Bridport’s first-ever dance festival takes place in the town on Friday 23 May and Saturday 24 May 2025
The festival, on Friday 23 May and Saturday 24 May, involves performances and workshops with multicultural dancers and artists, along with dance groups local to West Dorset.
Founder Carla Steenkamp Sheills, who formed My Ballet in Bridport in 2010, is co-producing the events with Nikki Northover, founding director of Bridport Youth Dance and Choreography Geography, who has run dance classes in the town for more than 30 years.
Carla said: “We’re looking forward to bringing to Bridport an exciting and colourful gathering from far and wide, as well as closer to home. It will be a feast for the eyes.
“There is nothing like dance and music to bring people together. The festival is family friendly and includes everyone in our community.
“The festival ethos is a judgement-free zone in which anyone can try things out as well as practise their skills or just have fun with friends viewing events and performance.”
The varied and full programme includes performances and workshops in the centre of Bridport featuring a wide range of dancing from all around the world – Argentinian Tango, Indian classical, holistic ballet, jazz fit, jive, hip-hop, tap, contemporary, creative and circle dance, as well as specially choreographed dance films.
Key dancers will be Fiona Harvey, a former ballerina with The Royal Ballet; Nafisah Baba from London, who won BBC Young Dancer of the Year in 2017; Aakash Odedra from Leicester; Leo and Tracey Fandago Acosta from Buenos Aires and Bournemouth; Grace & Growl, founded by West Dorset’s Anna Golding; Vrushali Harihar from India and Bournemouth; dancers from My Ballet and Bridport Youth Dance and alumni, as well as local community dance groups.
Carla, a pioneer in inclusive dance education, said: “There will also be opportunities for people in wheelchairs and those living with Parkinson’s – something for everybody.”
Venues include the ballroom at The Bull Hotel, the town hall, the arts centre, the Electric Palace, St Mary’s Church Hall, the British Legion Hall and the Lyric Theatre.
There will be dance workshops for all ages and abilities, with some free events on the art centre forecourt and the community orchard, including a silent disco and storyteller.
Little Murmur, a dance theatre show with Aakash Odedra, is at Bridport Arts Centre on Saturday 24 May at 2pm. The special dance finale with Nafisah Baba is at the Electric Palace is the evening, and features many of the key dancers and groups, as well as a series of short films.
For the full programme, visit the website www.bridportdancefestival.org.uk or pick up a hard copy from Bridport Tourist Information Centre or venues around the town.
Tickets for the Bridport Arts Centre and Electric Palace events can be bought from the venue websites or in person or over the phone from the TIC – 01308 424901. All other tickets are sold through the website www.bridportandwestbay.co.uk or through the TIC.
A Crowdfunder appeal has been launched to help pay for the festival after an unsuccessful bid for grant funding from Arts Council England.
Carla and Nikki hope that donations from the public will go some way to meeting the £15,000 costs.
Said Carla: “The beauty of this festival is that, among other things, it is intergenerational, an unspoken language. Movement and dance can give people a sense of purpose and identity, confidence and self-expression.
“Dance is beneficial to good mental health as well as helping with physical challenges.”
More details about the appeal can be found here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/bridport-dance-festival.
See website for more information https://www.bridportdancefestival.org.uk/
