The Revised LET'S DANCE INTERNATIONAL FRONTIERS Dance Festival Comes to Leicester

Let's Dance International Frontiers (LDIF) is the annual dance festival in Leicester which opens every year on April 29th (International Dance Day) bringing diversity to the forefront with a strong programme of performances, workshops, films and discussion featuring dancers and choreographers from around the world.

Due to the current restrictions imposed on mass gatherings as a result of Coronavirus (COVID-19), the physical festival for LDIF20 will be postponed. However, in order to mark LDIF's tenth anniversary this year, Serendipity, the producers of LDIF, is proud to present ALTERNATIVE LDIF20, a digital festival of dance, from April 29th - May 16th.

Pawlet Brookes, Artistic Director and CEO of Serendipity, (left) says: "LDIF is all about connections. For the last nine years, this festival has fostered creative collaborations and brought together the international dance ecology. We are excited to embrace the technologies that allow us to stay connected globally, and to continue sharing the incredible work of these artists in the face of an unprecedented situation that is impacting people around the world. We hope that Alternative LDIF20 will enable those missing out on cultural experiences to enjoy a diverse programme celebrating international dance, that can be accessed globally - safely and for free."

ALTERNATIVE LDIF20 will feature dance performances, speakers, an online exhibition, film screenings, the launch of Serendipity's podcast, and an enticing look behind the scenes with LDIF20 artists. The finale will be a collaborative programme allowing dancers from around the world to come together and showcase the power of movement. In celebration of LDIF's ten-year history, the festival will also see the launch of a brand new book, LDIF: 10 Years in the Making written by Pawlet Brookes with a foreword by Gladys M. Francis, Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Georgia State University in the US and poetry by Norwegian dance practitioner Thomas Prestø.

Dance Dialogues is a daily programme presenting the thinking and practices of artists, choreographers and academics from the African and African Caribbean diaspora who have made a significant impact in shaping the international dance ecology. Talks will be aired daily throughout the festival at 11.00am BST. Featured speakers include Kyle Abraham, S. Ama Wray, Gladys M Francis, Thomas Prestø, Nora Chipaumire, Chester Morrison, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Ronald K Brown, L'Antoinette Stines, Joan Myers Brown.

Artists originally scheduled to appear in person at LDIF20 will be sharing more about their work in advance of their rescheduled performances. Alice Sheppard, award-winning disabled dancer and choreographer, will present a short video of her work in progress, Where Good Souls Fear, on Thursday 7 May 2020 at 7.00pm BST.

Annabel Guérédrat and Henri Tauliaut, of the Martinique-based Artincidence, will share their documentary Annabel the Rebel which explores Guérédrat's practice and work, and the importance of establishing creative dialogue within and beyond the Caribbean. This will be presented as a double bill with Thoughts from FIAP, created by Serendipity CEO and Artistic Director, Pawlet Brookes, on Saturday 9 May 2020 at 7.00pm BST.

Yinka Esi Graves is sharing her developing work in progress, Disappearing Act, with a series of short films captured via performances and residencies from the last 12 months. There will be a performance of a new piece of work by Tabanka Dance Ensemble, shared online for the very first time, seamlessly merging ancestral movements, culturally contextualised vocabulary and Africana movement sensibilities, on Friday 8 May 2020 at 7.00pm BST.

The festival will culminate with the debut of a collective dance short film. The collaborative work, 30 Seconds of Freedom, will be comprised of thirty-second bursts of movement submitted by dancers, artists and enthusiasts from around the world. This is an opportunity to be part of the festival, and to take a step outside of reality to breathe, move and connect at a time of social distancing.

LET'S DANCE INTERNATIONAL FRONTIERS will return in its physical format in October 2020 for the LDIF20 Finale.

Alternative LDIF Schedule launches online 29 April 2020 on www.ldif.co.uk.

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