IDFB Magazine by danceXchange

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WelCOMe

a FeW WOrds FrOM tHe direCtOrs... It’s fantastic to be back writing to you about the next International Dance Festival Birmingham.

COntents Birmingham a dance capital?

A Cuban Classic

Outspoken Artists present UK Exclusives

Circa

My Name is Khan... Akram Khan

Mark Morris

5 SOLDIERS Poster

Pull out listings, venue & booking guide 10 & 11 Dance stars of the future have their say!

Beyond Riverdance...

Buckets of fun!

Games & Puzzles

60 seconds with a dance manager

It’s Competition Time!

Victoria Square in Folk Fusion Makeover

Dancing the Waterways

Put Your Foot Down!

The IDFB Dance Challenge

Follow the Festival on BBC WM

Dancing our way to 2012

In 2008 we set the ball rolling, bringing Birmingham alive for a whole month with dance from across the globe. When we came to look at this year’s programme we knew we wanted to go even further with more amazing performances in theatres, and even more outdoor events to capture people’s imagination and attention! Our plan with this magazine, a new addition to IDFB promotions, was to give you much more of a “behind the scenes” look at this year’s event. Inside you’ll find interviews with some of the big names, including Akram Khan (p7), Mark Morris (p8) and Colin Dunne (p13); features on our outdoor spectacles (p16); our grand finale event, which you can get involved in (p17); fun stuff including puzzles and a competition (p14 & 15); a useful pull-out listings guide (p10 & 11); and much more. From shows in our great Birmingham city centre venues to impromptu events in town centres across the West Midlands, IDFB 2010 is designed to entertain, inspire and engage. We hope that, whatever you choose to see or take part in, you’ll enjoy your IDFB experience – rest assured you’re in the company of some of the world’s finest dance artists.

David Massingham Artistic Director, DanceXchange Co-Artistic Director IDFB 2010

Stuart Griffiths Chief Executive, Birmingham Hippodrome Co-Artistic Director IDFB 2010

PS. This year, we’ve taken over a shop in Pavilions Birmingham. From 12 April until 15 May we’ll be running classes, workshops and rehearsals in what was The Pier shop (first shop on the left as you go down the escalator/stairs from the main Pavilions entrance on High Street). We’ll also be selling tickets and merchandise, and there’ll be an information point where you can ask questions, pick up leaflets, and sign up for workshops/classes/events. Opening hours will be listed on our website, so do drop in and say hello!

If you’re travelling to Birmingham or the West Midlands for Festival activities, why not take a little time out to see what other great things this region has to offer? Enjoy a meal before a show, or really indulge and treat yourself to an overnight stay! And when you’re not enjoying IDFB activities there are lots of other things to do – from shopping ‘til you drop in one of our flagship retail centres, to mooching around our fantastic museums, galleries and leisure attractions, there’s lots of ways to make the most of your visit.

Cover image: Sutra, 27 & 28 April at Birmingham Repertory Theatre (photographer Hugo Glendinning)

To help plan your stay go to visittheheart.co.uk producers

funders

Sit perfectly still, see life leap and danc e by ll, breathe Stand perfectly sti in, stretc h out – try! then jump up, join

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media partner

accommodation partner

venue and project partners

IDFB is also working in partnership with the West Midlands Culture Programme for London 2012 to celebrate and engage people with the region’s world-class cultural offer. For more details visit www.wmfor2012.com.

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F e at u r e

Those of us who have lived in the city and seen the progression of dance here over the past two decades would heartily agree. Arguably the real kick start to dance becoming high profile in the city was the move in 1990 of the then Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet to Birmingham Hippodrome theatre where it became Birmingham Royal Ballet. The company, which celebrates the 20th anniversary of its move this year, not only brought grand classics such as Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, but has also become a creative hub with Bintley’s new works including Cyrano, Beauty and the Beast and the recent South Bank Award winner E=MC2 gaining international recognition. By developing a dance audience, the move led the way for the Hippodrome to take on its own role as a hub for work. Under the aegis of chief executive and self-avowed dance enthusiast Stuart Griffiths, the Hippodrome has massively upped its dance programme seeing international heavyweights such as Alvin Ailey, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Mark Morris, the Bolshoi, the Kirov, Rambert and Matthew

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by Diane Parkes, Birmingham Mail Dance Editor

Garcia

t co artis Flamen ia rc a G a n A

Bourne gracing the stage in recent years. The Hippodrome also provides the base for DanceXchange with its studio theatre The Patrick Centre allowing the opportunity for more experimental dance. Its programme has also featured internationally renowned companies and choreographers including Richard Alston, Hofesh Shechter, Phoenix Dance Company, Rui Horta and Garry Stewart. Under its director David Massingham, DanceXchange has developed an ambitious programme, providing a performance space for companies, running a range of dance classes for all abilities, supporting local choreographers and dancers, touring with its own company Bare Bones, and nurturing the dance talent of the future through schemes such as its Centre for Advanced Training in South Asian & Contemporary Dance and Making Choreographers. Through its Associate Artists programme, DanceXchange also fosters emerging and existing talent. Current Associate Artists are Rosie Kay, 2FaCeD DaNcE Company’s Tamsin Fitzgerald, and contemporary and hip-hop chore-

Image courtesy of Ana

Birmingham Royal Bal let’s E=MC2

anic Photographer: Roy Smilj

Birmingham Royal Ballet director David Bintley recently told me he believed our city had become the UK’s foremost centre for dance outside the capital. It’s a tall claim. When we take into account all the theatres and arts centres, the dance companies and schools and the initiatives up and down the country, can we really say that Birmingham is the provincial dance capital?

