Steve Denyer discovers dance

Heart FM presenter Steve Denyer decided to take a chance on dance during May when the International Dance Festival Birmingham 2016 took over the City in venues and outdoor spaces. Here he tells us about his new found passion for all things dance.

I have to admit up until recently my knowledge of dance stretched to the odd Saturday night episode of Strictly! I have never taken time out to enjoy dance. I now have a new found love and respect for passionate heart racing dance productions that leave your mind racing and your imagination on fire.

When I heard Birmingham Hippodrome were hosting a world class programme of nights as part of the International Dance Festival Birmingham I stuck my name down to see every performance. I’ve been to the theatre so many times this last couple of weeks even the manager joked I’m here more than he is.

In just two weeks I’ve enjoyed a stunningly vibrant and humorous performance from Nederlands Dans Theater 2 – who knew that dance can be funny and touching as well as awe inspiring!

I’ve watched the beautiful and spiritual Cloud Gate Dance Theatre from Taiwan. They came equipped with three and a half tons of rice which fell mainly on one man’s head – now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d write.

And I’ve been totally blown away watching new work from the very contemporary Ballet BC – I’ve never seen dancers use their space so cleverly and literally every movement flowed into each other.

 

The absolute highlight for me was the incredible Dance:Sampled – in a nutshell some of the world’s best performers in an array of styles from hip hop to tango, ballet, contemporary and South Asian. I’ve never seen the Tango performed before and it was so quick, so dangerously well timed that I found myself, with half the audience, giving the performers a standing ovation!

 

 

 

 

 

 

During May I learnt that dance is for everyone. I don’t know much about the subject at all but I’ve got so much out of the wonderful performances, I’ve realised that there are no right or wrong answers – it’s what you make of the productions that matters.

I’ve had a great time but don’t worry I’m not going to take up Tango classes the West Midlands anytime soon!

Written by Steve Denyer.

If you want to give dance a try yourself why not try Birmingham Royal Ballet’s summer programme, The Taming of the Shrew 16 – 18 June and Shakespeare Triple Bill 22 – 25 June. Tickets are available to book online or via our Box Office on 0844 338 5000 (charges apply).