Dance Nation (Oberon Modern Plays)

WINNER: 2017 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize



“Maybe this is the year, this is the moment, this is the dance where your lives will start!”



Somewhere in America, a revolution is coming, an army of pre-teen competitive dancers plot to take over the world one routine at a time. And if their new routine is good enough, they’ll claw their way to the top at the Boogie Down Grand Prix in Tampa Bay.



But in Clare Barron’s raucous pageant of ambition and ferocity, these young dancers have more than choreography on their minds, because every plié and jeté is a step toward finding themselves, and a fight to unleash their power.



With a pre-teen battle for power and perfection raging on and off stage, Dance Nation is a ferocious exploration of youth, ambition and self-discovery.



‘insanely talented playwright Clare Barron… [has] sharpness and poignancy that you’re not sure whether to cringe, cry or roar with happiness… blazingly original.’ New York Times






"Riotous, rattling, sensational new play." Five Stars, Time Out New York