Dance Umbrella, London’s annual international dance festival, has announced that Eshu at the Crossroads — a new family production combining Afro-Cuban dance, live performance and puppetry — will tour three London venues this autumn as part of its 2026 programme.
The show brings together Cuban-British choreographer Miguel Altunaga and pioneering puppetry company Theatre-Rites, led by Artistic Director Sue Buckmaster. Drawing on Yoruba culture, myth and storytelling, the production centres on a traveller who arrives at a mysterious crossroads and must choose which path to take. Presiding over the scene is a powerful rooster, while the trickster spirit Eshu — mischievous, unpredictable and full of surprises — watches on, ready to intervene in the decision.
Aimed at audiences aged five and above, the show runs across three dates: The Albany on 24 October, CASA at Brixton House on 25 October (tickets on sale from 3 August), and The Place on 27 October. Ticket prices and show times vary by venue.
The Artists Behind the Production
Miguel Altunaga is a choreographer and movement director whose career has spanned some of the most respected dance companies in the world, including Danza Contemporánea de Cuba, Rambert, the Hofesh Shechter Company and the Akram Khan Company. He has created work for institutions including Phoenix Dance Theatre, the Royal Ballet and Opera, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Acosta Danza and Tate Modern, and has served as a judge for BBC Young Dancer. His choreographic practice draws on contemporary, classical and Afro-Cuban influences, and he has received nominations at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards for Outstanding Male Performance, Best Dancer and Best Modern Choreography.
Theatre-Rites, founded by Sue Buckmaster, is recognised as one of the UK’s foremost puppetry companies for young audiences. Buckmaster — a fifth-generation theatre practitioner — is known for her “puppet whispering” technique and her exploration of animism through performance. She has directed more than 30 productions for Theatre-Rites, including The Welcoming Party at Manchester International Festival 2017, and has worked as a dramaturg and director with institutions including the National Theatre and the Akram Khan Company. She holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex and is an adviser for Sadler’s Wells and Polka Theatre.
About Dance Umbrella Festival 2026
Dance Umbrella was founded in 1978 and has since grown into one of the UK’s most significant platforms for contemporary dance. Each autumn, the festival presents work by British and international artists across London’s venues, public spaces and online, frequently offering UK audiences their first encounter with internationally acclaimed choreographers. The festival also commissions and co-produces new work, supporting the development of emerging choreographic talent.
The 2026 festival runs as a live programme from 7 to 27 October, with a digital pass available through to 30 November. Dance Umbrella is supported by Arts Council England and the British Council, and leads the Diversifying Curatorial Stewardship initiative, which aims to broaden access to curatorial leadership through residencies, fellowships and international advocacy. The organisation is co-led by Artistic Director and Co-CEO Freddie Opoku-Addaie and Executive Director and Co-CEO Tania Wilmer.
Further information about the full festival programme, including Eshu at the Crossroads, is available at the Dance Umbrella website, with the wider festival listings also available online.
