Aerial circus acts and live music booked for return of Bradford Festival
Over 100 artists from across the globe will perform at the festival on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 July
AERIAL circus acts, a dance performance based on a trip to the pub and live music are among the acts that will come to the city centre for Bradford Festival next month.
Over 100 artists from across the globe will perform at the festival on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 July
The free weekend will feature spectacular outdoor arts, world-class circus acts, street theatre, dance and family entertainment spread throughout the city centre, including its new park and pedestrianised streets.
This year the festival is co-produced by Bradford Culture Company and City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council to build on the success of UK City of Culture.
Bradford’s Mirror Pool, the UK’s largest urban water feature, will be the stage for an large-scale, aerial-spectacular act from Gorilla Circus.
Featuring high wire-walking, dance trapeze, and hair hanging, UNITY merges immersive theatre, circus and community stories. Using a series of cables spread over a 60m area, audiences can be in amongst the action, as the artists perform overhead.
Local poet Kirsty Taylor will write a new work for the show, reflecting shared histories and voices of Bradford.
Hip-hop choreography piece Closer to My Dreams will take place in new city-centre park Norfolk Gardens, alongside roaming performances from Art Doctors seeking to cure artistic slumps and living card tables creating magical and surprising encounters.
At Darley Street Market there’ll be juggling, a huge hopscotch board, as well as Last Orders, a dance piece inspired by the pub.
Spanish street arts company Sound De Secà bring a fusion of percussion, dance and theatre, French actors offer a promenade piece looking at our perceptions of old age, and Indonesia’s Gigi Art of Dance display a performance of connections, cultures and conversations on human response.
Seeta Patel Dance will present an adaptation of Stravinsky’s iconic ballet The Rite of Spring through Indian movement style Bharatanatyam, whilst WAVE: All Around the World makes the audience a part of the show with body percussion, claps and self-made rhythm.
Printing workshops, a bus full of books and pop-up performances from dragons on bikes, foxes on scooters and posties delivering dreams will also be held at various locations – along with a live music stage in Centenary Square.
Shanaz Gulzar, Creative Director of Bradford Culture Company said “We’re excited to announce the first event major event in our summer programme, creating more opportunities for people to come together and get involved with culture in our city and district. Delivered in partnership with Bradford Council City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, this year’s Bradford Festival will surprise and delight, and continue to shine a spotlight our region as a key destination for culture and creativity.”
Councillor Andrew Judson, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Growth on the Council’s Reform Executive, said: “Events like these are what we mean when we say Bradford is open for business. With our partners at Bradford Culture Company, we are starting to build the legacy of our year as UK City of Culture; demonstrating pride in place for residents, attracting visitors, and showing our ongoing commitment to culture led regeneration across the District to give business the confidence to invest more here.”
The full Bradford Festival programme can be found at bradfordculture.co.uk/programme/bradford-festival/