Outdoor Dance Collection 2021: UK Dance Showcase

A new online showcase for for artists, programmers and professionals working in outdoor dance

The ODC21: UK Dance Showcase was a brand new showcase programme that took place online 3-4 June 2021 as part of Birmingham International Dance Festival‘s Outdoor Dance Collection 2021, devised and delivered in partnership with XTRAX as part of the international showcase programme Platform 4:UK; Dance4 as part of Dance from England; and DanceXchange, producers of BIDF.

The programme presented a showcase of current choreographic practice for outdoor and site-responsive work and provided opportunities for artists, programmers and professionals working in outdoor dance to attend panel discussions, training, artist pitching sessions and other networking opportunities, all available via a virtual event platform.

Artists pitching included Alleyne Dance, Akademi, Cia Moveo, Company Chameleon, Danse K par K, Far From The Norm, HUMANHOOD, Jamaal Burkmar, Jeanefer Jean-Charles, Joli Vyann, Requardt & Rosenberg, Stefan Jovanovic, Stopgap Dance Company and Sylvain Emard Danse.

We also launched the Outdoor Dance Collection 2021 Catalogue as part of this event, presenting a curated selection of over 30 of the most exciting current outdoor work available for touring 2021-2022 by UK dance artists.

Throughout the two day event, we saw 270 delegates from over 23 countries attend our sessions, with more than 1,700 private messages exchanged via the platform.

All of the sessions were recorded and will be available on our YouTube channel in the coming weeks, subscribe to our channel for updates on when they go live.

This activity was supported by Platform 4:UK, XTRAX’s Arts Council of England funded project for International collaboration in outdoor arts.

Featured images (L to R): Akademi, HUMANHOOD (c) Simon Tang, Stopgap (c) Chris Parkes, Jeanefer-Jean Charles (c) Stephen Wright Photography, Void by Company Chameleon

  


About the Outdoor Dance Collection 2021

The Outdoor Dance Collection 2021 is a dance and outdoor arts industry programme of events for professional delegates and artists and includes the UK Dance Showcase (3-4 June) and Dance & The Outdoors Symposium (8-9 June). 

The ODC21: UK Dance Showcase is devised and delivered in partnership with XTRAX as part of the international showcase programme Platform 4:UK; Dance4 as part of Dance from England; and DanceXchange, producers of BIDF. The event will offer opportunities for artists, programmers and professionals working in outdoor dance to attend panel discussions, training, artist pitching sessions and network with UK and international colleagues, all available via a virtual event platform.

 

About the ODC21: Dance & The Outdoors Symposium

ODC21: Dance & The Outdoors Symposium (8-9 June) is devised and produced by 101 Outdoor Arts and The Place in partnership with DanceXchange producers of BIDF. The two-day digital conference will bring together practitioners, producers and presenters of outdoor dance to explore how artists are creating work for public space.

The symposium will look at a range of practice in locations from urban to rural and in contexts that range from touring to site-specific to participant-led. Some of Europe’s most exciting choreographers and companies will be taking part in panel sessions that aim to shine a spotlight on the wealth of outdoor dance practice. We’ll explore how this distinctive yet diverse field is contributing to the development of dance – bringing new audiences and new approaches and creating interventions that transform and disrupt our relationship with the world around us.  

 

About Birmingham International Dance Festival

Produced by DanceXchange, Birmingham International Dance Festival (BIDF) is the largest dance festival in the UK, taking over Birmingham’s theatres, galleries and multiple outdoor spaces, with the very best of international dance and inspiring choreography. BIDF is Birmingham’s signature festival with dance firmly at its heart.  It’s overall ambition is to strengthen the impact of the festival for the city, the dance sector, and for our young and diverse communities – connecting people with great dance, creating vital space for artistic dialogue and exchange, and promoting Birmingham as a global dance city.

The festival is the Winner of Achievement in Dance, 2014 UK Theatre Awards and Winner of Event of the Year 2010 at the Heart of England Excellence in Tourism Awards.  In 2018 BIDF attracted live audiences of 50,000 and online almost 300,000, plus almost 10,000 participants. Following postponement of BIDF 2020 due to COVID-19, we are excited to present our first all-digital programme on our brand new dedicated platform BIDF TV from 3-11 June 2021, which will be followed by live, outdoor activity in the autumn. BIDF TV will host a lively programme of screendance performances, featuring the world premieres of major film commissions, and providing a showcase for local talent to shine.

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For more information

For more information about the ODC21: UK Dance Showcase, contact: Laëtitia Bortot at info@xtrax.org.uk

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Location

The ODC21: UK Dance Showcase is a brand new showcase programme taking place online 3-4 June 2021, as part of Birmingham International Dance Festival's Outdoor Dance Collection 2021.