West Midlands Dance has been on a bit of break recently (as I’m sure you’ll have noticed).

The main reason for this hiatus has been the end of support from International Dance Festival Birmingham, which was always due to finish once the festival concluded. This means we can’t dedicate the time to the site as we had done previously. However, we’ve also been thinking about how to take the site forwards. So, to explain our situation, we’re taking a break but we are working on a reincarnation of West Midlands Dance for the not-so-distant future.

In the mean time we’d like your input. You can help us in several ways. You can:

• Drop us an email or leave a comment on this post telling us how West Midlands Dance has helped you
• Send us suggestions for how the blog could improve or what you’d like to see us cover
• Join out Facebook group or follow us on Twitter to keep up to date with developments
• Offer your help or support

So that’s the situation. We’ll keep you up to date with any developments as they happen.

Thanks for your support so far!

Over at sister-site Created in Birmingham there’s a competition to win tickets to see Cruel by Deborah Colker at Birmingham Hippodrome tonight (Friday 14 May).

All you have to do to enter is email ‘CRUEL’ to createdinbirmingham@gmail.com. Be quick though – the draw’s being done this afternoon at 2pm.

Cruel explores the many different forms that cruelty can take in a relationship. It unfolds over four movements, the first of which sees an enormous globe-shaped chandelier suspended above the action. In a later scene violence is explored as two dancers perform on a 5-metre-long table which is spun around the stage as knives are thrown into it. The final act sees a selection of vast mirrors pivoting across the stage, creating dazzling reflections that give surreal and intriguing views of the dancers’ bodies and movements.

If you don’t win then tickets are still available and there’ll be a second chance to watch the show tomorrow night too (the last show of International Dance Festival Birmingham, in fact).

DanceXchange is offering world-class, specialist dance training in Contemporary, Bharatanatyam and Kathak dance for 10-19 year olds, as well as means-tested funding available through the Music and Dance Scheme.

DanceXchange is one of just nine recognised National Dance Centres of Advanced Training (CAT) within the UK, offering Contemporary training to talented West Midlands students and the only South Asian CAT offered within the UK.

The CAT (South Asian) is a partnership between sampad South Asian Arts and DanceXchange, Birmingham aimed at young dancers 11-16 who have shown exceptional talent in Bharatanatyam and Kathak and represents a Government and Dance Industry recognition and growing interest in developing these dance forms within the UK.

The Contemporary dance training is available to West Midlands students only with Stage 1 Auditions to be held 16^th May, while auditions for Bharatanatyam are on 23^rd May and Kathak on 13^th June.

At the initial auditions Course Tutors are seeking to identify students who can show commitment to dance with evidence of exceptional talent for their age, experience and chosen dance specialism.

They will assess creativity, performance quality, physicality and technical skills as well students’ approach to working in dance.

Sujata Banerjee, Kathak Subject Leader states “ talent does not mean how much  dance you already know – it is if you have the potential”

Successful students will be invited to attend Stage 2 auditions in June.

The CAT (South Asian) students will start in September and attend intensive training at DanceXchange, Birmingham, in school holidays and a local tutor weekly which offers an alternative to boarding or fully residential courses. The CAT (Contemporary) students also start in September and attend weekly Sunday tuition at DanceXchange as well as intensive training in the school holidays.

Further details on auditions and an application form are available online at www.danceXchange.org.uk.

Dancefest has a few job opportunities on offer as part of ‘12’, a large-scale, innovative People Dancing project.

Two ‘Dance Squads’ are being established to deliver participatory work across Herefordshire and Worcestershire. The Dance Squad Leaders will need at least three years experience in community dance settings and will be required to provide mentorship to a trainee. The trainee posts are aimed at people wanting to work in community dance settings and who possess the necessary dance background but lack experience. Each post will be 3 days (Tuesday – Thursday) and commence on 1 July 2010. Please note that from April 2011 – March 2012 employment will be for 40 weeks only.

Salary: Leaders £23,492 pro rata, trainees £14,006 pro rata (rising to £17,000 pro rata on successful completion of training at the end of March 2012) Closing dates for applications: 5pm Friday 21 May.

Interviews for leader posts: Wednesday 2 June, trainee posts Friday 4 June.

The job description, person specification and application form are available at www.dancefest.co.uk.

It’s the grand finale of International Dance Festival Birmingham on Saturday 15 May with Put Your Foot Down between 12-6:30pm in St Martin’s Square at Bullring.

Organisers are asking members of the public to learn the Put Your Foot Down routine, choreographed by French hip hop star Salah on his recent visit to Birmingham’s DanceXchange. Local dance tutors are teaching the routine in classes across Birmingham and anyone can get involved. Classes are held in the IDFB Shop in Pavilions and at DanceXchange, and a special class will be hosted at Bullring on the Lower Level East on Wednesday 12 May between 2pm & 3pm.