Centre for Advanced Training in South Asian Dance, students in class

ographer Mickael ‘Marso’ Riviere. But the richness of Birmingham’s offering means dance is not simply confined to the Hippodrome complex. Theatres and arts centres such as The Drum in Aston, mac in Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham Repertory Theatre and new spaces such as Ikon Eastside are fast gaining a reputation for dance performances. In fact it is the diversity of Birmingham’s dance which places it so firmly on the national grid. Festivals such as IDFB offer the opportunity for companies from across the globe to perform in our venues – and also in our streets, squares and shop windows. But there is plenty of Birminghambased talent across the different spectrums of dance. Sampad South Asian Arts has supported touring companies and choreographers such as Shobana Jeyasingh, Mavin Khoo and Tribhangi as well as providing regular showcases of new talent. And the city is home to world-renowned kathak dancers such as Anurekha Ghosh, Sonia Sabri and Nahid Siddiqui. We find European and Latin American

Dance side by side with Ana Garcia’s flamenco productions and classes, and salsa safely in the hands of Mauricio Reyes’ LatinMotion and Rohan Brown’s Salsa Fever. Based in Digbeth, ACE dance and music, under the directorship of Gail and Ian Parmel, brings together contemporary dance with African and Caribbean moves and music, with works such as Skin and Switch gaining national recognition. With satellite companies such as Motionhouse of Leamington Spa and Shropshire-based Blue Eyed Soul also providing energy to our local dance scene, there are few cities that can match Birmingham’s dance credentials. The move of Birmingham Royal Ballet to Birmingham 20 years ago galvanised the city and as we embark on our second international dance festival we can only hope the next 20 years sees us continue to develop the growing dance roots in Birmingham. Who knows, by 2030 maybe David Bintley will be saying Birmingham has even overtaken London as the country’s leading dance centre.

may Photographer: Trisha Crum

Birmingham a dance capital?

F e at u r e

A CUBAN CLASSIC by Donald Hutera

Interviewing Alicia Alonso is akin to arranging an audience with the president. Indeed, as the ballet superstar Carlos Acosta has written, the power this legendary woman wields within her native land can only be compared to that role. were on a mission to find and nurture young talent. ‘We pick out children from all over Cuba,’ she explains, ‘bring them here to Havana and teach them in our school. And it’s for free. This doesn’t happen all over the world.’

Carlos Acosta, guest appearances 27 & 28 April

Alonso founded Ballet Nacional de Cuba more than sixty years ago, having already made a name for herself in New York working both on Broadway and with the likes of iconic dance figures like George Balanchine and Agnes de Mille. While still in her 20s the acclaimed ballerina returned to Cuba to start up its first serious ballet school, and in the process she helped turn this island nation into one of the world’s great centres of classical dance.

Nearly 90, this ballet diva is a Cuban institution. She only stopped dancing in the early 1990s despite having been virtually blind for much of her career. This is reputedly one of the reasons Cuban males make such superbly attentive partners: their careful handling of Alonso became a technique.

At one point, asked about her version of Swan Lake, Alonso demonstrates from her seat the stylistic differences between it and Giselle. It’s breathtaking, a mini-master class in expressive arm movement. There’s no doubting Alonso’s wealth of knowledge about classical dance, nor the passion that still fuels her. ‘You don’t learn to be a dancer because you want to be a great ballerina,’ she says. ‘You don’t work to be a star. There are other, easier ways to become well known. You dance because you love to dance.’

At the dawn of the Revolution and with Fidel Castro’s complete support, she was ready to bring ballet to the masses. Cuba can now boast some of the most passionately informed dance audiences on the planet. But most importantly, Alonso stresses, she and her colleagues

Incredibly, Alonso danced Giselle for more than half a century. She claims to have never tired of it. ‘Let me tell you why,’ she begins. ‘It’s because the ballet is like life itself. I have never, never, never danced one ballet the same way,’ she says, slapping her desk as she repeats

Alonso and her stellar company are in Birmingham as part of the company’s first ever UK tour, with Acosta as its headline attraction.

Images courtesy of Ballet Nacional de Cuba

Just outside her office in Ballet Nacional’s studios the dancers are either taking class or rehearsing, the young and unseasoned ones thronging together to scrutinise more experienced company members in full flight. The obvious question is how does a country that is so small manage to churn out so many gifted performers, especially in the field of dance? Alonso believes it’s due to a combination of race, a climate guaranteed to keep dancers’ muscles warm and exceptional training. ‘Cuban rhythms go very well with the body,’ she adds. ‘They get deep inside you. This is something we have by nature. We’re a very expressive people. We speak with our hands, our eyes.’

the word. ‘It’s not that I change the steps. It’s the expression of my dancing. One day I’m a happier, more alive person and another more sad or settled or down. It depends how you feel.’ Despite all that she’s achieved, and the reverence in which she’s held in Cuba, Alonso voices little patience with her status. ‘I don’t know what it is to be a legend,’ she says. ‘I only know that I’m a living human being. And I know that I have met marvellous people. And other people not so good. But the ones that were not so good haven’t done anything to me but give me an experience. And the good people have

Alicia Alonso, Artistic Director of Ballet Nacional de Cuba

given me so much belief in humanity that I want to live to 200 years old.’ Donald Hutera writes regularly about dance, theatre and live performance for The Times, Dance Europe, Animated, the Dance Consortium and others.

See Ballet Nacional de Cuba during IDFB 2010 Magia de la Danza // Tue 27-Thu 29 April Giselle // Fri 30 April & Sat 1 May Birmingham Hippodrome Tickets: £16-£45

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F e at u r e

OutspOkpreesnent artists s e v i s u l C x e uk

by Paul Burns, Programme Manager, IDFB 2010

Eckhard says: “While there have been significant exchanges in the visual arts sector, in literature and to some degree in theatre, there have been no major initiatives to engage with the dance sector, and the perception in the UK of the Middle East and North Africa as areas with a progressive performance culture is very limited. I was keen to work with International Dance Festival Birmingham to share some of this incredibly interesting work with a UK audience, alongside a packed programme of debates, discussion and contextualisation.” The region is characterised by an eclectic range of voices, from

the spiritual minimal purity of Nacera Belaza (Algeria/France) and the Sufi-influenced work of Salah El Brogy, to the visually arresting productions of Omar Rajeh (Lebanon) and Taoufiq Izeddiou (Morocco). There is also, as we see in this programme with artists such as Omar Rajeh and Iraqi Bodies, a strong strand of work which references and comments on the political situation in the region. However, perhaps the most characteristic aspect of the programme presented here is the singularity and diversity of the work. These are strong artists with individual voices and aesthetics, neither conforming to conventional notions of life

and art in Arab societies, nor conforming to Western styles and aesthetics.Their work is bold, fresh and, at times, challenging, revealing the breadth of dance being produced in this area of the world. Working on this programme has been fascinating for me. I wasn’t aware of the majority of these artists prior to this process and have been stunned by the range, quality and conceptual depth of the work Eckhard has selected. I’m incredibly excited about presenting this to our audiences this year and look forward to hearing their thoughts during the discussion programme.

iou’s Aataba Taoufiq Izedd

The Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa have a fast emerging dance sector, with a growing number of festivals, performances and touring companies representing the diverse, dynamic and cosmopolitan nature of contemporary Arab culture through movement based work. A number of these companies and artists spend a significant amount of their time working in Europe and, as such, they have been enjoying an increased presence in European festivals and theatres, with specialist seasons and even a dedicated festival, Dancing On The Edge, in the Netherlands. However, until now there has been no curated season of work by Arab dance artists in the UK. We’re therefore hugely pleased to have worked with Eckhard Thiemann, curator of Outspoken, on pulling together this exciting programme of performance by Arab artists for this year’s Festival.

