Who are the Dance People? All of us!

Dance People by Omar Rajeh

By Kathy Elgin, 15 August 2025

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“these were often difficult to penetrate, despite the urgency of its political stance”

Reviewed at University of Edinburgh: Old College Quad, Edinburgh on 10 August 2025

Dance People (Omar Rajeh, Mia Habis)

Maqamat

Omar Rajeh, Director, Dancer

Makram Kadi, Set Designer

Jana Rizkallah, Costume Designer

Guy Hoare, Lighting Designer

Peggy Olislaegers, Dramaturgy, Dancer

Ziad Jamaleddine, Set Designer

Jimmy Elias, Video

Shereen Abdo, Vocals

Mia Habis, Dancer

Fabian Tohmé, Dancer

Clara Cafiero, Dancer

Elise Bruyère, Dancer

Nunzio Perricone, Dancer

Jihun Choi, Dancer

Kinda Gozo, Dancer

The Australian Ballet does Romeo and Juliet: precision over passion

Katie Lawrence, 24th April

This revival of Romeo and Juliet combines vivid staging and technical leads, but the lover's careful partnership lacks the volatility that makes young love convincing and tragedy believable.

***11

Acosta's Don Quixote for BRB: polished but not quite enough panache

Jonathan Gray, 23rd April

Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote for Birmingham Royal Ballet returned to Sadler's Wells with polished but low-key interpretations across the board.

***11

The Royal Ballet and McGregor: stunning dancing but nothing really new

Deborah Weiss, 18th April

An evening of ballets by Wayne McGregor, including the world premiere of Quantum Souls, proved to be a little too much of the same thing.

***11

Natalia Makarova's La Bayadère: a night to remember in Oslo

Vikki Jane Vile, 17th April

Norwegian National Ballet gives a marvellous rendition of Natalia Makarova's La Bayadère. Opening night in Oslo was a strong argument for its place in any season, displaying ballet escapism at its best.

****1

The Center Will Not Hold: Dorrance Dance thrills at Sadler's Wells

Daniel Pratt, 17th April

Dorrance Dance offer a compelling mix of genres in The Center Will Not Hold – high energy, full of surprises, top quality performances.

****1

Scottish Ballet’s Starstruck: plenty of pzazz in Glasgow

Kathy Elgin, 16th April

Christopher Hampson’s newly updated Starstruck is thoroughly entertaining with sexy solos, classical pas de deux and lines of perfectly-timed Broadway hoofing.

****1

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Kathy Elgin

After a career in publishing, Kathy Elgin turned her enthusiasm for dance into a real job by joining the late, great John Percival, Dance Critic of The Times, in his re-launch of Dance and Dancers magazine in 1981. She was later delighted to join its rival, The Dancing Times, as Scottish correspondent until the magazine’s sad demise in 2022. She lives in Edinburgh.