Black British Dance Platform

Black British Dance Platform is in collaboration with Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage to support and nurture dance artists from the African and African Caribbean Diaspora, who are based in England, and who desire to present work internationally.

Through the Black British Dance Platform, Serendipity and Fabric showcase independent artists/companies as part of Let’s Dance International Frontiers supported through Fabric’s Dance from England programme.

The Black British Dance Platform is part of Serendipity and Fabric’s joint commitment to affect long-term change in dance through the leadership of both organisations. This collaboration supports their aims to cultivate a sector that is representative of contemporary Britain, broadens the presence of independent artists internationally and enriches international perspectives into England’s dance ecology

Previous artists

2023
2026

2023

Closer to My Dreams by Chad Taylor

The journey of two young Black brothers, Chad Taylor and Ziggy Taylor from inner-city Hulme, describing their trials and tribulations to pursue their artistic dreams. Will they succeed with the odds stacked against them? With hip hop choreography, poetry and rap Closer to My Dreams is a playful, heartfelt and unique take on family and friendship it explores universal questions of how we respond to the trials and tribulations that life throws at us, what path to take, when to hustle and when to let go.

NOIR by Rose Aida Sall Sao

Identity is the strongest force in human personality. But why do we have the need to stay consistent with how we define ourselves? There is an alchemical moment when the shadow becomes illuminated. The “golden shadow” appears. When we face our shadowsides, we rekindle with our strength. NOIR speaks of integrating all of the parts of ourselves, to then allow ourselves to change from one thing to another. We are ever shapeshifting.

Melanin Migration Brothers in Arms: The Journey by Blake Arts

In the wake of economic disruption, Black Lives Matter and the lingering impact of COVID-19, six Black male professional dancers forge together in a journey of self, identity, gender and brotherhood. Born out of conversations around the immigrant experience, sustainability and their future as artists, Melanin Migration Brothers in Arms, was created.

2026

Together by Douglas Thorpe

An explosive contemporary duet driven by pulse, urgency and relentless intensity. Two bodies circle each other with animal alertness, testing strength and endurance through dense, highly crafted movement. Visceral and emotionally charged, the choreography shifts between dark humour, exhaustion and fleeting moments of innocence and simplicity. Breath becomes audible, effort exposed, humanity revealed in small gestures.

Choreographed by Douglas Thorpe (UK) Performed by Imogen Wright and Kadafi Mulula

Douglas Thorpe, founder and director, trained at The Place London, and returned to Leeds to build his career. He worked with Phoenix Dance Theatre over three decades, dancing, choreographing and teaching. He has created work for Staatstheater Braunschweig, ACE Dance and Music, Mobius, Phoenix Dance Theatre and Verve.