International superstars as well as fast-rising UK artists and choreographers will perform at the Let’s Dance International Frontiers festival which is celebrating its 15th anniversary.
Leicester-based Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage will present the three-week festival, which will be curated by its artistic director, Pawlet Brookes MBE.
The festival will get under way on Tuesday 29 April, International Dance Day, with live performances at Serendipity’s building on Bowling Green Street, Leicester.
The performance programme will open on Monday 12 May at the city’s Guildhall when Brazilian company Cia Pé No Mundo will treat audiences to their “unique style of dance language: Afro-indigenous Brazilian expressions mixed skillfully with contemporary dance”.
The festival will culminate with New York City’s Ballet Hispánico performing their reimagining of Bizet’s opera, CARMEN.maquia at Curve on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 May.
Pawlet Brookes said, “this year’s theme Intersection: Diasporic Dialogues was inspired by the need to both explore the ways in which we can build stronger bonds and unity across the diaspora while also recognising the richness and diversity within it.
“Black culture, whether it is rooted in Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, the USA or Europe is not a monolith but is often connected by a shared global history. The theme really seeks to explore how we can connect the threads across the diaspora to honour the past, present and future of black dance in all its complexity.”
She added, “since I started Let’s Dance International Frontiers in Leicester 15 years ago, it has become a leading platform in the UK for black dance. Its reputation has grown steadily over the years and it’s now a huge, popular draw for audiences and artists from all over the UK and from many parts of the world.”
Further information is available at the Serendipity web site.