City primed for best of British dance spectacular
Birmingham's latest international arts festival will take place largely out of public view, but it could still prove quite a coup for the city, writes Terry Grimley in The Birmingham Post.

Dance promoters from as far away as New York and Beijing will be packing their bags over the next few days to head for Birmingham. Over three and a half days, from Wednesday to Saturday next week, the city will be hosting British Dance Edition, a showcase held every other year to enable the world to see a cross-section of the latest in British dance.

The event, pioneered at The Place in London and since held in Newcastle, is being organised by DanceXchange, part of the national network of dance development agencies and a partner with Birmingham Hippodrome and Birmingham Royal Ballet in the pounds 30 million Hippodrome redevelopment. Word about the impressive facilities at the newly opened complex has been filtering out along the international dance grapevine, helping to build a remarkable momentum behind the event.

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<small>[ 02 June 2003, 09:56 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

I noticed this phrase used in the article above:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>and Birmingham Royal Ballet<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>which leads me to the following question....<P>I thought that only one company in a British Commonwealth country could have the designation of 'royal' - having the royal charter. Like Royal Winnipeg Ballet in Canada. That there couldn't be two ballet companies using that title (royal charter) in Canada.<P>So, how come there is both a Royal Ballet (Covent Garden) and a Birmingham Royal Ballet located in the UK? Is my understanding incorrect?<P>(please excuse my being off topic here)

It's a valid question Basheva. Birmingham Royal Ballet (previously called Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet) used to be part of the Royal Opera House and achieved independence in 1997. Thus, my guess is that it would have been difficult, in the circumstances, to remove the 'Royal' tag.

<B>Dancers go out on a limb</B><BR>British Dance Edition brings a mini-festival of new dance to the stage of Birmingham Rep over the next three nights. Two of the choreographers talk to Terry Grimley in The Birmingham Post. <P><BR>The wide-open spaces of Birmingham Rep's main stage have often seemed problematic for drama but they are surely made for dance.<P>In fact, leading choreographer Richard Alston, whose company performs there tonight, once told me that the Rep was his favourite venue. So the 400 delegates from 34 countries who have descended on the city this week for British Dance Edition, the three-day showcase of new British dance, should enjoy the evening performances at the Rep over the next three days.<P>Unlike other performances in BDE, these are also open to the public, a fact welcomed by Wayne McGregor, whose Random Dance Company takes the stage on Saturday.<P><A HREF="http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/article.html?id=020131006210&query=dance" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A>

<B>British Dance Edition; Birmingham</B> <BR>BY DONALD HUTERA in The Times<P> <BR>BRITAIN’S second city became the first city for dance last week for the biannual British Dance Edition, an event designed to showcase the diversity of choreography being created in the UK. <BR>Funded principally by the Arts Council of England, West Midland Arts and Birmingham City Council, four days of performances, discussions and workshops drew in promoters, educators and administrators, as well as the artists. <P>The hub of activities was the revamped Birmingham Hippodrome complex, home to DanceXchange, one of our nine national dance agencies.<P><A HREF="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,62-2002062002,00.html" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A> <BR>