press release

British Dance Edition 2006: A Sell-Out Success!

Nearly 500 guests from 37 countries gathered in Leeds on the 9, 10 and 11 February to attend British Dance Edition 2006, the UK¹s prestigious showcase of dance.

Organised by Yorkshire Dance with the Association of National Dance Agencies, British Dance Edition 2006 featured the latest choreography from 41 different dance companies. The showcase featured the British premiere of Russell Maliphant's brand new work Transmission, which included a stunning lightscape to deceive the eyes. There were also performances from established British artists including Michael Clark's classic Op-Art inspired O, Rafael Bonachela's Place Prize-winning duet E2 7SD and Henri Oguike's pounding Second Signal, featuring ground-shaking Taiko drummers. Emerging talents also featured in the programme, including Rosie Kay, Hofesh Shechter and Jane Mason as well as a wide range of events including inspired aerial acrobatics, delicate South Asian dance, children's performances and dance films.

Many countries have a dance platform to showcase the latest work being produced. British Dance Edition occurs every two years, taking place in 2006 in the Yorkshire region for the very first time to fantastic reviews. Over the last decade, BDE has become one of the biggest dance events in the UK, and a main focus of any dance company¹s tour plans. British Dance Edition exists to allow artists and producers to meet, generating new touring opportunities for British companies worldwide.

The sell out shows at the West Yorkshire Playhouse were a glimpse into the industry for any dance-lover, and were an opportunity for the people of Yorkshire to join promoters from as far afield as China, Japan, America, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Kenya and Tanzani. A conservative estimate suggests that, in total, promoters attending the event had at least £3million to spend on dance.

Artistic Director of the showcase Bush Hartshorn said: "It was great to be able to bring the dance spotlight to Yorkshire for the first time. We used great venues all over the city of Leeds to present new and exciting works. Indeed, three quarters of the companies we showed had never performed at a BDE before. We have presented more dance companies than in any previous BDE and confirmed the event as a staple in the dance industry".

This was an impeccably organised event and a stimulating time for most of the attendees, including me. More later.