Fabric presents Applause Youth Dance Festival (AYDF) 2026, a weekend celebration of youth dance in the Midlands this April.

AYDF 2026 welcomes young dancers aged 11 to 24 from all backgrounds, dance genres, and levels of experience to perform in this vibrant celebration of regional youth dance that takes place at Royal Concert Hall Nottingham for the first time.

AYDF is the U.Dance Regional Platform for the Midlands, and gives the opportunity for audiences to experience an exciting evening of young dancers showcasing their creativity and sharing new original dance works.

The selected groups that will be performing are:

Saturday Groups

• Next Door Dance Youth Company (East Midlands)
• Sterran Dance Company (West Midlands)
• Loco Academy (West Midlands)
• Attitude Dance Studios Performance Team (West Midlands)
• ACE Youth Company (West Midlands)
• North Birmingham Academy (West Midlands)
• Young Creations (East Midlands)
• CYCC Dance Elevate (East Midlands)
• Moving Space Co (West Midlands)
• NSFB (Northampton School for Boys) (East Midlands)
• EC Dance (East Midlands)

Sunday Groups

• Park Vale Senior Dance Academy (East Midlands)
• Dance Development Project (East Midlands)
• Nottingham College Dance (East Midlands)
• Holly (solo performance) (East Midlands)
• IGNITE AMTD (West Midlands)
• Linden Youth (West Midlands)
• Eloquent Dance (West Midlands)
• ME Dance Youth (West Midlands)
• Afrocave Dance (West Midlands)
• Our Lady St Chad (West Midlands)
• Manushi Dance (East Midlands)
• Northampton School Dance Academy (East Midlands)

Marketplace

During the weekend the festival will also be hosting a marketplace. This will be an opportunity for people to connect with dance organisations, providers and institutions, explore training opportunities, projects and learn about progression pathways related to and around dance. There will be an exhibition space for mini performances, plus workshops and talks.

The marketplace will be located on level 2 and will run:

• Saturday – 12.30 – 5.30pm
• Sunday – 12.30 – 5.30pm

Header image by Matthew Cawrey

Applause Youth Dance Festival is delivered in partnership with U.Dance Regional and One Dance UK, continuing its role as the U.Dance Regional Platform for the Midlands for 2026.