Guest blogger and Festival Youth Ambassador Ruth Sheaves is back, this time to share her thoughts and photos from (in)visible dancin’, our two-week cycle of performances that took over Birmingham’s busy High Street during IDFB.
Just saw a group of dancers queue up behind a very confused man at a cash point in town and dance behind him.
I also saw people dancing in town and a little girl tried to join in!
There was a massive crowd of people around a group of people dancing outside the Pavilions in town.
I heard someone talking about the performance. They said “Oh my god, these guys are really amazing!” So true!
There was massive cheering from the crowd while they were watching a dance performance and I saw loads of people taking photos and filming it. Must be IDFB!
Many thanks to Ruth for such fabulous photos.
If you’re a young person and would like to get more involved in dance activities in and around the West Midlands, drop DanceXchange a line to see what opportunities are out there. You could join the DanceXchange Youth Forum, gain valuable work experience through volunteering, or take part in dance classes to improve your technical skills.
Visible Dancin’ was a unique outdoor spectacle of dance expressions, reflecting and celebrating the rich mix of Birmingham’s street life. It marked the grand finale of (in)visible dancin’ – a cycle of performances that literally transformed city life into a dance performance for two weeks during IDFB. Guest blogger and Festival Youth Ambassador Ruth Sheaves shares her experience and photos of the event:
Saw a huge crowd gathering for the performance in the centre of town today!
There were massive cheers from the crowd as the dancing started in High Street.
What an amazing performance! IDFB got loads of other dance groups together to perform. I saw belly dancers, street dancers, ballroom, Latin and Bhangra dancers performing.
Today’s performance was a brilliant success, and I hope to see another one soon!
Thanks to Ruth for these great pics! She will be back next week with her shots from (in)visible dancin’ – don’t miss it!
If you’re a young person and would like to get more involved in dance activities in and around the West Midlands, drop DanceXchange a line to see what opportunities are out there. You could join the DanceXchange Youth Forum, gain valuable work experience through volunteering, or take part in dance classes to improve your technical skills.
Our Festival may be entering its final 24 hours, but the IDFB (link to IDFB site) team is still very much on the go and gearing up for a big finale this Saturday with Put Your Foot Down! (link to PYFD page on IDFB site) and Deborah Colker’s Cruel (link to Cruel page on IDFB site).
So what have we got in store for you on 15 May then? Well, between midday and 6pm, we’ve got an array of free performances lined up on our main stage in St Martin’s Square including:
VOCAB Dance Company (link to VOCAB site) performing Kwenda-Kwenda
Musical Dance performance by class participants from DanceXchange (link to dx site)
Beingfrank Youth (link to being frank website) performing Deja Vu
Hina & Co (link to hina and co website) Bollywood Bhangra Performance
Guest Performance by Making Choreographers (link to dx page about Making Choreographers) students (Telford Culture Zone & DanceXchange)
Club Jazz performance by class participants from DanceXchange
IDFB Dance Challenge (link to Dance Challenge page on IDFB site) Showcase featuring Jodie Schofield from Smooth Radio
SteadiFlux performing BodyRock
Performance by Hereford-based 2Faced Dance Company (link to 2Faced site)
ACE Youth (link to ACE Youth site) performing Artificial Intelligence
Dance into Fitness demonstration by class participants from DanceXchange
Guest Performance by Centre for Advanced Training in Contemporary and South Asian Dance (link to dx site) students from DanceXchange
Capoeira demonstration by class participants from DanceXchange
IDFB Dance Challenge Showcase featuring Louisa James from ITV Central
Tap Dance performance by Advanced Tap class participants from DanceXchange
Guest Performance by High Achievers from DanceXchange’s Buzz! project
DanceXchange Class Programme (links to classes intro page on dx site) Showcase
IDFB Dance Challenge Showcase featuring Satnam Rana from BBC WM
Plus, DJ Moyma (does he have a site to link to?) will be providing some quality tunes throughout the afternoon. Presenters are Smooth Radio’s Tammy Gooding, BBC WM’s Satnam Rana and David Massingham, IDFB’s Co-Director.
Then, it’s the bit you’ve all been waiting for – the Put Your Foot Down Mass Dance with hip hop sensation Salah between 6pm and 6.30pm. We’re expecting hundreds of people dancing the same street/hip hop dance routine (choreographed by Salah) at the same time, so don’t miss it! Check out a sneak preview of the routine here:
Can we embed video of routine – the one where he performs it in full, not demo
Want to join in? There’s still time! Come along tomorrow afternoon and follow the on stage demos (12.30pm-12.45pm, 2.35pm-2.50pm, 4.35pm-4.50pm), or take part in classes outside Debenhams in Bullring at the following times: 12.15pm // 1.15pm // 2.15pm // 3.15pm // 4.15pm
(Pic of a PYFD session from Bullring)
And, for our final theatre show of 2010, we welcome renowned Brazilian company Companhia de Dança Deborah Colker with Cruel (link to IDFB page), 8pm at Birmingham Hippodrome. The performance explores the many forms cruelty can take in a relationship. For tickets, book online (link to Hippodrome booking page http://www.birminghamhippodrometickets.com/tickets/production.aspx?pid=11397) or call 0844 338 5000 or buy on the door.
Our Festival may be entering its final 24 hours, but the IDFB team is still very much on the go and gearing up for a big finale this Saturday with Put Your Foot Down! and Deborah Colker’s Cruel.
So what have we got in store for you on 15 May then? Well, between midday and 6pm, we’ve got an array of free performances lined up on our main stage in St Martin’s Square including:
IDFB Dance Challenge Showcase featuring Satnam Rana from BBC WM
Plus, DJ Moyma will be providing some quality tunes throughout the afternoon. Presenters are Smooth Radio’s Tammy Gooding, BBC WM’s Satnam Rana and David Massingham, IDFB’s Co-Director.
Then, it’s the bit you’ve all been waiting for – the Put Your Foot Down Mass Dance with hip hop sensation Salah between 6pm and 6.30pm. We’re expecting hundreds of people dancing the same street/hip hop dance routine (choreographed by Salah) at the same time, so don’t miss it! Check out a sneak preview of the routine here.
Want to join in? There’s still time! Come along tomorrow afternoon and follow the on stage demos (12.30pm-12.45pm, 2.35pm-2.50pm, 4.35pm-4.50pm), or take part in classes outside Debenhams in Bullring at the following times: 12.15pm // 1.15pm // 2.15pm // 3.15pm // 4.15pm
And, for our final theatre show of 2010, we welcome renowned Brazilian company Companhia de Dança Deborah Colker with Cruel, 8pm at Birmingham Hippodrome. The performance explores the many forms cruelty can take in a relationship. For tickets, book online or call 0844 338 5000 or buy on the door.
