Birmingham International Dance Festival 2022

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Fri 17 Jun 2022 - Sun 03 Jul 2022

Birmingham International Dance Festival (BIDF) returns this spring with productions in the city's theatres and a takeover of Birmingham's public spaces - all celebrating the city's distinctive spirit of diversity, inclusivity and togetherness.

Produced by FABRIC (the new strategic organisation created by the recent merger of DanceXchange and Dance4) BIDF is presented this year in partnership with Birmingham 2022 Festival. Much of BIDF is free and outdoors with many opportunities to participate plus a theatre programme showcasing some of the best in current choreography, online screendance and professional industry events.



Across three weeks between 17 June and 3 July, the festival will feature newly commissioned work by UK artists plus dance from around the globe including nine world premieres and 11 UK premieres.

Lucie Mirkova, Head of Artistic Programmes at FABRIC, says: "We are bringing world-class dance to the city's theatres, outdoor spaces and online platforms. This year the features artists from Commonwealth countries such as India and South Africa and the first nations of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Work will be exploring themes of identity, home from home and diaspora journeys. Our ambition is to showcase Birmingham as a global dance destination, a dancing city with its public spaces as a dance floor. We hope everyone will see dance as a joyful part of their cultural life."

The opening weekend of Friday 17 to Sunday 19 June features Birmingham Is A Dancefloor with dance in Centenary, Chamberlain and Victoria Squares as well as Brindleyplace and invites audiences of all backgrounds and abilities to join in. Highlights include the world premiere of Sense from Critical Mass and the UK premiere of French Compagnie Dyptik's Mirage, taking over Victoria Square where fences, barbed wire, rusty metal sheets and hanging flags are the backdrop to an athletic performance featuring traditional dances inspired by the experience of the inhabitants of a camp on the West Bank.



On Thursday 24 to Sunday 26 June, Dance Around the World, offers a packed line up of the best of international and UK outdoor dance across the city centre. It features KRE8! an experimental dance battle and a daring circus performance inside a huge 7m high rotating hourglass with Timeless from Joli Vyann.

On Saturday 2 to Sunday 3 July BIDF moves to Handsworth Park for a weekend of high-energy, dance activities for all the family, with performances from international dance companies, brand-new hip hop dance commissions, live music and local community groups.

The on-stage programme sees dance at Birmingham Hippodrome, The Patrick Studio and Midlands Arts Centre hosting a series of shows including Mavin Khoo and Akshay Sharma's Desiring God, Birmingham Royal Ballet's On Your Marks, Tentacle Tribe's Ghost, Kaha:wi Dance Theatre's Blood, Water, Earth and Compagnie Kadidi's Mailles.

Midlands Made 2022 will offer a new screendance programme by international artists and Midlands talent featuring new dance films created especially for the festival. And there will be a digital programme curated by artists from across the Commonwealth focused on culture and questions of identity.

Raidene Carter, Executive Producer of Birmingham 2022 Festival, says: "BIDF will bring every conceivable place and space to life this summer. The range of events is staggering and there's truly something for everyone. With nine world premieres, this programme rivals any dance festival in the world, making Birmingham the destination for dance this summer."

Find out more at www.bidf.co.uk

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!date 17/06/2022 -- 03/07/2022
%wnbirmingham