Classes are free with no obligation, for full details go to www.idfb.co.uk.  For people who would like to take part in the final event on 15 May there is a £2.50 registration charge, which includes unlimited dance lessons.

Classes at Bullring
Wed 12 May, 2pm-3pm
Location: Lower level east in front of Selfridges

Classes at The IDFB Shop, Pavilions
Tutors include Kashmir Leese of Smash Bro’z, Clare Palethorpe and Mickael “Marso” Riviere.

Week 2, Mon 26 April – Sun 2 May
Mon-Fri, 12.15pm-1.15pm & 5pm-6pm
Sat & Sun, 12noon-1pm

Week 3, Mon 3 – Sun 9 May
Mon-Fri, 12.15pm-1.15pm
Sat & Sun 12noon-1pm

Week 4, Mon 10 – Fri 14 May
Mon-Fri, 12.15pm-1.15pm & 5pm-6pm

Classes at DanceXchange
Sat 1 May, 2.30pm- 3.30pm
Sat 8 May, 2.30pm- 3.30pm

Location: DanceXchange Studios

Dancers have slowly emerged from the crowds of shoppers and office workers on High Street in Birmingham, performing on the street around the lampposts and benches, dancing on (and in) the phone boxes and performing routines at the cashpoints, responding to the music of some carefully placed “buskers”.

It’s all been part of the (in)visible dances project, commissioned by International Dance Festival Birmingham especially for the Festival and choreographed by Luca Silvistrini, Artistic Director of Protein. The dancers take on different characters of the people who use High Street every day – from shoppers and office workers, to builders and joggers.

The project will conclude on Sunday 9 May at 4pm with Visible Dances, a unique outdoor spectacle reflecting and celebrating the rich mix of Birmingham’s street life.  The cast of dancers will join forces with local students and volunteers to bring a cast of up to 80 people together for the performance.

Scottish Dance Theatre, Scotland’s national contemporary dance company, will be performing two brand new works on the Belgrade Theatre’s Main Stage in Coventry on 7 and 8 May.

NQR (Not Quite Right – an acronym formally used in medical records to describe unexplained difference) is a three way collaboration by Artistic Director, Janet Smith, Caroline Bowditch and Marc Brew and provides audiences with a chance to look at and think differently about difference. The Life and Times of Girl A, choreographed by Ben Duke is a work about moments of crisis both emotional and financial.

Tickets for both shows are available now from the Belgrade Theatre box office on 024 7655 3055 or via www.belgrade.co.uk priced £7.25 to £12.25, with concessions available.

On Monday, we popped along to see a couple of the free United Colours of Dance Out & About events as part of International Dance Festival Birmingham.

I went to see Cossack dance group Barynya in Stoke-on-Trent’s Tontine Square. The troupe took over a large section of the square, drawing a decent-sized crowd of interested spectators and confused passers-by. Here’s a pic from the event, but there are more on Flickr here.

I also managed to put a little video together, so now you can enjoy some of the performance too.

Elsewhere, Chris went along to see Flamenco group Temperamento Español in Stratford-upon-Avon. Here’s a pic from the action:

For more information about International Dance Festival Birmingham, visit the IDFB website here.

More Salsa classes in the Birmingham area for you. This time from Salsa King. Here’s what they’re currently offering.

Salsa every Sunday @ The British Legion Club Solihull

7:30 – 8:30pm Absolute Beginners AND Improvers 1 Salsa, 
8:30 – 9:30pm Beginners Plus AND Improvers 2 
Salsa club till 12:00pm 
Classes £6 for one or £7 for two (NUS £3.50) 
or only £6 if you do both beginners lessons 
Club Admission FREE

Salsa every Tuesday@ Dickens Heath Village Hall

7:30 – 8:30pm Absolute Beginners AND Improvers 1 Salsa
, 8:30 – 9:30pm Beginners Plus AND Improvers II Salsa 
Classes £6 for one or £7 for two (NUS £3.50) 
or only £6 if you do both beginners lessons

Salsa every Wednesday @ La Tasca Broad St Birmingham

7:30 – 8:30pm Beginners Salsa, 
8:30 – 9:30pm General Improvers Salsa 
Free Club till 11:30pm

Salsa every Thursday @ La CC Cafe Restaurant Birmingham

7:30 – 8:30pm Beginners Salsa , 8:30 – 9:30pm Beginners Plus AND General Improvers Salsa 
Classes £6 for one or £7 for two (NUS £3.50), Free club till midnight.

For more information, visit the Salsa King events listings page here.