Big Dance 2016 saw 42,000 people take part in worldwide performance for the love of the art form. Not only were there Big Dance performances all over the UK, but also across the world in 44 countries, in locations such as Beirut, Tokyo, Texas and Hong Kong. Esteemed choreographer Akram Khan devised both the choreography and Big Dance online resources in order to involve dancers of all ages, from all types of communities and using many styles of dance.
The Big Dance Pledge 2016 began in November 2015 at the University of Roehampton, London, where Khan worked with 60 students and the Big Dance creative team to create a piece of choreography to hand over to the rest of the world. By the end of the Worldwide Performance Day, 20 May 2016, over 42,000 people around the world had learned or used the choreography to create their own spectacular performances.
Wales saw the Big Dance Pledge used to improve the Welsh language skills of young people growing up bilingually, using words and sounds associated with the choreography. In Hong Kong, the CCDC Dance Centre, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) and HKAPA Dance Alumni Association invited 100 participants to dance on site at the West Kowloon Cultural District, the first of its kind. In San Sebastiàn, Spain, the Olatu Talka Festival marked its opening – and this year’s European Capital of Culture programme – with British Council Spain supporting artists to learn and teach the Big Dance choreography for an open air performance.
Big Dance is by no means over. Next up is Big Dance Trafalgar Square on 2 July 2016, London’s final Big Dance, for which registration re-opened by popular demand. The Big Dance Bus Tour – until 10 September across London – will see a double-decker routemaster pop up in the most unusual places, creating ‘guerrilla-style’ dance experiences.