Tag: Birmingham

CDET’s Dance Careers Conference

CDETTaking place on 10th May, CDET’s Dance Careers Conference is not an event in the dance calendar to be missed. Hosted at Elmhurst School for Dance in Birmingham, the event offers a unique and informative one-day event providing high-quality, relevant and up-to-date information and guidance about further education, training and career opportunities in the dance and musical theatre industries.

Three bespoke strands will run independently through out the whole day. Students will each receive a ballet, jazz and musical theatre class, and gain an insight into what it is like to audition for a vocational college. They will also have the opportunity to take part in seminars providing them with information on choosing a course and college, as well as the audition process involved. Parents and carers’ seminars will include information on how to choose a vocational school, the different qualifications on offer, as well as auditioning, funding and careers information after training.

Additionally, teachers will be able to engage in technique class, often a rarity for busy teachers with hectic class schedules! Sessions focusing on how to create solos for student auditions will be held, as well as seminars on how to advise students when they are in the process of choosing a professional training school. Numerous industry professionals will also be involved with the busy conference, hosting sessions on building a dance business and how to market dance schools.

As with MOVE IT – the annual dance exhibition at London’s Olympia – a number of CDET Accredited Schools will be present to talk to attendees during the conference. These include Urdang Academy, Performers College, Northern Ballet School, Liverpool Theatre School, Bird College, Laine Theatre Arts, Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, Cambridge Performing Arts, LIPA, The Centre Performing Arts College, London Studio Centre, Midlands Academy of Dance and Drama, Hammond School and Elmhurst School for Dance.

IDFB 2014

IFDB 2014One of Europe’s largest dance festivals, International Dance Festival Birmingham is back for 2014 with another huge celebration of dance. From ballet to breakdancing, contemporary to circus the programme is jam-packed and now on sale.

At the end of January festival staff, media, funders, sponsors, partners and friends of the festival joined co-Artistic Directors David Massingham and Stuart Griffiths to celebrate the launch of IDFB 2014. The full programme was announced and there were even two sneak preview performances of shows that will take place during the festival. The audience was able to look back at the highlights of the first three editions of IDFB, before the first viewing of the official IDFB 2014 trailer.

The fourth IDFB festival will present some of the finest dance from across the globe between 24 April and 25 May 2014, with world premieres, unique collaborations, community events, and world-class performances. There are more shows than ever for 2014 as a result of several new venue partners, meaning some of the biggest names in dance and many hotly tipped rising choreographic stars will be on offer.

There are lots of opportunities for audiences to get dancing too with the Paint the Town Red programme of social dance events, as well as free outdoor performances: look out for IDFB 2014 out-and-about in Birmingham city centre, popping up in unusual places and spaces with a number of free performances. Leading the proceedings will be Corey Baker Dance (led by IDFB International Artist in Residence Corey Baker), performing Headphones and A Haka Day Out, whilst Put Your Foot Down will take over Bullring’s Spiceal Street with a spectacular array of performances in a range of styles, giving audiences a real flavour of IDFB.