What dragged you away from your home in 2013 | Top performance dance

In the next couple of days, the InOut team pay tribute to the performances, shows and events that have impressed them the most over the last 12 months.

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Jan 6, 2014

1. The Illegal Trilogy
For one weekend in April the three moody masterpieces Desperation, F.U.B.A.R and Blackout were played out one after the other in a magnificent assault on the senses and an unmissable celebration of Denmark’s most thought-provoking choreographers, Kasper Ravnhøj and Jacob Stage. An alluring combination of live bands, amazing dancers and edgy themes made these performances the contemporary dance highlight of the year.

2. Copenhagen Summer Dance
The Copenhagen Police HQ backyard once again provided the perfect open-air setting for an international programme of modern dance. Ninety breathless uplifting minutes of arrestingly exceptional excerpts from Danish and international performances made this the dance festival of the year. Look out for it in 2014 and get there early.

3. Rød + 32 Variations
Rød created an atmosphere of swarming soulful intensity to the tones of Shostakovich’s tribute to the war dead, while 32 Variations’ baroque costumed dancers swayed in and out in what Politiken called a “lightfooted capricious piece”. Dansk Danseteater are surely Denmark’s most talented dance troupe.

4. Detour Dance Festival
Dansehallerne hosted a lethal cocktail of urban dance with a contemporary twist: from stylish Anna Näsström’s voguing in a box of light to the tight hypnotic choreography of Norwegian crew dEEp doWN dopEIZM, ending with an explosion of energy from the irrepressible Soul Mavericks.

READ MORE: A detour worth taking

5. Forum Humanum
Putting 52 dancers on the stage is a hell of a risk, but under the direction of inventive choreographer Kitt Johnson, they beckoned us into a visionary and intoxicating universe that left us uncomfortable, but wanting more.