OUTSPOKEN Thu 29 April – Sun 2 May The Patrick Centre & Ikon Eastside Tickets from £5 The weekend includes 6 shows featuring seven different companies, most of whom are presenting work in the UK for the first time. If you want to see the full range of work on show, and attend all discussion sessions, then a weekend pass is available for just £30.

Images (L-R): Ahmed Khemis, Meryem Jazouli, Nacera Belaza’s Le Cri

IDFB’s Outspoken weekend has been granted the prestigious London 2012 Inspire mark, the badge of the London 2012 Inspire programme which recognises exceptional and innovative projects inspired by the 2012 Games. Find out more about the Inspire programme at www.london2012.com/beinspired.

DNA 6

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*take another look, what do you see

JUNE 2010 BASS BIRMINGHAM punch-records.co.uk

rtory rmingham Repe See CIRCA at Bi y // 8pm Ma 1 t Sa & April Theatre // Fri 30 0 Tickets £12-£2

F e at u r e

It’s Circus, but not as we know it... Image: Circa (photographer Colm Hogan)

Paul Burns on why circus is making its first IDFB appearance... “So, why has a dance festival included a circus piece?” you may be asking yourselves. Well, Circa is no ordinary circus piece. It’s a celebration of the incredible physical ability of its performers, and of the human body in general. Six athletic performers combine tumbling, dance and acrobatic movement in a show which, whilst constantly impressive and gasp-inducing, is also incredibly beautiful, moving, and, at times, pretty darn sexy.

Whether they’re throwing themselves at the floor, balancing seemingly impossibly on each other’s limbs, or (in one memorable section) simply curling and extending their fingers, each movement connects emotionally with the audience. It also makes you think – about trust, about power, about evolution and the human condition. The company tweaks the show every time it performs, adding or refining sections depending on how the previous performance went. But whatever the final content of the show you see at IDFB, you’ll leave with a sense of just

Image: Akram Khan’s Gnosis, photographer Richard Haughton

My Name is KhaN... AkrAm khAn “I got into doing duets for a while, with choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, dancer Sylvie Guillem and French actress Juliette Binoche, so this is really the first solo work I’ve done in four years. I wanted to strip away the classical code, so throughout the piece it’s evolving into a journey that leads towards my contemporary style. I start off as a classical dancer and end up as a contemporary dancer. Gnosis is very much about... actually it’s inspired by Gandhari, who is a mythological female character. One small reason I wanted to work with her character was because, first of all, women are not explored enough I feel, especially as heroes or heroines in mythologi-

cal stories – it’s always the male. And I found her fascinating because she was a very educated woman in the Mahabharata, she was extremely powerful and intelligent, and she was forced, let’s say, to marry a blind king. And because she had to marry this blind king she said “if you are going to give me a blind husband I’ll give you a blind wife”, so she blindfolded herself and stayed blindfolded.

how much the human body is capable of and how even the most simple movement can leave a lasting emotional effect. And you won’t even care whether it’s circus, dance or something in between.

Known for his cross-cultural and interdisciplinary work, Akram Khan is one of the most celebrated choreographers in the international dance scene. IDFB caught up with him to talk about Gnosis, where he returns to his classical Kathak roots but injects a contemporary twist. maybe all of them, but the fact that she never took her blindfold off fascinated me. That she had to hear the stories of how they were killed. That takes a lot of power, and a lot of courage, and a lot of pride in a way.”

Read the full interview with Akram, and watch edited video clips, at www.idfb.co.uk/news See Akram Khan in action at Town Hall Birmingham Fri 7 & Sat 8 May // 7.30pm Tickets £12-20 (concessions available)

She gave birth to 100 boys and 1 girl and, through the war of the Mahabharata, most of them died, I think

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intervieW

K R A MARK M S I R R MORRIS O M

Photographer: Amber Darragh

by Christopher Morley

Never seen in this country outside of London, and not seen in over ten years, Mark Morris’s acclaimed ballet L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato returns to these shores in April for performances at London’s Coliseum and Birmingham Hippodrome only, where it officially opens International Dance Festival Birmingham 2010. Once considered the bad boy of the modern dance world, Mark Morris is now an influential and internationally celebrated choreographer whose pieces have become the standard of creativity for a new generation of dancers, choreographers and critics. I spoke to Mark Morris earlier this year, interrupting him tele-watching the 1968 film of Planet of the Apes when I rang him at his New York apartment. My first question was does he find any distinction between modern dance such as he works in, and traditional choreography? “I also do ballet choreography”, he answers, “so as far as I’m concerned the only difference – a very big difference – is that in the classical ballet industry the technique differs enormously between men and women, it’s a different kind of dancing for each of them. For me, I’m very comfortable in both departments, especially as I’m still working from music.”

“That’s not my job to do that, in that we're both mid-career artists working in dance... He directs a lot more shows, we’re working in different arenas. But certainly he’s a legitimate choreographer, I’ve known him for many years and I like him, but our work isn’t for us to talk about really,” Mark chuckles. “L’Allegro is not a pre-existing dance in any way, it’s never been choreographed except by me, that I know of, whereas something like Swan Lake or Carman, is a reinterpretation. I have a Nutcracker that I did called The Hard Nut, and that could be a way of finding out if Matthew Bourne and I have similarities. But the piece I’m bringing is not pre-existing at all: I made it up!”

thrilling music if he hadn’t identified with this extremely gorgeous text of Milton, so, of course, the poem started everything and what Handel and Jennens (his librettist) accomplished in the piece is a miracle of word-painting and description. It’s an amazing piece of music. It’s very much unlike the other oratorios and operas that Handel wrote.

“Yes, I suppose. I mean, less now than in the earlier days of my company, but yes, it’s a very big interest of mine. You know, pretty much all baroque music originally stems from dancerhythms and dance-impulses, so whether it makes you dance or not, it’s still highly vivid and kinetic music, so that’s one reason – and also the stories are so good!”

“You know, I've worked a great deal with baroque music and so, as the first big project I could do with, for the first time in my life, enough time and enough money to do something on that scale, I celebrated by doing that.”

