as Resolution platforms. Over 60 artists will present work at Resolution 2025, with topics including migration, illness, heritage to dance data.
Here are our best picks below!
Lucid Absurdities by Vasiliki Papapostolou AKA Tarantism
The premiere of Tarantism’s Lucid Absurdities opens Resolution 2025 on 10th January, along with three other works (each evening of Resolution features a triple bill of work!). Lucid Absurdities explores the story of two strangers at an airport who fall asleep during a flight delay, slipping into three shared lucid dreams where their subconscious minds merge. Within the dreamscape, trauma surfaces in distorted forms as hidden fears and desires collide. Blurring the line between reality and fantasy, the performance becomes a powerful metaphor for psychological projection and the delusions shaping both dreams and waking life. This narrative is brought to life through a fusion of physical theatre and street styles.
Book here.
Cathedrals by Brooke Sorensen
A provocation aimed at religious structures, Cathedrals by Brooke Sorensen sees six female dancers manifest reverence, rage and rebellion. Embodying years of generational pressure to conform to steep standards, dancers immerse the audience in a wrestle with twin tensions: the emotional tension women experience when holding conflict and the atmospheric tension palpable in cathedrals.
Brooke is also a recent graduate of The Place’s higher education arm, London Contemporary Dance School and is also a Choreodrome artist at The Place.
Visit here to book this performance on 16 January.
Also on the 16th January is Eve Walker’s For Steve, an improvised performance work between dancers and musicians influenced by the work of Steve Paxton and contact improvisation. Through conversation between dancers and musicians, For Steve asks: When are we in contact with others? How are we in contact? Is the physical the only form to access contact? For Steve offers opportunities to delve into these questions and unpick these principles through improvised conversation amongst the two art forms of music and dance in real time.
Choreographed by Congfang Xiao (Spring), Hey STOP!!! is a dance work that explores the theme of social anxiety. Combining dance and installation art in an interdisciplinary approach, the piece delves into the internal fears that shape individuals’ interactions in contemporary society. Hey STOP!!! encourages the audience to reflect on the psychological state of individuals as they navigate social environments, offering new perspectives on overcoming social anxiety and fostering mental healing.
Book here.
Golden Leaves by Eira Dance Theatre
On 17th January, dancers Billy Maxwell-Taylor and Maggie Tin Lok Chan of Eira Dance Theatre will perform the meditative duet Golden Leaves. Combining nature-inspired floorwork with elements of butoh to contemplate on Summer’s vitality within Winter’s solitude, Golden Leaves is for those seeking stillness in the busyness and warmth within Winter.
Book here.
Experiments 1-5 by Silas Grocott Cain/PussyBoy
On 11 February trans femme performance artist and choreographer Silas Grocott (founder of PussyBoy Collective) will come together with their sister dancer Delilah Grocott Cain to perform their first duet as siblings. Set in an uneasy atmosphere (accentuated by LSMarley’s music) Delilah and Silas are the test subjects for the experiments set upon them, experiments on connection, trust, observation/ witnessing, and blood. They do not seem distressed, however, rather complacent, and still find moments of care and potential joy…
Visit here to book.
JOURNAL OF 7 by Olu Alatise
Closing Resolution 2025 on 15 February is Journal of 7 (JO7) by Olu Alatise which delves into the untold and often taboo stories within African culture, focusing on the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’.
A narrative-based work conveyed in an abstract manner, JO7 weaves through themes of relationships with Olu’s mother, migration, polygyny, fatal curses, and toxic doctrines passed down through generations.
Book here.
On the same evening is Juan Sánchez Plaza’s The Renegade Master, which is touring the UK next year with Resolution one of the stops. The Renegade Master is a bold, dynamic dance show confronting social injustice, climate crisis and queerness brought to audiences by Juan, who is also founder of Nomad Dance Collective. Through powerful movement, dancers embody an oppressive force, then transform, shedding the “monster” to reveal liberation and hope. The performance ends in a queer celebration of hope and unity, inviting the audience to join the performers in an uplifting, joyful finale.
Book via the link above.
Showing work at Resolution or know someone who is? We will continue to update this list so get in touch with us!