Outdoor Dance Collective 2021

Birmingham International Dance Festival (BIDF) presented Outdoor Dance Collection 2021 (ODC21) as part of their digital programme. ODC21 was a dance and outdoor arts industry programme of events for professional delegates and artists and included UK Dance Showcase and Dance & The Outdoors Symposium.

ODC21: UK Dance Showcase was devised and delivered in partnership with XTRAX as part of the international showcase programme Platform 4:UK; Dance4 as part of Dance from England; and DanceXchange, producers of BIDF. OCD21 presented a showcase of current choreographic practice for outdoor and site-responsive work. The showcase programme provided opportunities for artists, programmers and professionals working in outdoor dance to attend panel discussions, training and artists pitching sessions and other networking opportunities, available via a virtual event platform. National and international delegates also had access to the Outdoor Dance Collection 2021 Catalogue, presenting a curated selection of some of the most exciting current outdoor work available for touring by UK dance artists. The showcase event took place on 3 and 4 June.

Pitching Artists included:

Artist Name	Pitch Presentation (PDF)
Akademi	Pravaas
Alleyne Dance	Bonded
Cia Moveo	Echoes
Company Chameleon	Company-Chameleon
Far From the Norm	Good Youtes Walk
Humanhood	Sphera
Jamaal Burkmar	Jukebox
Jeanefer Jean-Charles	Black Victorians
Joli Vyann	Timeless
Requardt & Rosenberg	Future Cargo
Stefan Jovanovic	Drumming in the Hall of the Mountain
Stopgap Dance Company	Frock
Danse K par K	Solo Prét -à-Porter
Sylvain Émard Danse	Sylvain-Emard-Danse

ODC21: Dance & The Outdoors Symposium was devised and produced by 101 Outdoor Arts and The Place in partnership with DanceXchange producers of BIDF. The two-day digital conference brought together practitioners, producers and presenters of outdoor dance to explore how artists are creating work for public space. The symposium looked at a range of practice in locations from urban to rural and in contexts that range from touring to site-specific to participant-led. Some of Europe’s most exciting choreographers and companies took part in panel sessions that aimed to shine a spotlight on the wealth of outdoor dance practice. We explored how this distinctive yet diverse field contributes to the development of dance – bringing new audiences and new approaches and creating interventions that transform and disrupt our relationship with the world around us.

The symposium took place on 8 and 9 June 2021.This activity was supported by Platform 4:UK, XTRAX’s Arts Council of England funded project for International collaboration in outdoor arts.