Birmingham International Dance Festival
Lets Dance! Bring your dancing shoes as Birmingham International Dance Festival (BIDF) takes over Smithfield Festival Site for a non-stop closing celebration through dance and movement.
Putting the best Midlands talent centre stage and celebrating the city’s distinctive spirit, BIDF will present a joyful, bold and inspiring line-up of performances and workshops throughout the day for you to watch and take part in.
Closing the night, we’ll turn up the volume as our energetic DJ sets get you up and moving in whichever way you can! Expect high energy, engaging dance films on our giant screens and a mass dance project from Critical Mass, an inclusive participatory project who joins us straight from performing at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony!
This programme includes:
CRITICAL MASS
As a dance collective of both disabled and non-disabled dancers, this group of incredible young people are pushing boundaries, changing perspectives, and showing that anyone can contribute to dance and the arts. Lead Artist Zoie Golding MBE will be hosting the day, and the Critical Mass Takeover will celebrate who they are and what they’ve achieved over the last year, with film footage, participant interviews and mini performances to share with the Birmingham community.
13:30 - 16:00
This weekend, Critical Mass take to the stage once again. After their extraordinary, touching performance as part of the Opening Ceremony last Thursday, many of the participants will be chilling out at Smithfield’s Live Sites on Sunday 7 August, between 13:30 – 16:00.
13:45 (15mins) & 15:10 (40mins)
Fresh from their performance at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, inclusive dance collective Critical Mass present some celebratory highlights from their previous shows SENSE, originally performed at Birmingham International Dance Festival in June.
Critical Mass exemplifies the inclusive nature of the Games with a fully integrated cast of D/deaf, disabled and non-disabled young people aged 16-30 performing together and representing the ethnic/cultural diversity of the West Midlands region.
Critical Mass was made possible thanks to generous funding by the Spirit of 2012 charity, to encourage the legacy of London 2012. It builds on the strong foundation which dance already has in the West Midlands, working with lead delivery partner DanceXchange and in collaboration with Arts Connect and Dance Development Leaders Group (DDLG).
DANDYISM BY PATRICK ZIZA DANCE
14:45 & 18:30 (25mins)
A celebration of style and cool, the original African Dandies represented empowerment and post-colonial freedom. They appropriated the flamboyance of the 18th Century English and French plantation owners as a defiance against slavery - a resistance movement.
By the 1960s Dandyism had become a phenomenon, a political statement and a way to preserve the legacy of African culture.
In the 21st Century, Dandyism is for everyone. Dress sharp. Present your best self.
DANCE HALL ORIGINS WORKSHOP
15:55 (30mins)
A high-octane journey of Dancehall through the ages - from dinki mini to ska, rocksteady to mid-school, right through to the present day. Bring your dancing shoes and feel the vibe with some of the top Jamaican Dancehall artists based here in the UK.
After the show, it’s your turn to move your waistline and learn your willie bounce from your log-on, your pon di river from your out and bad! Absolutely no experience is necessary, everyone is welcome to join in this key part of Jamaican culture.
Dancehall Origins (DHO) promotes and supports dancers, teachers and performers from Jamaica to share their practice in the UK. As an advocate for Dancehall history and culture, we aim to increase cultural awareness of the form by providing opportunities for UK dancers to connect with Dancehall Originators through events, workshops, film-screenings, lectures and more.
COG IN A WHEEL by DEF MOTION
16:35 (10 mins)
A new outdoor street dance performance, critiquing capitalism and modern smartphone technology. Inspired by flash mob style performances, Deaf choreographer and street dancer, Billy Read, brings his unique blend of street dance, hip hop and sign language theatre to Smithfield. This performance has been co-created with Deaf and hearing participants in Birmingham and Oldbury.
Credits:
Choreographer: Billy Read
Collaborative Performers: Warren Murray, Kameel Myrie, Ben Randall and Kevaughn Laing
Sound Designer: Reece Hayden
Rehearsal Director: Johnny Autin
Producers: Deaf Explorer
DISCO / FLASHMOB WORKSHOP
By LYNNBEC
16:45 (30mins)
Get involved with this fabulous feel-good disco.
CROWD_CTRL by AndroidX + Megahertz
17:25 & 20:50 (35mins)
Afro street moves collide with tech and visuals! 4 dancers from London's Dragonsquad busking crew (of Oxford Circus fame) turn their personal history of the Afrobeats movement into a futuristic Odyssey in a high impact dance, sound and visual experience for outdoor settings.
Featuring a cast of afro-battles dance champions, fresh motion graphics on a LED wall and illustrations by graphic prodigy Wumzum, CROWD_CTRL is a dance & digital exploration styled into a live graphic novel – created by choreographer AndroidX in collaboration with MHz scenography.
SYDNEE THOMPSON
18:20 (5mins)
Sydnee Thompson in collaboration with Tappin’ In presents her latest seed commission work.
Tappin’ In is a mass participation tap dancing extravaganza which took place in Birmingham International Dance Festival in June. Produced by Stephanie Ridings in association with Lou Lomas, Tappin’ In celebrates the stories of the West Midlands and the people who call it home.
COME AS YOU ARE
19:30 (65mins) & 21:35 (55mins)
Dance the night away with an inclusive, sensory club night with two Selectahood DJs and a request hour - think summer beach party vibes with inflatable animals, food and berverages, face paint/glitter and much more.
Timetable
13:45 - Critical Mass (15mins)
14:45 - Dandyism // Patrick Ziza Dance (25mins)
15:10 - Critical Mass (40mins)
15:55 - Dance Hall Origins Workshop (30mins)
16:35 - Cog in a Wheel // Def Motion (10mins)
16:45 - Disco Flash Mob // LYNNBEC (30mins)
17:25 - Crowd_Ctrl // Androidx + Megahertz (35mins)
18:20 - Tappin' In Extract // Sydney Thompson (5mins)
18:30 - Dandyism // Patrick Ziza Dance (25mins)
19:05 - Marawa and the Majorettes (25mins)
19:30 - Come As You Are // X SLX (25mins)
19:55 - Come As You Are // BEN (40 mins)
20:50 - Crowd_Ctrl // Androidx + Megahertz (35mins)
21:35 - Come As You Are // X SLX (40mins)
22:10 - Come As You Are // BEN (15 mins)
Plus look out for all of our daily activities: Each day at 2:15pm, Pride House will host interviews on our Beacon Stage with queer athletes participating across the Games. Whilst just scratching the surface on their experience, we want to offer a visible platform to celebrate the athletes and the work Pride House are doing during the Games.
Take time to explore our Spaghetti Junction inspired brand new inflatable art installation, watch live sports from across the games on our big screen, play table tennis against a robot, stumble on circus performances and watch a host of brand new films, music videos and digital commissions screening throughout the day, including a fantastic new digital visual spectacular every day at 6pm.
We’re also playing host to daily performances from acclaimed dance-circus ensemble Motionhouse, who will be bringing back the unique and spectacular globe from our Festival opening show, Wondrous Stories. Plus look out for a living green space within the heart of Smithfield, created by the National Trust and featuring more than 70 young trees, colourful benches and hammocks, the installation provides somewhere visitors can connect with the natural world, relax and play in between the Games’ high-energy events.
