Audiences from across the region were invited to experience dance differently last weekend as local and international artists descended on Birmingham Hippodrome for our 2nd annual Dance Sampled event.

From Ballet to Breakin, Morris dancing to X-Box battles, there was something for all ages to enjoy with our free programme of pop-up performances and taster sessions taking place from 6.30pm throughout the foyers.

Bringing together the best in local, national and international dance talent, this year’s Dance Sampled saw Youth dance companies from across the region come together in a celebration of West Midlands Dance as part of our Youth Showcase stage.

Pop-up performances taking place on the Youth Showcase Stage included an excerpt from Journey performed by the students of Stratford upon Avon College, Walsall College, BOA, BMET College and ACE Dance & Music. The piece was recently performed as a Curtain Raiser during the sell-out February run of Sir Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes and was produced by Birmingham Hippodrome CREATIVE in partnership with Re:Bourne, the charitable arm of Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures.

Fresh from their starring role on the Birmingham Hippodrome Stage, Birmingham Royal Ballet joined forces with dance students from across the West Midlands to perform an extract from their recent staging of Cinderella Dreams, a one-off performance project inspired by David Bintley’s fairytale ballet. This will be followed by pop-up performances from Adam Rutherford Youth Dance, and ACE Youth Dance.

Completing the line-up was a double-bill of Kathak and Bharatanatyam dance performed by the students of Dance Xchange’s Centre for Advanced Training, a partnership between Sampad South Asian Arts and DanceXchange aimed at 11–18 year olds across the country with an exceptional talent in dance.

Aspiring Bboys and Bgirls enjoyed a masterclass in contemporary Hip-Hop with Birmingham-based charity Breakmission, who took over the Hippodrome Level 3 Foyer from 6.30pm with a series of live Hip-Hop Demos and dance battles. They were joined by representatives from Shirelands Academy Bboy crew, who were on hand to showcase a few moves of their own.

This year’s Dance: Sampled evening programme featured taster programmes from contemporary dance artists the Aakash Odedra Company, Acosta Danza and Richard Alston Dance Company. Audiences can also look forward to performances from BBC Young Dancer of the Year Connor Scott, tango stars Julia Urruty & Claudio González, Birmingham Royal Ballet and experimental Hip-Hop dance company Iron Skulls Co.

And the fun didn’t stop there! On Sat 4 March, audiences were invited to don their dancing shoes to take part in a selection of free workshops which included Dandiya Raas with Jpatel Dance, an exploration of the Gujurati folk dance and an introduction to Romeo and Juliet with Birmingham Royal Ballet. Birmingham-based Hip-Hop outfit, Break Mission were also on hand to provide a masterclass in rocking, popping and breaking, closely followed by a whistle-stop intro to Irish Dance by Cut The Mustard Ceilidh Band. 

Thanks to all of the amazing acts who shared their expertise, energy and enthusiasm with us!

In case you missed this year’s event, we’ve compiled a selection of social media highlights from the weekend below. If you were with us, we’d love to hear your thoughts about the event using #DanceSampled.

Dance Sampled is part of The Movement, a dance producing partnership between Birmingham Hippodrome, The Lowry and Sadler’s Wells. Supported by Arts Council England, The Movement aims to nurture talent and bring large scale dance productions to even wider audiences.