And we could so easily have gone on to talk about Mark Morris’s work in the operahouse: at the Metropolitan, at New York City Opera, at English National Opera, at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Instead I thank him for the interview and hope he enjoys the rest of Planet of the Apes. “Yes, it makes a natural transition between this and ballet,” he joked. But as I write this, I’m left wondering what he actually meant.

And we agree that “celebrate” is a good word. Then come some surprises, as Mark tells me about his musical background.

What was it that actually attracted Mark to the piece in the first place?

“I’m a musician, and my medium is choreography. I read music, I’ve had a company for 30 years, I coach musicians, I work with live music only, and I conduct a little bit. But I’m not an instrumentalist at all.”

“Well, the piece itself, of course! I mean, Handel wouldn’t have written such incredibly rich and

So is baroque music of great significance to Mark’s choreographic repertoire?

MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato with the Orchestra and Chorus of English National Opera Thursday 22 – Saturday 24 April // Birmingham Hippodrome Tickets £18.50-£49

L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, photographer Ken Friedman

Aspects of Mark’s work, such as taking inspiration from preexisting material, strike me as possibly comparable with Matthew Bourne, creator of the wonderful Swan Lake with its

all-male chorus, Play Without Words, and other marvels. Would Mark like to make any comment?

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performance diary

at a glance -------------------------------------------------------------

Mon 19 April – Sat 8 May Dancing the Waterways – Canal Work Dances

Birmingham & the West Midlands

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Mon 19 April

United Colours of Dance Out & About Folk dance performances across the region

Coventry, Hereford, Stoke, Stratford upon Avon

Thu 22 – Sat 24 April

Mark Morris Dance Group L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato

Thu 22 April – Thu 6 May KMA presents Waves

Birmingham Hippodrome Entrance to Birmingham Hippodrome

Projected on the street, this installation piece responds to the heat of passers-by -- their movement through the space influencing the patterns and rhythms of light on the ground. Encouraging unexpected and playful interactions with the public, this free event turns its audience into impromptu choreographers and performers.

Fri 23 & Sat 24 April

Rosie Kay Dance Company 5 SOLDIERS The Body is the Frontline

The Patrick Centre

Fri 23 & Sat 24 April

Liquid Loft / Chris Haring Running Sushi

Ikon Eastside

A witty comment on contemporary life, performed on a stage-cum-platter with chopstick-wielding high jumping and dance dishes served up like a sushi menu.

Tue 27 April – Sat 1 May

Ballet Nacional de Cuba Magia de la Danza & Giselle

Birmingham Hippodrome

Tue 27 & Wed 28 April

Pere Faura & Club Fisk Double Bill

The Patrick Centre

Tue 27 & Wed 28 April

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui / Sadler’s Wells London Sutra

Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Celebrated Flemish/Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui presents a dance work featuring 17 monks from the original Shaolin Temple in China, inspired by their skill, strength and spirituality.

Thu 29 April – Sun 2 May Outspoken – new performance from Arab artists

The Patrick Centre & Ikon Eastside

Fri 30 April & Sat 1 May

Circa presents CIRCA

Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Sat 1 – Mon 3 May

Utopia

Victoria Square

Tue 4 – Sat 8 May

Strictly Come Dancing The Professionals

Birmingham Hippodrome

Wed 5 May

Chanta La Mui Complot

Town Hall

Thu 6 May

Chanta La Mui Recital

Town Hall

Fri 7 & Sat 8 May

Akram Khan Company Gnosis

Town Hall

This solo kathak work, by one of the most highly acclaimed British Asian choreographers working in Britain today, is inspired by Gandhari the mythological female character from the Mahabharata story.

Fri 7 & Sat 8 May

Family Weekend: dx productions & two’s company Funny Bones

The Patrick Centre

Sun 9 May

Family Weekend: Compagnie Arcosm Echoa

The Patrick Centre

Sun 9 May

IDFB presents Visible Dances

High Street,

Birmingham City Centre Take a break from your Sunday shop to watch a cast of professional dancers plus 80 community participants present a newly created high street spectacle, choreographed by Luca Silvestrini. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tue 11 & Wed 12 May

Colin Dunne Out of Time

The Patrick Centre

Thu 13 May

Thresh Dance Company The Absent Lover

The Patrick Centre

A modern interpretation of a classic 5th Sanskrit play by Kalidasa, this is a story of love and loss as nymph Urvashi runs away from King Pururavas who desperately seeks her. Presented in partnership with sampad South Asian Arts.

Fri 14 May

Abhimanyu & Vidha Lal Kathak Duet

The Patrick Centre

This fantastically talented duo from Delhi are rising stars in the field of Kathak, and will be accompanied by Classical Indian musicians Fateh Ali (sitar), Amman Ali (table) and Imran Khan (vocals). Presented in partnership with sampad South Asian Arts.

Thu 13 & Fri 14 May

Xavier Le Roy Self Unfinished

Ikon Eastside

Fri 14 & Sat 15 May

Companhia de Dança Deborah Colker Cruel

Birmingham Hippodrome

Performed by a cast of exceptional dancers, combining feather-light grace with daring acrobatics, Cruel explores the many different forms that cruelty can take in a relationship.

Sat 15 May

Put Your Foot Down!

St Martin’s Square, Bullring

Our grand finale event, where a brand new dance routine created by hip hop star Salah will be performed simultaneously by hundreds of people that have been learning it in the run up to, and during, the Festival.

Keep your eyes peeled... There’ll be something a little unusual appearing in the city centre during IDFB – (in)visible dancin’ by Luca Silvestrini (26-30 April & 4-8 May). We’ll be revealing clues along the way, but if you spot it, we want to hear about it... so tweet, email or Facebook us!

