DanceXchange, the Midlands-based dance house, recently announced its latest performance season at The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome, running from 22 September–3 December 2016. A large and varied programme looks set to delight audiences of all ages, with the autumn season taking dance in the midlands up again after the success of the International Dance Festival Birmingham 2016 earlier this year in May.
The International Dance Festival Birmingham, which is DanceXchange’s largest programme, saw numerous dance performances take place across the city to great acclaim. With the new season of dance for the venue, it is set to offer something for everyone, from the English premiere of a family-friendly show at Christmas, to a visually mesmerising production, pushing the boundaries of both dance and digital technology.
The autumn 2016 season highlights include many delights. An international triple bill from the acclaimed National Dance Company Wales will see the company make their first visit to Birmingham with the production Folk. There will be performance art from the award-winning Alexander Vantournhout in a solo focused on the autobiography of his own body and also a brand new triple bill from 2Faced Dance, which showcases new works from three world-class female choreographers performed by an all-male company of dancers.
Moving away from gender, Alexander Whitley Dance Company’s Pattern Recognition will focus on cutting-edge dance and motion responsive technology, also featuring a score by critically-acclaimed electronic composer Scanner and Southbank Centre artist-in-residence cellist Oliver Coates. The international dance artist Didy Veldman’s The Happiness Project, the first project from her new company Umanoove, looks at combining live music and dance. Finally, there will be The Wolf and Peter, a retelling of Prokofiev’s famous Peter and the Wolf by CoisCéim Dance Theatre. The English premiere of this magical Christmas show for families will be told from the perspective of the Wolf.