Press Release

For immediate release 22 April

Utopian Bank Holiday

Visitors coming to Birmingham city centre over the Bank Holiday weekend will be in for a
spectacular experience as Utopia, which is part of International Dance Festival Birmingham,
takes over Victoria Square for a free extravaganza of dance, music and song from 1-3 May.

An enormous turquoise and gold stage designed by Coventry-based company Vortex Creates will be built
over the fountain and the famous “floozy in the jacuzzi” statue will be wrapped in gold. The show is a
riotous celebration of different cultures, with Russian, Spanish, Indian and African dancers joining with
local contemporary dancers to create a relentless stampede of colourful dances and frenzied songs.

Choreographer Arthur Pita said, ”There’ll be bits of furniture emerging from the stage all over the place –
it’ll basically look like 40 people plus the band have taken over the square! It’ll be very vibrant and a real
cross-cultural feel, but you won’t necessarily see an Irish section then a Cossack section – it’ll be
completely mixed up.”

The vibrant performances will be accompanied by Birmingham-based band, The Destroyers. They have
worked with Arthur Pita and assistant choreographer Yann Seabra to create a brand new piece of
music, drawing on their eclectic, turbo-folk style and Balkan influences.

Max Gittings from The Destroyers can’t wait for Utopia to begin: “It’s been a while since our last dance
extravaganza, so we’re very excited to be part of Utopia. Being at the heart of a fully staged outdoor
spectacular, collaborating with dancers and musicians from around the world is the very essence of what
The Destroyers are all about.”

Utopia is the centre-piece of IDFB 2010 and is a prime example of the kind of international exchange and
creative collaboration that the Festival aims to initiate. A total of over 50 dancers and musicians will be
performing in the piece, which will be shown five times over the May Day weekend.

IDFB will be hosting plenty of other activity over the weekend, including Nacional Ballet de Cuba at
Birmingham Hippodrome, Circa at Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the Outspoken weekend at the
Patrick Centre and Ikon Eastside. A unique kinetic light installation will be operating outside Birmingham

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Hippodrome from 8:30-11pm every evening – the projections and sound react to people moving through
the space, allowing the general public to change and “choreograph” the patterns around them.

Produced by DanceXchange and Birmingham Hippodrome, IDFB 2010 is one of the world’s largest
dance festivals. Representing over 20 countries from six continents, the festival will feature over 70
performances, as well as a number of free public events and plenty of chances for people to get involved.

The Festival is funded by Advantage West Midlands, Arts Council England West Midlands and
Birmingham City Council, with sponsorship from Brewin Dolphin. IDFB 2010 is also working in partnership
with the West Midlands Culture Programme for London 2012.

For more information on IDFB 2010 and the line-up, visit www.idfb.co.uk.

ENDS
For all press enquiries, please contact:
Emily Malcolm, Press Manager for IDFB
0121 689 1082 or emily.malcolm@dancexchange.org.uk

LISTINGS:
Utopia
Victoria Square, Birmingham city centre
Friday 30 April, 9pm (preview performance)
Saturday 1 May, 5:30pm & 10pm
Sunday 2 May, 5:30pm & 10pm
Monday 3 May 12noon only
Free, no booking required

Waves
A work by KMA, commissioned by Dance Digital
Thursday 22 April – Wednesday 5 May, 8:30-11pm
Outside Birmingham Hippodrome
Waves is a kinetic light installation that explores scale and attraction, both positive and negative. After
dark the space will become populated by hundreds of small objects, drawn on the pavement with light,
that behave according to a simplified version of the laws of magnetism.
Free, no booking required

Outspoken – New Performance from Arab Artists curated by Eckhard Thiemann

Thursday 29 April – Sunday 2 May
The Patrick Centre & Ikon Eastside
The UK’s first ever season dedicated to new work from North Africa and the Middle East, with
performances, debates, film screenings and workshops.
Tickets: £5-£10 per show, or £30 for a weekend pass.
Age guidance: 14+

Circa presents
CIRCA

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 Friday 30 April & Saturday 1 May, 8pm
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Experience a thoroughly new kind of circus in this thrilling journey of exceptional circus acts combined
with dance, light, sound and video.
Tickets: £12-£20.

Ballet Nacional de Cuba

Giselle
Friday 30 April & Saturday 1 May, 7.30pm (matinee, Sat 2.30pm)
Birmingham Hippodrome
Initially choreographed by Coralli and Perrot and revised by Petipa in 1884, Giselle is one of the world’s
best-loved ballets, following the story of a fragile peasant girl and her enduring love for her prince, even
after her tragic death.
Tickets: £16-£45.

For further information and to by tickets visit www.idfb.co.uk.

NOTES TO EDITORS:
- IDFB 2010 is produced by DanceXchange and Birmingham Hippodrome.
- DanceXchange (dx) is a powerhouse of dance with excellence, innovation, education and inclusion at its heart
– and, together with Birmingham Hippodrome and Birmingham Royal Ballet, is part of the largest dance
partnership in Britain. dx takes the best British dance to a worldwide stage, and brings outstanding talent from
across the world to Birmingham. dx also engages people from all backgrounds in healthy dance activity, and
nurtures gifted young people to help shape the dance artists of the future.
- Birmingham Hippodrome is the busiest single theatre in the UK, welcoming c500,000 paying visitors every
year. It is unique in being the home of a classical ballet company, Birmingham Royal Ballet and a national
dance development agency, DanceXchange. Birmingham Hippodrome sells more seats for dance than any
other theatre outside London.
- IDFB 2010 is funded by Advantage West Midlands, Arts Council England West Midlands and Birmingham City
Council. The corporate sponsor for the 2010 festival is Brewin Dolphin.
- Advantage West Midlands is the Regional Development Agency (RDA) for the West Midlands region – one of
nine RDAs in England established to transform English regions through sustainable economic development.
Advantage West Midlands takes the lead role in setting the strategy and focus for regional economic
improvement; building the partnerships needed to achieve the region’s vision; and ensuring that public money
is targeted to those activities and projects best placed to make a real difference.
- Brewin Dolphin is one of the UK's largest independent private client investment managers. The investment
management firm is supporting the event to further build a bridge between the city’s thriving professional
community and its innovative arts offering.
- Additional partners for the festival include media partner BBC WM and accommodations partner Crowne Plaza
Birmingham.
- Venues hosting IDFB 2010 include Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, The Patrick
Centre, Town Hall Birmingham and Ikon Eastside, as well as a number of specialist and outdoor spaces.
- IDFB first took place in 2008 and generated almost 25,000 audience and participatory experiences.
- IDFB 2010 is working in partnership with the West Midlands Culture Programme for London 2012, along with a
range of other exciting programmes including People Dancing, to celebrate and engage people with the
region’s world-class cultural offer. www.wmfor2012.com
- World Dance Day takes place during the festival on 29 April 2010

PRODUCERS FUNDERS PRINCIPAL SPONSOR

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