We wrote about the unique nature of the collaboration between Akram Khan and the National Ballet of China a little while ago.
The shows have now come and gone and the audience response was fantastic, to say the least. Excellent dance making and world class performances were all in evidence during both nights of the show as well as a lot of humour.
bahok has moved on now, continuing to tour around the UK and Europe, but you can catch a little bit of it above in our video. If you can catch the show live then we highly recommend you do.
IDFB’s outdoor shows have provided the viewing public with more than a few opportunities to capture and record there own versions of the events on their cell phones and digital cameras.
A few videos have show up on YouTube (see below) and there are several Flickr pages featuring loads of still images from the outdoor events.
More often than not folks are told to turn off their phones and that filming or photographing a show will, in no uncertain terms, bring the authorities crashing down on your head!
So check out the people’s media and let us know if you have anything to share.
Sadly, the outdoor events are over for this years festival so take care not to break out your phone in any of the remaining, indoor, shows because the folks from the venues will have a gentle word in your ear about filming. You can catch a lot of great footage here on the blog though so stay tuned!
Last week at IDFB featured a family weekend with a whole slew of workshops, events and performances for the smaller folks in the family.
In a celebration of the work of Aracaladanza’s Artistic Director Enrique Cabrera the Festival, presented DanSense and Nada Nada. The first one was created by Enrique and three dancers during a project at DanceXchange earlier this year, and is a piece featuring a huge canopy, flowers, fake ears and lots and lots of water. The dancers literally end up swimming in the stuff.
The second, theatre based, performance was Nada Nada, which has to be seen to be believed. The full company, which hails from Spain, manages to create a wondrous undersea world replete with fish, mermaids, singing clams and footballing lobsters! (I’m not making this stuff up you know!)
So sit back and enjoy a few choice moments from both performances. Nada Nada is in the video above and DanSense is down below. Let us know what you think and if you missed the live show do try and catch up with Aracaladanza at some point, both adults and the little ones will not be disappointed!
This is ‘DanSense’ performed by Emma Burns, Nora Callde, Jack Johnson. No small children were harmed during this performance although they did get covered in water just a little bit.
Here at IDFB we are not one for blowing our own trumpet but it has to be said that Watch This Space, crafted by Hofesh Shechter and Tamsin Fitzgerald, was a huge success.
Thousands crowded into Victoria Square on Friday and Saturday evening (and on Saturday afternoon as well) to watch this outdoor spectacular. You can see some footage of the shows dress run in the post below and there will be some proper show footage coming in a week or so. If you missed the live show make sure you stay tuned for the online video.
For now you can make do with reading what some other people thought of the work with a review in the Birmingham Post news paper. We’ve also got a rave review for you following the International Raw Energy performance this past Sunday.
We have footage of that show so keep an eye on the site for some of that.
I know it says week one and this is week two but the whole video above is about week one so I stand by the title? Apart from a few light rain showers the last seven days went superbly well, way beyond expectations! Just a few snippets of what went on in the various shows and what people had to say. More to come very very soon as week two is now well under way!
Among the many dance companies from overseas at this years festival there are a few from the UK that have been thrown into the mix. Bare Bones are now in their sixth year of production and touring and this time out Garry Stewart, the Artistic Director of Australian Dance Theatre, is one of the dance makers creating work on the company.
We caught up with Mr Stewart and three of the company’s dancers, Celine Alwyn, Robert Bell and Robert Clark, during a rehearsal. The video also features some rehearsal footage of ‘Magnification’.
You can catch the world premiere of the new Bare Bones show, including work by Rui Horta and David Massingham, on May 17th, 18th and 19th at the Patrick Centre in Birmingham. Hit the link for more info and booking details.
Just a quick note. If you’re looking for a slightly different visual perspective on IDFB and the On Display project then take a look at some photos snapped by a couple of bloggers over the past few days.
On Display is running until May 4th on New Street in Birmingham so there is still plenty of time to check it out live and in the flesh.
IDFB is not just about the live performances. Throughout the next month there are dozens of classes and workshops covering all types of dance.
Ana Garcia is one of the West Midland’s top Flamenco teachers and she is presenting a number of workshops from Saturday May 3rd until Monday May 5th.
There are a few places left in the workshops and they are open to all comers. If you want to book call Ana Garcia on 0121 240 7828.
After the class you can also catch the performance, En Sus 13, featuring live music, at Birmingham Town Hall on May 6th at 8pm. If you want to book tickets then you can call 0121 780 3333 or visit www.thsh.co.uk.
The festival is less than a week away, kicking off with On Display at 11.30am, Monday 28th April in Birmingham City Centre.
During the festival there is, to be sure, a lot on and keeping track of it all can be a bit difficult. We all have hectic lives so technology comes to the rescue to keep things simple.
We’ve set up a list of all the major performances on the Upcoming.org website. So far so mundane you say. The clever thing about this service though is how it lets you keep the events synchronised with your own calendar software, like iCal or Google Calendar, and with that keep your mobile phone, iPod or other portable device up to date with the latest info aswell.
The IDFB shows are all in a special IDFB group and if we make changes to the shows they will automatically filter their way through to your calendars.
We’re adding one in a day or so for all the classes and workshops so stay tuned.
To use the sharing features just click on the ’subscribe’ button on the Upcoming IDFB page and select the one you want to use!
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