BALLET NEWS: Mayor of London

Monday, 12 July 2010

THE T-MOBILE BIG DANCE FINALE:

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CAST OF THOUSANDS TRANSFORM LONDON STREETS FOR THE ‘BIG WORLD DANCE’

Not strictly all ballet, but the sheer joy of dance in all it's forms was on display at the weeked, and as I have been reporting on Big Dance 2010 throughout, I couldn't leave out the finale !
The T-Mobile Big Dance 2010 built to a climax today with the Big World Dance, a grand finale that saw thousands of people transform the streets of London into a giant open air stage. Thousands of people gathered together to perform the show stopping routine, commissioned by the Southbank Centre and directed by Luca Silvestrini, Artistic Director of Protein Dance.

Photograph : zxDaveM

After starting the dance procession at the Southbank Centre, the dancers made their way across the Golden Jubilee Bridge and up Northumberland Avenue into Trafalgar Square for a spectacular performance on a gigantic scale. The dance was performed to a specially created soundtrack played live in Trafalgar Square by DJ Walde.

Photograph : zxDaveM

The choreography for the Big World Dance was taught to thousands of people in free workshops across the city and the routines were also learnt online. Everyone was encouraged to sign up and take part, and participants could learn one of five different versions of the dance organised by the five hub partners - East London Dance, English National Ballet, Greenwich Dance, Sadler’s Wells, and Siobhan Davies Dance.

Photograph : zxDaveM

Over 850 dance events will have taken place over nine days as part of the T-Mobile Big Dance 2010, from 3 – 11 July. An open invitation for everyone to join in and celebrate dance, the T-Mobile Big Dance 2010 has seen highlights such as Slow Dancing and Tea Dances in Trafalgar Square, politicians ‘Dancing on Parliament’, the T-Mobile Big Dance Bus rolling out its pop up dance floor and a whole host of workshops and performances taking place in shopping centres, parks, offices, galleries, museums, streets.

Photograph : zxDaveM

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "The past week has once again underlined the extraordinary power of dance. With thousands upon thousands of Londoners - of all shapes and sizes, ages and abilities - taking part, Big Dance has been a footstomping, toe-tapping, highkicking triumph."

Photograph : zxDaveM

To end the summer’s events, a selection of lucky Londoners were treated to a special screening of Dirty Dancing in Trafalgar Square to celebrate T-Mobile’s Night In customer loyalty offer.

Photograph : zxDaveM

Stars of the Dirty Dancing musical where on hand to teach Londoners dance moves from the show to close T-Mobile Big Dance 2010. Tina Cleary, Senior Brand Experience Manager for T-Mobile explains: “Today’s dance has been the perfect finale to T-Mobile’s Big Dance 2010, we’ve been absolutely delighted to see how infectious dance is inspiring thousands of Londoners to get up and have some fun. To celebrate the end of Big Dance 2010 and the launch of our Night In offer, we wanted to create the perfect dance film screening right here in the Capital, and what better dance movie to show than Dirty Dancing.”

Photograph : zxDaveM

Big Dance is funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to create a cultural and sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Photograph : zxDaveM

The programme also receives funding and support from Mayor of London, Arts Council England and the Dance Champions Group www.dancechampions.org. This year’s headline sponsor is T-Mobile.

Thursday, 20 May 2010

THE CLOCK STARTS FOR THE COUNTDOWN TO THE T-MOBILE BIG DANCE 2010

Dance Champion Arlene Phillips launches the T-Mobile Big Dance Bus at Sadler’s Wells

• Programme announced for The T-Mobile Big Dance 2010

• The T-Mobile Big Dance Bus launched by Arlene Phillips

• Londoners invited to join the biggest street dance in the world

The six-week countdown begins today for The T-Mobile Big Dance 2010, which runs from 3-11 July.

• The world’s biggest and most influential dance initiative, a wide-ranging programme of over 600 events is being announced, organised and curated by the five hub partners - East London Dance, English National Ballet, Greenwich Dance, Sadler’s Wells, and Siobhan Davies Dance. The aim is to reach out to all the communities across London.

• The T-Mobile Big Dance Bus launched by Arlene Phillips, one of the Dance Champions, set off today to tour London, rolling out its dance floor in communities all over the capital, inviting everyone to join with professional dancers to experience the joy of dance.

Katie Deacon and James Waddell from the Central School of Ballet

• T-Mobile Big Dance at Westfield takes place this weekend (22 and 23 May) with stunning live performances from a host of dance groups and the chance for the public to get involved in dance workshops throughout the weekend. On Saturday 22 May, there will also be a chance for shoppers to see English National Ballet perform sequences from Swan Lake.

• Registration opens today for Londoners to join the world’s biggest dance, the Big World Dance. Southbank centre has commissioned Protein director Luca Silvestrini to choreograph and direct the Big World Dance with live music mixed by DJ Walde. Up to four thousand people can take part in the advance workshops and join the dance procession which will begin at Southbank Centre and culminate in Trafalgar Square, transforming Central London into a giant stage for dance on Saturday 10 July.

Led by the Mayor of London in partnership with Arts Council England, Big Dance is also being funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympic Games. Leading mobile operator, T-Mobile is the headline sponsor for Big Dance 2010. Big Dance is supported by the Dance Champions.

Katie Deacon and James Waddell from the Central School of Ballet

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: 'With TV shows, an astonishing array of styles on stage and brilliant choreographers working in the capital, dance is at an all time high. We want to get as many people moving as possible – not just in July, but to 2012 and beyond - so give Big Dance a whirl.'

Lysa Hardy, Head of Brand and Communications for T-Mobile said: “We are passionate about encouraging our customers to participate in extraordinary events. From our experience with our Dance advert, which attracted over 17 million views on YouTube and spawned many fantastic imitation videos, we know how dance can really capture the imagination and spur people to get involved. We’re looking forward to supporting The T-Mobile Big Dance 2010 in the spirit of our ‘Life’s for Sharing’ brand philosophy.”

Moira Sinclair, London Executive Director for Arts Council England said “Big Dance will really get London dancing this summer. Featuring some of the world's finest dance companies, choreographers and dancers, it offers a great opportunity for everyone to get involved whether it's in the Big Dance Bubble or on the Big Dance Bus. With outdoor spectacles in some of London's iconic locations and activities in every London borough, this year's event promises to be bigger and better than ever.”