The best dance and ballet shows in April 2026

Kenneth MacMillan’s psychological thriller inspired by the real life murder-suicide of Crown Prince Rudolf and his mistress Mary Vetsera returns to the Royal Opera House. Sounds scandalous? That’s because it is. This morbid ballet explores Rudolf’s obsession with death, and the events that led up to the infamous demise of Rudolf and Mary, set to a melodramatic score by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. 

Groundbreaking hip-hop company and Olivier Award winners Boy Blue brings Cycles to the Roundhouse. Exploring life and death, cycles of nature and the idea of constant movement, Cycles is an abstract work that departs from Boy Blue’s other works that often centre Black trauma. Based on the spectacular success of Boy Blue's production Free Your Mind, Cycles is sure to be a knock-out. 

It’s said that Pina Bausch often pondered the idea of reprising her works with the same cast years later. Now, almost 20 years after the choreographer’s death, her wish is coming true. The original cast of Bausch’s Kontakthof reunites for this special performance five decades after its premiere in 1978. With Meryl Tankard choreographing the 2026 work, the present and past versions of Kontakthof interact, alongside projections of archival footage from the original performance. This is a rare opportunity to see a classic work of modern dance with its OG cast. 

As part of Elixir Festival, Canadian dance artist Louise Lecavalier is staging the UK premiere of  UK premiere of danses vagabondes. In her kaleidescopic and mesmirising style, combining everything from gestures, to impulses and elements of vogueing, Lecavalier dons the many faces and stories of the vagabond.