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Wow, how do they do that? Lift her body, raise my spirits stretch, spring, jump at the dance – push past those limits. Adrian Johnson, Birmingham poet laureate 2010

v e n u e & B O O k i n g i n F O r M at i O n

venue Map ---------------------------------------------

Victoria Square

Birmingham Repertory Theatre

The IDFB Shop @ Pavilions

Symphony Hall Town Hall

Ikon Eastside

BR OA D

ST RE ET

Bullring

DanceXchange

The Patrick Centre HOLLOWAY

Birmingham Hippodrome

HEAD

Getting to IDFB It’s easy to find our venues by bus, train and metro. Network West Midlands has a range of great value single, return and one day tickets available. For timetable information and to plan your journey, go to networkwestmidlands.com

BOOking inFO --------------------------------------------As we don’t have a dedicated Festival ticket sales hotline, please contact the relevant venue direct to buy your tickets, check availability, or request further information. Alternatively, you can book online at idfb.co.uk or pop and see us in our shop at Pavilions from 12 April. Birmingham Hippodrome Hurst Street, Southside, Birmingham B5 4TB birminghamhippodrome.com 0844 338 5000 Birmingham Repertory Theatre Centenary Square, Birmingham B1 2EP birmingham-rep.co.uk 0121 236 4455

Ikon Eastside 183 Fazeley Street, Fazeley Studios, Digbeth B5 5SE ikon-gallery.co.uk 0844 338 5000 The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome Hurst Street, Southside, Birmingham B5 4TB dancexchange.org.uk 0844 338 5000 Town Hall Victoria Square, Birmingham B3 3DQ thsh.co.uk 0121 780 3333

pOke us! FOllOW us! stay in tOuCH... --------------------------------------------There are lots of ways you can follow this year’s Festival online, and lots of opportunities to tell us what you think. Here’s the info you need to find us in the digital world! Read our blog idfb.co.uk/news/category/blog

Talk to us on Twitter twitter.com/idfb If you’re Tweeting, using Twitpic, or searching for us, the hash tag is #idfb2010

Follow our photos on Flickr flickr.com/photos/idfb If you want to share your photos, please tag them idfb2010

Watch us in action on YouTube youtube.com/user/IDFB2010

No booking is needed for our free outdoor events across the West Midlands – just turn up and enjoy!

Please note that each venue may apply its own transaction charges and telephone call rates. Check our website for details or ask before making your purchase(s) in person or by phone.

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F e at u r e

KRISHNALI DHOLAKIA

18, MIDDLESEX A KATHAK STUDENT AT THE CENTRE FOR ADVANCED TRAINING I wanted to dance... to find a creative outlet which would enable me to express myself. In discovering dance, I found a whole new world and a whole new me. I’ve never looked back. I’m looking forward to... an incredibly rare variety of acts, sure to keep the audience on their toes and entertained; it’s something I wouldn’t dream of missing. I’d tell my friends to see... EVERYTHING! It is impossible to single one performance out from another – the diversity is incomparable. They should see it all!

DANCE STARS OF THE FUTURE HAVE THEIR SAY! The West Midlands is home to many talented dance students, and IDFB is a great way to satisfy their appetite for all things dance! IDFB co-producers DanceXchange asked their Centre for Advanced Training and Making Choreographers students why they got into dance, what they’re looking forward to during the Festival, and what they’d tell their friends to come and see...

student, Contemporary CAT Cross photographer Tim

DAGMAR BIRNBAUM

17, TELFORD A MAKING CHOREOGRAPHERS STUDENT I wanted to dance... first it was an alternative to a previous hobby, but then it became a way of escaping from everyday monotonous activities which gave me a buzz – now I just can’t live without it! I’m looking forward to... the exciting performances for one, but also the possibility of joining in with performances such as the final event. I’d tell my friends to see... Rosie Kay’s 5 SOLDIERS. She’s an amazing choreographer and I love her work so I’m really excited to see what her new piece is like!

JAKE COLLECT

13, ALVECHURCH A CONTEMPORARY STUDENT AT THE CENTRE FOR ADVANCED TRAINING

I wanted to dance... when I joined a dance, acting and singing group, I liked dance the best so joined more groups by my teacher telling me to audition. I’m looking forward to... the variety of performers and styles.

T Bharatanatyam CA her students, photograp Trisha Crummay

I’d tell my friends to see... Sutra, because it looks like an exciting performance as they use props and do interesting moves.

BETH-ANN GAUT

16, TELFORD A MAKING CHOREOGRAPHERS STUDENT

SASHA STANLEYGAUSEN

15, BIRMINGHAM A CONTEMPORARY STUDENT AT THE CENTRE FOR ADVANCED TRAINING

I wanted to dance... at secondary school, where I did a few shows before choosing the subject in Year 10. My friends started dancing in an after school club and I decided to join these too. It evolved from there! I’m looking forward to... the variety of work that will be involved and the diverse styles on show; also looking at the choreographers and their work. I’d tell my friends to see... probably Rosie Kay as I’ve done a workshop with her before and I think they’d be most interested in her work/style of dance. 12

www.idfb.co.uk

I wanted to dance... because I’d seen a show on TV about Riverdance and then I wanted to do Irish dancing, and the same thing happened with ballet. ers Making Choreograph Bones dance working with Bare company in 2009, O’Dwyer photographer Mike

I’m looking forward to... Circa’s performance because it looks so amazing. I’d tell my friends to see... Circa and 5 SOLDIERS because Rosie Kay choreographed it.

intervieW

ne, as he -born Riverdance star Colin Dun It’s welcome home for Birmingham ht run to The Patrick Centre for a two nig brings his solo show Out of Time w. sho ght up with him to talk about the during IDFB. Ian Ravenscroft cau

You will be performing in your ce home city at International Dan Festival Birmingham. What are your memories of growing up in Birmingham?

m I’ve always been interested in rhyth to and sound, and the issue of how e mic this particular form of danc could seemed like a whole area that I start looking at.

y My perception of the city has reall left I s. year ten last the changed in Birmingham when I was about 27, me and in all honesty it didn't bother n as I’d always had such a connectio with Ireland. I probably always felt I more Irish than I did English. But in was in Birmingham for a month 2004 doing a TV show and my that perception of it really changed in time. I found the people naturally tifriendly in a way that I hadn't iden was I n whe ered fied or rememb that actually living there myself. Now a of e mor have I e ther g livin I’m not connection with it.

ll For a while I had been wearing sma to s shoe my on nes opho micr radio a see how we could use them to get .I nice clean sound for an audience , was working with a sound designer ing using reverbs and delays and loop al things in a playful, improvisation le who this uced prod h way, whic big world of sound, which became a of kind It . Time of Out of part very happened by accident, but I was glad that it did.

first How did you find creating your full-length solo show, after performing in shows such as Riverdance?

Images: Courtesy of Colin Dunne

I don’t consider myself to be a natu ral creator. I’d love to not have to r to create my own work. But in orde own my e mak to have perform I e it work. Nobody else is going to mak and elf mys push to have I so me for that's challenging. e I toured with Riverdance for thre years and made another large show t of my own that went into the Wes y reall was it and t grea was End. That me exciting. But there was a part of cial that felt that, due to the commer ionrelat my s, show e nature of thos e ship with traditional dance, or danc e Ther ged. chan y reall had ral, in gene esom do to ting was a sense of wan thing a little bit more personal and own smaller scale to re-examine my relationship with the form and push myself as a performer. There are text, audio and film did elements in Out of Time. Why you choose to use other media?

