Dance North Scotland’s annual dance festival, RISE, will return to The Park Ecovillage, Findhorn, on the weekend of Friday 23 – Sunday 25 May.
This year’s RISE programme will deliver a unique programme which celebrates the connections between us, delivering what has been described as a ‘powerful, life-affirming weekend of performance and participation’ (Kelly Apter, The List).
Supported by multi-year funding from Creative Scotland, Dance North have brought together an extraordinary line up of international artists and performers to explore how we live, dream and move in extraordinary times.
Storytelling is at the heart of this year’s festival, inviting audiences to share in the personal experiences and journeys of the programmed artists through performance, participation and conversation.
Artists and performances this year include…
A random encounter with a camera in Estonia made Rakesh Sukesh a momentary poster boy for a right wing media campaign against immigration. In because i love the diversity (this micro-attitude we all have it), Rakesh tells his story through the powerful semi-improvisational, trance-like movement technique that has made him such an in-demand teacher, choreographer and dancer across the world.
A Palestinian born in Jerusalem, Ashtar Muallem tells her story, her relationship to her country, to her body and spirituality in Cosmos, a funny and moving show developed in collaboration with Clément Dazin. Navigating between Palestine and France, seeking equilibrium and comfort in both lands. Inspired by Jerusalem and cherished memories of her grandmother, she seeks a connection with the Divine.
Charlotte Mclean’s critically-acclaimed And (★★★★★ The Scotsman) is a dance poem about wonder, worries and being alive. A homage to the mothers and grandmothers who have danced before us and the children we are yet to meet, And invites us to consider our view of the world, to relate, debate and dance.
Riotous exploration…
In Long Solo 4, Seke Chimutengwende embarks on a one-hour performance without a plan. As he faces the empty space, alone, he draws on memory, sensation and imagination to conjure worlds out of nothing. A fusion of dance, poetry, stand-up, storytelling, philosophy and politics: a riotous exploration of the present moment.
In Richard Layzell’s The Perfect Number, through live performance and on film, at the same time, we explore dreams, other living beings, brutality and survival, trees fighting back, how to pose, wearing the wrong clothes, undisciplined golfers, the Centre of the World and finding the Perfect Number.
Created by Marie Béland and Simon Laroche of Montreal, RADIOMATON is a total sensory and immersive experience which questions the construction of truth, media contamination, fake news and the role of the body in the perception of information. Installed in a cubicle resembling a photo booth and equipped with headphones broadcasting live a local radio station, each RADIOMATON user must repeat aloud the words they hear, while imitating the gestures that are displayed on the screen in front of them.
Audiences will be invited to sit up and listen to our RISE artists in conversation with Māori contemporary dance artist and cultural advocate, Paige Shand Haami, recorded live for our newly launched podcast, Dance North Conversations… These discussions will offer insight into the personal experiences and journeys of our programmed artists while looking ahead to RISE 2026, with its focus on First Nations and Indigenous artists.
International backgrounds
This year Dance North are offering a three day full Festival pass for £85, which gives everyone access to all shows, workshops and parties, with a couple of exceptions, clearly denoted. Tickets for individual performances cost £15 and tickets to workshops £10-12.
Karl-Jay Lewin, RISE Festival Director, said: “RISE 2025 will bring together artists from different international backgrounds, each sharing their unique stories while celebrating the powerful connections between us.
“The recognition of our interconnectedness—how our individual experiences resonate with one another—is something that inspires and energises me and has shaped the curation of this year’s festival.
“This year expect programme that packs the occasional punch, but above all is uplifting and often humorous. Each performance has been carefully chosen to challenge, provoke, and inspire—offering something for everyone, whether you’re a dance aficionado or simply curious.
“Be still, sit back and listen; celebrate, debate and relate; dance and feel alive at RISE 2025.”
Main pic: Christophe Raynaud de Lage