Dance Around the World!

Bollyqueer 

Founded by Vinay Jobanputra, Bollyqueer is a dance class which centres Queer and Trans people. When you walk into a Bollyqueer class, you are not assigned any label, your gender is never assumed, and you are encouraged to dance in a way that makes your heart and body feel their happiest. There are variations of choreographies, you get to choose whichever feels most at home to you. It’s a way to celebrate the magic and beauty of Bollywood dance without having to sacrifice your queerness or identity. It’s a family. I’m so grateful for each and every person who has attended these classes and I’m committed to making sure this remains a space for us all. Seeing so much queer joy in the room is one of the best feelings in the world. 

Boy Blue 

Founded in east London, 2001 by composer Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante MBE and choreographer Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy MBE, Boy Blue is the radical force that has defined the potential and power of hip-hop dance theatre across the UK.  Shaped by a multi-generational, multicultural community with seven regular companies ranging in age from 5 to 40+, Boy Blue’s achievements and accolades are as far-reaching as the community it has fostered and the hip-hop culture it has elevated. Some call Boy Blue a family, others, a nation, with most hip-hop dancers having called it home at some point of their careers. A lot of their work explores social tensions and cultural identity, whilst creating space to celebrate the joy, hopes and dreams of the community it represents, building a legacy and telling rich stories rooted in history and experience. 

 Endurance Steel Orchestra

Endurance Steel Orchestra is a dynamic organisation, with youth engagement and community cohesion at the core of what we do. Founded by Marlon Hibbert in 2009, Endurance aims to enrich the lives of young people through the art of steelpan. We perform regularly at parties, festivals, corporate events and weddings across the UK, and internationally. In 2024, we formed a Youth Steel Orchestra. This was to enable young people who have had experience learning the steelpan to have the opportunity to further develop their musical ability, and build confidence through performance. Including our professional orchestra, we now have 4 groups rehearsing and performing regularly.

Bullerengue Circle

London-based collective using and encouraging the AfroColombian tradition of bullerengue as a tool to find self-awareness, understand our inner rhythm and connect with our creative selves. 

 IRIE! dance theatre

Founded in 1985, IRIE! dance theatre was established with a bold and visionary commitment to raise the profile of Black dance and dancers in Britain. Since then, IRIE!’s mission has been to: ‘deliver and sustain a range of creative, educational and artistic activities based on stimuli derived from Africa and the Caribbean’. For over four decades, the company has remained at the forefront of artistic innovation, developing a distinctive choreographic language that fuses African and Caribbean dance traditions with contemporary theatre practice. Instantly recognisable as the “IRIE! style,” the company’s movement vocabulary is deeply rooted in the essence of reggae music and the rich cultural expressions of the Caribbean. As Britain’s leading dance theatre company working in African and Caribbean dance fusion, IRIE! has created more than 25 original works that have toured nationally and internationally to critical acclaim. Drawing musical inspiration from African and Caribbean drumming and percussion, Reggae and Ragga, Calypso and Soca, the company’s practice sits firmly within what the dance sector recognises as Dance of the African Diaspora (DAD). Through this dynamic fusion, IRIE! continues to shape and define the evolving landscape of diasporic dance in the UK.

 Mahogany Carnival

Mahogany is a group of multi-disciplinary artists who design and create large scale kinetic sculptures/carnival costumes utilising the human body in the art form of Mas. The group was created by structural engineer Michael Ramdeen and designer Clary Salandy to develop techniques of costume design and construction and to heighten the understanding of the Art of Carnival. Formed in 1989, Mahogany has gone from strength to strength and their work is recognised worldwide. Mahogany has been instrumental in introducing the art form of MAS across the UK. They are a seminal force in educating European communities in the development of Carnival. Over the past 37 years Mahogany has been committed to raising the aspirations and creative skills of diverse communities by producing Mas with a message that challenges common stereotypes and explores endless design possibilities within the spirit of carnival that unites us all.