I had also seen a lot of archive s footage of dancing from the 1930 of os vide of lot a had I and and 40s, me dancing as a kid. It just felt right that I would use these archival clips ito represent the change in the trad le tion. What I’m doing some peop wouldn’t say was traditional at all, but it’s nice for me to bounce off these archival clips and see how what I’m doing now fits into that lineage. What are your thoughts on the al relationship between tradition e and danc step Irish as such s style contemporar y dance? For me it’s each to their own. I think ld there are people who want to upho e for tradition, but I think there’s spac everyone. I started dancing at the I age of three and I’m 41 now, so was g doin was I all if that know upholding the tradition I would have own given up a long time ago. It’s my that tions ques own my and curiosity part I drive me forward. For the large t I’m think people have accepted wha doing. See Colin perform Out of Time at The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome Tue 11 & Wed 12 May // 8pm Tickets: £10 / £8 concession

www.idfb.co.uk

F e at u r e

Buckets of fun!

era’s DanSense (pictured), a hugely entertaining piece for all the family that we guarantee will leave you with a smile on your face (and possibly slightly wet too!). Both pieces are performed with the audience on all four sides of the performance space, enabling them to get up close and personal to the action.

Creating a dance piece which keeps an audience entertained, engaged and artistically stimulated can be a tricky thing to achieve. This is particularly true of work for children and their families, who can be one of the most demanding audiences around. You will generally know if a child is finding a piece dull or boring, not least because they’re likely to loudly declare this during the performance! Perhaps this is why there are relatively few companies specialising in making dance work for young audiences. For IDFB 2010, however, we’re hosting a family weekend, with two examples of work which (we hope) children will find engaging.

Paul Burns takes a look at our Family Weekend...

The second show is Echoa (Sun 9 May), by Compagnie Arcosm from France. A stunning display of manual and physical dexterity, along with dance and percussion skills, it’s a Stomp for the younger generation.

Workshops for children aged 5yrs+ have also been scheduled, and if you book for a workshop and performance you’ll get 15% off! For more details, please check our website, www.idfb.co.uk.

Funny Bones (Fri 7 & Sat 8 May) features two great pieces by international choreographers. The show starts with a brand new work by UK-based Italian choreographer Luca Silvestrini. Go! is a fun and fast-paced dance theatre piece exploring sport, with Luca’s trademark mix of physical comedy and movement. The second half of the show is Enrique Cabr-

Funny Bones & Echoa Fri 7 – Sun 9 May // Various Times // The Patrick Centre & DanceXchange Studios Tickets from £4 (workshops £3)

IDFB’s Family Weekend has been granted the prestigious London 2012 Inspire mark, the badge of the London 2012 Inspire programme which recognises exceptional and innovative projects inspired by the 2012 Games. Find out more about the Inspire programme at www.london2012.com/beinspired.

No magazine would be complete without a few puzzles to solve, so we’ve come up with a couple for all the family to enjoy. Join the dots to make your very own IDFB logo, and help the canal barge find its audience through the maze...

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Careers

60 Seconds with...

a dance manager Ever wondered what it’s like to work in dance but not as a dancer? Abi Taylor, a member of DanceXchange’s Youth Forum, talks to Festival Producer Hannah Sharpe about her career as a project manager...

Images: Ed Moore

What first drew you to the dance industry? I started dancing at the age of 3 at my local dance school and continued through until after university. I always wanted to be a dancer – Sue Rosenbloom, a teacher from when I was 16, was my inspiration and gave me the confidence to realise I could pursue a future in dance. What led you to make the transition from dancer to dance manager? I originally applied for a trainee project manager position at DanceXchange with the intention Hannah project of making contacts to further my managing from her role as a dancer. Within months ange office at DanceXch of working as a project manager, I realised I loved every minute of it and never looked back! If you’d like to join the DanceXchange Youth Forum and get more involved with dance, then email youthdance@dancexchange.org.uk and ask for details.

What are the best and worst aspects of your role as Festival Producer? There are lots of great aspects to my job. I get to work with fantastic people, help projects emerge from an idea into reality, and then experience the excitement of the end event. The worst aspect is juggling lots of different balls at the same time and worrying I might drop one along the way! Finally, what advice would you give to someone considering a career in dance? If someone was considering a career as a project manager then I would say go for it. It’s definitely worth pursuing if you’re passionate about the arts... and very organised!

IT’S COMPETITION TIME! No magazine would be complete without a giveaway of some description, and this one is no exception! We’ve got some great prizes up for grabs, including: 1. A VIP experience to The Dance Show & Clothes Show Live for you and a friend

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning one of these great prizes is answer the following question:

including all day entrance to The Dance Show & Clothes Show Live (3-5 Dec 2010), VIP seats in the Fashion Theatre, and entry to a class of your choice. www.thedanceshow.co.uk

Which well known French actress has Akram Khan danced a duet with? A. Vanessa Paradis B. Juliette Binoche C. Audrey Tatou

2. Two tickets to Akram Khan’s Gnosis at Town Hall, 7 May (7.30pm).

3. Family Pass to Compagnie Arcosm’s Echoa four tickets to see this Family Weekend production at The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome on 9 May (5pm).

4. A Sushi Masterclass for two at Woktastic’s Sushi School Unravel the mystery of sushi and get a unique flavour of what’s involved in preparing this most famous of Japanese cuisines. Courtesy of Woktastic (www.woktastic.co.uk) in support of our Running Sushi performances at Ikon Eastside, 23 & 24 April (8pm).

