The theme is responding to space, place, people and time.
The Let's Dance International Frontiers will be back on stage with an exciting array of performances and opportunities.
The most awaited dance show will be an in-person experience at Curve theatre.
There'll also be workshops, talks and networking opportunities. Venues include Curve, Sue Townsend Theatre, Dialogue Box, The Guildhall, Leicester Museum and Art Gallery and more.
The dance events will be online too, which means there will be an opportunity for dance fans outside of Leicester to attend the programme.
LDIF22 highlights include
Ballet Hispánico (poster above): the legendary New York-based company currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, makes its long awaited English stage debut at Curve on May 6-7 with a mixed bill of works that span Latinx cultures. The company’s charismatic Artistic Director, Eduardo Vilaro (left) will be giving an LDIF+ Masterclass on May 4 at Curve.
Philip Herbert, the award-winning British classical composer, provides his evocative new score, Siren Calls: To an Illusive Journey to choreographer/dancer Monique Jonas (Richard Alston, New Adventures) and to Thomas Talawa Prestø (right), the Oslo-based
Artistic Director of Tabanka Dance.
The two artists will share their work on April 29 – International Dance Day and official launch of LDIF22 – and April 30 respectively.
Tabanka Dance Ensemble, the electrifying dance company from Norway directed by its founder Thomas Talawa Prestø, will perform at the Sue Townsend Theatre on April 30 with a mixed bill from their repertoire.
Dance in the City will take place daily from April 29 to May 8 on the streets of Leicester. Dancers will respond to the theme of LDIF22. Performances will also be filmed and available to view online.
Yinka Esi Graves and Maya Taylor (Maya left), present two collaborative solo works, first shared online as part of LDIF’s 2020 and 2021 programmes, come to life with Leicester’s historical Guildhall as a backdrop on May 5.
Signatures and Black British Dance Platform is the performance platform for emerging talent which will take place at Curve on May 4.
Signatures will showcase new talent supported and developed by Serendipity while Black British Dance Platform is a collaboration between Serendipity and Dance4, the dance development organisation based in Nottingham, with the ambition to support and nurture dance artists from the African and African Caribbean Diaspora, who are based in England.
Dance Dialogues is a series of conversations, inviting contributors to share their expertise on a broad range of topics from the mental wellbeing of Black male dancers through to Black presence in ballet and decolonising dance practice.
LDIF Artistic Director Pawlet Brookes MBE is founder, CEO and Artistic Director of Serendipity, the diversity-led arts organisation in Leicester who present the annual dance festival.
“I’m delighted to announce LDIF’s return to the main stage in 2022,” says Pawlet. “Our programme is packed with wonderful work from national and international artists and, as always, we’re putting diversity front and centre.
“LDIF22’s theme In Situ: Responding to Space, Place, People and Time reflects how dance inhabits different spaces and particularly how dance practitioners have continued to be incredibly innovative in the face of challenging restrictions.
The theme also recognises the embodiment of knowledge in dance from the African and African Caribbean Diaspora.
“One of LDIF’s most popular speakers, Thomas Talawa Prestø, will be examining the role of music in dance – past and present – while British choreographer/dancers Yinka Esi Graves and Maya Taylor will share new work they’ve been developing in digital and physical domains."
“Rising dance talent takes centre stage with the return of Signatures and Black British Dance
Platform, two initiatives that support the aim of cultivating a dance sector that is representative of contemporary Britain.
And finally, I cannot wait to see the incredible Ballet Hispánico conclude the festival on 6-7 May at Leicester Curve – I’m immensely proud that the LDIF22 shows will mark Ballet Hispánico’s debut on an English stage. Let’s dance!”
About PAWLET BROOKES
who was recently awarded an MBE for services to the arts and cultural diversity.
Pawlet Brookes is the Founder, CEO and Artistic Director of Serendipity, Institute for Black Arts and Heritage, Leicester.
An experienced and highly respected senior manager and producer, Pawlet has been at the forefront of the development of Black arts
in the UK.
She was Marketing Manager at the Nia Centre (Manchester) in the 90s, Artistic Director of Peepul Centre (Leicester) and Chief Executive of Rich Mix (London) and an Arts Council assessor for a number of Black arts capital projects.
In 2011, Pawlet established Let’s Dance International Frontiers in Leicester, and coordinates Black History Month for the city. Large scale projects also include Ballare: To Dance and Follow the Light for the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
Pawlet has edited a number of publications including Reflections: Irrepressible Voices of Black British Cultural Resilience, BlackInk, and My Voice, My Practice: Black Dance (2020).
She is a member of Arts Council England’s Area Council and associate lecturer at Falmouth University.
Serendipity - Institute for Black Arts and Heritage, Leicester. Serendipity’s mission is platform
perspectives from the African and African Caribbean Diaspora as part of cultural experiences for all.
Programmes include the flagship dance festival, Let’s Dance International Frontiers, Black History Month Leicester and the Annual Windrush Day Lecture.
Serendipity have established a legacy; hosting a growing, living archive documenting Black arts, heritage and culture, publishing the voices of Black arts practitioners and community activists, nurturing artists to create high quality new work and mentoring young people.
Written by Levitha Biji
Levitha is a broadcast journalism graduate, currently studying MA International Media and Communication Studies at the University of Nottingham. Having lived in three countries and being fluent in three languages, she's passionate about global journalism. She's recently finished an internship with Niche Magazine and also runs her own blog, Levitha Mariam.
