Not for Glory redefines Celtic dance with irreverence and heart
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- Jack Anderson revisits his past as a champion Irish dancer in Not for Glory, using sharp, segmented movements to explore how tradition can be distorted and reclaimed.
- Charlotte Mclean confronts her history as a competitive Highland dancer, performing with a wild, unhinged energy that rejects rigid rules while questioning her own relationship to the art.
- Malin Lewis reimagines bagpipe performance in the show, building on their 2024 album Halocline to transform the instrument into a haunting, contemporary voice.
- Not for Glory blends folk dance and live piping with anarchic theatricality, deconstructing the links between dance, class, militarism, and misogyny in Celtic traditions.
- Not for Glory is performed at Assembly @ Dance Base in Edinburgh until 23 August before moving to Cecil Sharp House in London as part of the Dance Umbrella festival.
Why it matters: Traditional dance forms rarely face such candid critique and reinvention on stage—this show shifts the cultural conversation by centering personal disillusionment and reclamation, offering a new model for how heritage art can evolve without reverence. The move to London’s Dance Umbrella ensures wider influence beyond the Edinburgh Fringe.
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