To enter just send your answer, plus your full name, email address, and daytime contact telephone number to idfb@dancexchange.org.uk. Alternatively you can send your entry by post to IDFB Magazine Competition, DanceXchange, Birmingham Hippodrome, Thorp Street, Birmingham B5 4TB. The closing date for entries is Monday 19 April. Summary Terms & Conditions This prize draw is open to residents of the UK, 16 years or over, except employees of DanceXchange, Birmingham Hippodrome, their partners/funders/sponsors, and their families, agents or anyone else professionally associated with the draw. Only one entry per person. Late, illegible, incomplete, defaced or corrupt entries will not be accepted. No responsibility can be accepted for lost entries. All entries must be received by the published closing date and the winner(s) will be drawn at random from all correct entries received. The winner(s) will be notified by email or telephone and their name and the name of the county where they live may be published. The winner(s) will be notified within 72 hours of the published closing date of the prize draw. Full terms and conditions available on request.

www.idfb.co.uk

Out & aBOut

o estr

yers

In 2008, we transformed Victoria Square into an urban playground of multiple stages and platforms for Watch this Space!, a dance piece mixing contemporary with street, hip hop, acrobatics, and parkour, against a backdrop of exploding cars and driving rhythms. This year, directed by Arthur Pita, folk dance styles from Russia, Spain, India and Africa will merge with a cast of contemporary dancers to present Utopia – a contemporary folk fusion featuring Balkan beats from Birmingham-based band The Destroyers. Here’s what choreographer Arthur Pita had to say when we

asked him to tell us more about what Utopia will be like: “What we’d like is a kind of folk dance fest, but one immediately panics about that because you think of soft shoes and lots of hopping! I immediately thought, oh that’s going to be really tricky, do I really want to do that. And then I thought actually there are a lot of folk groups that can be much sexier, much more interesting and much darker. So we’re going to collaborate with The Destroyers, who are absolutely brilliant, like 11 mad men on fiddles and different crazy instruments. I’m really excited about that – it’ll be a huge driving force for the piece. “There’ll be bits of furniture all over the place – basically it’ll look like 40 people plus the band have taken over the Square! It’ll be very vibrant and a real cross-cultural event, but you

won’t necessarily see an Irish section then a Cossack section – it’ll be completely mixed up.” Max Gittings from The Destroyers can’t wait for Utopia to begin: “It’s been a while since our last dance extravaganza, so we’re very excited to be part of Utopia. Being at the heart of a fully staged outdoor spectacular involving dance groups and musical sounds from across the world, whilst collaborating and forging new links with exciting and talented artists, is the very essence of what The Destroyers are all about.”

We’ve also scheduled folk dance performances and impromptu workshops in cities across the West Midlands. Where? Coventry, Hereford, Stoke and Stratford upon Avon. When? Mon 19 April. For full details visit www.idfb.co.uk/ what’s-on

ita Arthur P Arthur Pita (photographer Michael van Rooyen)

Image: The Destroyers (photographer Adrian Burrows)

D The

VICTORIA SQUARE IN FOLK FUSION MAKEOVER

See Utopia at Victoria Square, Birmingham Sat 1 – Mon 3 May 5.30pm & 10pm (Sat & Sun) 12noon (Mon only) Free of charge – just turn up and enjoy!

DA N C I N G THE T H E WATERWA WAT E R WAY S DANCING YS Originally trained as a carpenter, Australian-born artist and choreographer Paul Gazzola now produces performances, choreographies, curated events and multi-media installations for stages, galleries and site-specific settings across the globe. We asked him to reveal some of his inspirations as he prepares to create a new commission for IDFB, using the West Midlands Waterways as his scenery and a canal barge as his stage... CANAL WORK DANCES A new work by Paul Gazzola As I come to understand how the commercial canal systems in and around Birmingham brought a new age of prosperity and change to the region, I’m drawn to marvel at the incredible engineering feat of their construction and in turn to the people that made them – the canal builders. Canal Work Dances aims to celebrate these people and the surrounding architectures of bridges, locks and buildings interlinked to the rhythm of the waterways. Through movement and song the choreographic

team of Maria Blundell-Palethorpe, Mary Eddowes, Kimberley Noble, Kate Mason and myself will explore the physicality of labour and the human relationship with the barges as they move upon the canals. The challenges in being asked to make a work that will be performed on and off a canal

barge travelling along the waterways is clearly an interesting one, but as with any site-specific project its restrictions and specificities become the drive to the work, offering great directives and insights that feed back into the project.

zzola Paul Ga

Follow the barge on its route through the West Midlands Waterways...

IDFB 2010 is delighted that three programme strands – Dancing the Waterways, our Family Weekend, and the Outspoken season – have been granted the prestigious Inspire Mark, the badge of the London 2012 Inspire Programme. Join in and be a part of the 2012 Games. Find out more at www.london2012.com/beinspired 16

www.idfb.co.uk

Our barge will launch from Brindleyplace at 12 noon on Monday 19 April. From there, it will travel up through Wolverhampton and Pendeford, towards Brewood and Wheaton Aston, before returning to Birmingham city centre three weeks later. Follow the route online at idfb.co.uk. Can you spot the barge? If you spot the barge, we’d love to hear about it! Take a photo and upload it to Flickr (tag your pics idfb2010) or email it to us (idfb@dancexchange.org.uk) – or if you’re on Twitter, why not tweet about it (#idfb2010)?

Out & aBOut

put yOur FOOt dOWn!

Salsa at Sunset, IDF

B 2008

In 2008, IDFB took over The Mailbox for its grand finale event Salsa at Sunset – where not even rain could dampen the spirits of the 300+ people that joined us to perform a synchronised salsa routine with live music. This year we’ve kept the concept but changed location, bringing iconic Birmingham shopping destination Bullring to life with a hip hop groove as hundreds of people take part in Put Your Foot Down – a mass synchronised hip hop/street dance routine to mark the end of another four weeks of dance from across the globe.

“I’m really excited to come back to the UK for International Dance Festival Birmingham, and be able to share some of my creative vision with other dancers.” SALAH

LEARN THE ROUTINE We’ve already confirmed some sessions, which will take place at our IDFB Shop (see map on page 11). No need to book, just drop in on the day!

The iconic Bullring bull

Week 1, Mon 19 – Sun 25 April Mon-Fri, 5pm-6pm // Tue, 12.15pm1.15pm // Sat & Sun, 12noon-1pm Week 2, Mon 26 April – Sun 2 May Mon-Fri, 12.15pm-1.15pm // Sat & Sun, 12noon-1pm t Bboy Salah a s 2007 ionship p Cham

Week 4, Mon 10 – Sat 15 May Mon-Fri, 12.15pm-1.15pm & 5pm-6pm

St Martin’s Square, Bullring

Louise Hamer-Brown, Marketing Controller at Bullring, commented: “International Dance Festival Birmingham will bring a series of beautiful dance forms to the city and we are thrilled to be hosting the grand finale, Put Your Foot Down, at Bullring. This year we’re celebrating all that makes people feel happy through the Bullring Art Project, so supporting IDFB and hosting the final event, which invites everybody to join in and form a mass participation performance, seemed a natural unity. Anybody who attends the event can upload their videos and images to www.lifefeelsbetter.co.uk.” IDFB is thrilled that acclaimed French hip hop artist Salah (pronounced “Sal-a”) has been

Week 3, Mon 3 – Sun 9 May Mon-Fri, 12.15pm-1.15pm // Sat, 12noon-1pm // Sun, 12.15pm-1.15pm

confirmed as the choreographer of the routine that will then be taught, by West Midlands-based street and hip hop artists, to members of the public across the region. World Poppin Champion 2007 and part of the hugely successful Breakin Convention tour in 2009, Salah is the definition of the word ‘entertainer’. With massive YouTube popularity and millions of fans across the world, he’s proved that street artists can be genuine superstars. At the time of writing, teachers confirmed to spread the Put Your Foot Down magic include Clare Palethorpe, Mickael ‘Marso’ Riviere, and Kashmir Leese from Smash Bro’z – more will be revealed on our website soon.

