About this event
When
Sat 17th Oct - Sun 18th Oct 2026
6:30pm & 4:00pm
Price
£12 - £40
Duration
60 minutes
The pool provides 2 accessible parking bays and step free access. An accessible toilet is available off the main reception (key must be requested from a member of staff).
Please note that it will be hot and humid in the swimming pool – we invite you to consider bringing light clothing and refreshments.
Book here
Image by Francoise Robert
Performance artist Dana Michel considers the ability to swim to be one of the ways in which we might embody self-trust and wonders why, despite many attempts at learning, she still cannot really feel at ease in the water.
And what is it that holds back the majority of her family from swimming, despite hailing from an island that is surrounded by both the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea? How safe can you feel in the world if you cannot float in the liquid that makes up a large part of your body?
With YOU CANNOT CAN, Michel creates a new solo performance in a swimming pool. Surrounded by the audience, she wades inside global histories and socio-economic realities of swimming and safe access to water. She uses her kaleidoscopically-curious approach to focus on how we might shake off fears. Might this watery adventure be an entry point to ultimate liberation?
Fierce says:
“We presented an early version of YOU CANNOT CAN as part of our inaugural Fierce Jams and could not be more excited for Dana to return with the full-length work. We’ve said it before and will say it again and again: no one is doing it like Dana. With a finely tuned but inexplicable sense of logic and timing, Dana transforms the pool into a site of trust and transformation, edging us towards liberation.”
This performance is presented in Fierce Festival as part of THIS IS DANCE.
THIS IS DANCE is an international season of dance in Birmingham presented in partnership with Fabric, Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Fierce Festival, Midlands Arts Centre and Sampad Arts, bringing exceptional dance from both across the globe and the local community.
