Southbank Centre celebrates the dance floors that bring us together
A massive festival is set to take over the Southbank Centre this summer, in a celebration of the dance floors that have brought people together.
Dance Your Way Home will take over the 11-acre site by the River Thames from July 23 to August 25.
Inspired by the stories and spirit of Emma Warren’s book of the same name, this multi-artform programme explores what happens when communities get moving – from our kitchens to the street.
Ms Warren co-curator of the Dance Your Way Home programme, said: “Dance Your Way Home is rooted in the idea that moving to music, together, is powerful on an individual and collective level.
“The dance we’re celebrating this summer isn’t about being good at dancing. It’s about bringing the moves you have, celebrating all kinds of dancefloors, whether that’s a kitchen disco, partner dancing, or a late night rave-up. We’ll make sure there’s space for the hesitant dancers, too.”
July highlights include basel-based choreographer Jeremy Nedd’s London debut From rock to rock, a piece featuring five performers examining the Milly Rock, a viral dance inspired by the rapper 2 Milly.
Over at the riverside terrace, young DJs from displaced and underrepresented backgrounds celebrate music’s ability to bring people together in Our Heartbeats: Unity in Motion every Thursday.
Jumping into August, Grief Rave invites everyone to shake out their day and dedicate a song to someone or something they are missing whilst an Irish stand featuring a new commission by Dublin based street artist Aches will pay homage to Emma Warren’s dual citizenship.
Billed for the talks programme, Caleb Femi and Jordan Stephens will reflect on the life-affirming freedom of the party in a special talk On the Dance Floor and Poets on the Dancefloor spotlights poetry that draws from and celebrates music and movement.
Other highlights include a celebration of Afro-Cuban and Brazilian dance in Urban Ritual: From Havana to Bahia, Ásrún Magnúsdóttir’s Listening Party, Folk Dance: For and of the People, Free Party: A Folk History, Alex Baczyński-Jenkins, Kinetika Bloco and Tomorrow’s Warriors.
Dance Your Way Home is followed by the UK Premiere of We Should Have Never Walked On The Moon where Rambert and Ballet national de Marseille will join forces to transform the entire Royal Festival Hall into a large-scale dance experience from September 3 to 6.
Born out of the Festival of Britain in 1951, the Southbank Centre provides a social space to ensure that anyone and everyone can meet and be together, with members of the public often using its open foyer spaces to practice their dance moves.
With 50 per cent of the Southbank Centre’s programming free, dozens of events will take place across the site, free of charge, for all ages.
For tickets and more information, visit: www.southbankcentre.co.uk
Pictured top: Free Party: A Folk History (Picture: Alen ‘Tash’ Lodge)
