Tightrope, Gathered Together Festival (Dance review)

Tightrope, the opening night performance at Gathered Together 2026, was a joyous introduction to Scotland’s premier disability-led dance festival.

Performed by Indepen-dance and Amici Dance Theatre Company, the show filled Tramway’s main stage, using circus to tell a story about resilience and hope. First performed by Amici in London in 2010, this revamped performance keeps to the core story of an ageing circus company fighting against the odds to survive.

The piece is thoroughly inclusive, with each dancer bringing their own personal skills and abilities into the spotlight. The show thrives on the large ensemble working together to build a strong, fast-paced narrative. With a base in dance and physical theatre, and flourishes of impressive circus skills including clowning and aerial acrobatics, the performance feels choc-full of variety.

The characterisation of the circus characters through physicality is exciting, with particular personas such as the dark ringmasters, who fit perfectly into the panto villain, melodramatic baddie role as they try to shut the circus down. And the opera singer in a recurring skit which comes back again and again…and again, as she painstakingly tries (and fails) to break a glass, just one example of irony and black comedy to which peels back the layers of the shiny, sincere tone.

There was a whirlwind of styles and genres of dance on show. A particular standout was the sultry Carmen piece, which saw some dramatic swishes and swoons in beautifully executed wheelchair-user-inclusive dance in the classic flamenco style. Alongside this was fantastically framed contemporary physical theatre and some spirited Highland dancing as part of Jock the Knife, which proved to be a favourite scene amongst audience members.

Towards the end of the performance, the jovial tone shifted into a more powerful narrative as the characters do everything they can to save the circus. This led to some particularly poignant moments, like when all of the performers brought on balloons on a string before simultaneously letting them go or the dramatisation of the tent catching fire in which the cast physically created the slinking and slithering flames.

The piece was bold, chaotic and a sensory delight. But what makes Tightrope particularly captivating is the inclusive dance at its heart. This collaboration between Indepen-dance and Amici is a stellar example of how powerful it can be when different bodies, abilities and ways of moving are not simply included, but are central to the performance.

Tightrope was wonderful: big, loud, joyful and a refreshing reminder of what inclusive dance can do when it is given the space to be spectacular.

Tightrope