Birmingham International Dance Festival returns to city

Sonia Sabri will perform Mughal Miniatures, creating living versions of Indian miniature paintings

A splash of colour lit up a grey day for shoppers and city centre workers as Birmingham International Dance Festival was launched.

Groups of dancers who will be performing at the three-week festival, which starts on 17 June, met in Victoria Square.

As Birmingham emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, and prepares to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games, organisers of the festival hope to tap into a summer of cultural excitement in the city.

Dance performers striking a pose outside Birmingham Council House

Festival producer Ellen Booth said: "It's the UK's largest dance festival. Three weeks of amazing activity, free, accessible and really it's just to showcase exactly what dance is for audiences and artists.

"It's a form of expression. Everybody has got an innate ability to dance. We grow up and don't think that we can. It's a way to express yourself, tell stories through the form of dance."

Haoliang Feng, from Birmingham Royal Ballet, who will be part of On Your Marks!

Rachele Pizzillio and Haoliang Feng had to contend with a summer breeze in the city centre

Events will be staged across the city, at both indoor and outdoor venues.

During the Covid pandemic, the dance festival had to be staged online, before a return to more traditional programming in October last year.

Hip-hop shapes from Ophelia Nunes-Wickham, Nathan Marsh and Darrell Bride

"It's one of the biggest programmes we've done this year, showcasing the city, and also bringing Commonwealth territory artists into the city which is really exciting," Ms Booth added.

"It's a way to connect with people, see different stories."

Tappin' In will be a mass participation tap dancing and storytelling event on 18 June

Birmingham's Brindleyplace will be the venue for the city's biggest tap lesson and mass "shim sham"

The festival will feature newly commissioned work by UK artists plus dance from around the globe, including from across the Commonwealth, with nine world premieres and 11 UK premieres.