Nothing invisible about (in)visible dancin’

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.

(in)visible dancin'

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!

(in)visible dancin

There was a massive crowd of people around a group of people dancing outside the Pavilions in town.

(in)visible dancin'

(in)visible dancin'

I heard someone talking about the performance. They said “Oh my god, these guys are really amazing!” So true!

(in)visible dancin'

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.

Click here to get in touch with our Youth Dance team!

IDFB Guest Blogger: Ruth Sheaves, Festival Youth Ambassador

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!

Visible Dancin'

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.

Visible Dancin'

Visible Dancin'

Visible Dancin'

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.

Click here to get in touch with our Youth Dance team!

Outspoken Highlights

Curated by Eckhard Thiemann, IDFB 2010’s Outspoken Weekend saw an array of new performances, talks and workshops by Arab artists from Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Morocco.

The weekend kicked off with a diverse Triple Bill at The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome, featuring works from Ahmed Khemis, Salah El Brogy and Muhanad Rasheed (Iraqi Bodies). We managed to catch up with Ahmed and Salah to have a chat about their work and a bit about their dance history.

Next up, we welcomed The Assassination of Omar Rajeh, a piece covering the political killings of journalists in Lebanon. Dancer/choreographer Omar Rajeh of Maqamat Dance Theatre talks about his work in the video below:

A Double Bill at Ikon Eastside featured Meryem Jazouli’s Kelma (The Word), based on the life and poems of famous Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish, followed by Iraqi Bodies’ Insomnia, created in Iraq in 2005.

Aataba (The Threshold) was performed at The Patrick Centre and below, Moroccan choreographer Taoufiq Izeddiou talks about this work.

Nacera Belaza’s Le Cri, a physical and emotional tour de force and combined Arabic chanting, Maria Callas vocals and disco beats, and Les Sentinelles , an exclusive preview prior to its premiere in Paris, brought the weekend to a thrilling close.

To see the photos, visit the IDFB Flickr Page or join us on Facebook.

Our IDFB Outspoken Weekend was supported by The British Council. It was also one of the outstanding projects granted the London 2012 Inspire mark, the badge of the London 2012 Inspire programme which recognises exceptional and innovative projects inspired by the 2012 Games. Find out more about the Inspire Mark here.