But, we hear you say, can we still be involved without doing the routine? Of course! Don’t worry if you’re not keen on the taking part bit, or you just want to be there on the day to support a friend or family member as they strut their stuff. The finale event is much more than just the routine – we’ll have lots of dance performances on stage all afternoon to entertain passing shoppers and guests, and it’s all free of charge! Catch the Put Your Foot Down finale event at St Martin’s Square, Bullring Sat 15 May // 12noon-6pm Free of charge – just turn up and enjoy!

If you can’t make it to our city centre classes why not let us come to you? We can arrange for one of our teachers to come to your group or community and teach the routine. Email us at idfb@dancexchange.org.uk for further details. And if you can’t make it to a session but have internet access at home/school/work... Salah is in Birmingham on 30 March helping our teachers get to grips with his routine – we’ll be posting the video online afterwards so you can watch and learn from the comfort of your own home! Check it out in early April at idfb.co.uk.

www.idfb.co.uk

tHe idFB danCe CHallenge

FANCY FOOTWORK FROM OUR FAVOURITE PRESENTERS!

Brewin Dolphin’s Paul Sargent gets his toes a tappin’!

Festival Press Manager Emily Malcolm gives the lowdown on our 2010 Dance Challenge… To celebrate the nation’s love of dancing, we’ve challenged local journalists, presenters and our sponsors Brewin Dolphin to show off their twinkle toes in the IDFB Dance Challenge. Seven participants have each been given a style of dance to master in order to be crowned the winner. Will Kate Lawler become a black belt at Capoeira? Will Satnam Rana put the hip into hip hop? Will Louisa James become the next Darcey Bussell?

ITV Central’s Louisa James unveils her clues... and they all “pointe” to ballet!

Kate said, “Well

I kick box once a week, but you can hardly call me a martial artist – I can’t even do a cartwheel. But it will keep me fit for the next two months, so bring it on!” Find out who’s involved and how they’re getting on at idfb.co.uk, where we’ll be posting regular updates, videos and photos!

FOllOW tHe Festival On BBC WM! Not many of us can claim to have a dance routine named after us, but at the end of 2009 that’s exactly what happened to BBC WM presenter Joanne Malin. Called “The Malin”, it was created for the radio station’s Just Dance campaign, designed to get as many people dancing as possible. A trained dancer, Joanne has a passion that she’s looking forward to sharing with her listeners once again during International Dance Festival Birmingham. “Ever since Birmingham Royal Ballet arrived in the city 20 years ago, we’ve seen the city’s reputation for dance flourish. It’s

something we Brummies can be truly proud of. The formation of DanceXchange has further helped develop dance talent in the city, and the coverage on BBC WM will highlight the city's local dance scene and its contribution to the Festival”. You’ll be able to hear full coverage on the Mornings with Joanne Malin show, weekdays from 9.30am-12noon. With a dance diary in Phil Upton @ Breakfast and Paul Franks’ Drive Time, BBC WM will keep you up to date with what’s happening across the city. Reporters will also be out and about capturing a flavour of the events, bringing them to life on-air. Plus there will be regular updates on BBC Midlands Today, weekday evenings at 6.30pm on BBC ONE.

For full details of how to access the BBC’s coverage of the Festival, please log on to www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham and tune in to BBC WM on 95.6FM.

www.idfb.co.uk

Images: Ed Moore

Kerrang’s Kate Lawler finds out which style she’ll be getting to grips with...

Image: Bollywood Steps – Town Hall Birmingham, commissioned through People Dancing and awarded the Inspire Mark

W e s t M i d l a n d s C u lt u r e p r O g r a M M e F O r l O n d O n 2 0 1 2

danCing Our Way tO 2012 Drawing on the excitement of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and our heritage of innovation and invention, the West Midlands Culture Programme for London 2012 will show the world just what a creative and energetic place the West Midlands is. Like International Dance Festival Birmingham, People Dancing, funded by Legacy Trust UK, Arts Council England and Advantage West Midlands is one of the projects being delivered as part of the programme. People Dancing

aims to thrill people with the power of dance, involving every generation, many cultures, and creating dance events in all kinds of places. David Moorcroft, Chair of the West Midlands Leadership

Group for the 2012 Games said: “We want to make the West Midlands the region for dance in the run up to London 2012, using the power of the Games to engage with people from right across the region. The West Midlands’ Culture

Programme for London 2012 provides an excellent opportunity to showcase and celebrate the cultural strengths of the region including significant events such as International Dance Festival Birmingham.”

For the full list of projects being delivered and to find out how to be a part of the West Midlands Culture Programme for London 2012, visit www.wmfor2012.com.

www.idfb.co.uk

internatiOnal danCe Festival BirMingHaM Finale perFOrManCes

COMPANHIA DE DANÇA “Stunning... dazzles DEBORAH COLKER the imagination!”

CRUEL

BIRMINGHAM MAIL

This closing production of IDFB 2010 explores the many different forms that cruelty can take in a relationship. Colker’s work is renowned across the world for the incredible skill and concentration it demands of her Brazilian dancers. Not only do they move with feather-light grace and precision, but also with a touch of daring acrobatics and athleticism which leaves audiences astounded and exhilarated. It’s this ability to combine the passionate with the sublime that makes a performance by Companhia de Dança Deborah Colker a truly unforgettable experience.

“It’s exhilarating, breath-taking stuff” THE GUARDIAN

“Vibrantly mixing modern dance, gymnastics and circus thrills” THE SUNDAY TIMES

TICKETS 0844 338 5000 GROUPS 0844 338 7000 BOOK ONLINE www.birminghamhippodrome.com A Stage for the Best in the World

CALLS COST FROM 5P PER MIN. 6% TRANSACTION FEE APPLIES: 3% ONLINE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

FRI 14 & SAT 15 MAY