Programme Partners Sampad, FABRIC and ACE Dance & Music share a taste of what’s to come in their takeover days.

Partner Organisations Sampad, FABRIC and ACE Dance & Music have given us a taste of what’s to come in their ‘Takeover’ days.

On Saturday 29 July Sampad’s ‘Takeover’ explores the theme of Home From Home. With a day-long programme featuring live music, dance and spoken word it will be a celebration of the lives and creativity of the city. Vibrant and colourful it will bring together a hugely diverse array of artists, performers and communities that represent generations of people who have made this city their home. There will be time to reminisce and reflect on inherited cultural traditions and also to look towards a bright future with pride and ambition.

By marking the one year anniversary of the Games, we are creating a springboard that will be loaded with energy to catapult everyone involved in the festival – performers, participants and audiences alike – into the future. Recapturing the wonderful atmosphere of summer 2022 with a programme that delves into our roots and takes a good look at where we are now so that we can move forward with positivity and pride.

Piali Ray, Director of Sampad

Dance takes centre stage on Sunday 30 July as FABRIC, the region’s strategic dance development organisation, takes over Centenary Square with EveryBody Dancing, an exciting programme of amazing dance full of free opportunities to get involved.

EveryBody Dancing is a celebration of work inspired by and made with artists and communities in the region. Our programme will feature engaging promenades, pop up performances and opportunities for everyone to get dancing!

Becky Bailey, Head of Participation and Learning at FABRIC

The highlight of the day will be a specially commissioned new work by ZoieLogic Dance Theatre co-created with Critical Mass Dance Collective (CMDC), the inclusive dance company featuring an integrated cast with people identifying as D/deaf, Disabled and non-disabled. Directed by Zoie Golding and supported by Dance Development Leaders Group, the new show is funded by United by 22, whose mission is to maintain the momentum of the Commonwealth Games across the whole of the West Midlands.

Members of the CMDC were previously seen dancing their way through key moments of the Birmingham 2022 Festival and the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. Zoie is excited to build upon these unforgettable experiences in this year’s show.

Our plan is to be even more ambitious and bring Birmingham to life again with this inspirational, inclusive dance collective.

Zoie

On Saturday 5 August ACE dance and music, the Birmingham-based, Black-led, contemporary dance company, presents Carnival is Colour. Witness a collage of carnival colour, dance, and the pulsating rhythms of Trinidad as vibrant costumes soar, amidst the backdrop of a Community Mass Choir led by Black Voices, and Dutch Marching Band Eternity Percussion, as they fill Centenary Square with the magical energy. ACE dance and music invites you to experience the sights and sounds of Caribbean Carnival extravaganza in full swing.

Our mission is to promote the power of dance through cultural exchange. ‘Carnival is Colour’ provides us with the perfect opportunity to reveal carnival dance costumes, music and singing with a Caribbean cultural mix that will have you dancing around Centenary Square like never before!

Gail Parmel MBE from ACE dance and music

Commissioned and supported by Birmingham City Council to celebratethe city’s creativity, and as a sign of its ongoing commitment to funding culture, Birmingham Festival 23 will take over Centenary Square from Fri 28 July – Sun 6 August. The 10 day programme of free events that showcases the City’s rich cultural offer will be announced in June.