Dance Nations Dalston 2010, Pic: Ian Routledge
This Saturday, July 19, Gillett Square in Dalston will be filled with banging beats and cool steps.
It’s Dance Nations Dalston. Now in its fifth year, the free event offers live music and dance workshops for all ages
The opening act, scheduled for 1.50pm, will see secondary school students from East London involved in Drum Works, one of the Barbican’s creative project for kids, sound the first beats.
Dance Nations Dalston 2013 Drumworks, Pic: Selena Shaw
After that, the programme will go on until 12am with a mixture of dance and music styles. Expect a range of sounds that includes reggae, 50s rock, hip-hop and swing.
As the night falls, films will be screened in the square and music moves inside to the Vortex Jazz Club where DJs will continue the party mood.
There will be local talent alongside performers with a national and international profile, such as London-based Boy Blue Entertainment and South African Mahotella Queens.
One of the must see acts is the Colombian psychedelic band, the Meridian Brothers, for a “slightly mind-bending experience”, according to Alex Jamieson, the Barbican’s Theatre Administrator.
Dance Nations Dalston 2010 Blue Boy Entertainment Pic: Ian Routledge
Dance Nations Dalston is part of ‘Beyond Barbican,’ which moves performances, commissions and collaborations outside the Barbican Centre’s walls.
Jamieson said that Beyond Barbican “represents a cross section of the Barbican’s work, giving people an introduction that we hope will inspire them to continue to seek out new artistic experiences locally, at the Barbican and elsewhere.”
The move has proven popular, with the event last year attracting 2,000 people.
Dance Nations Dalston is a partnership between the Barbican, Gillett Square, the Vortex, Hackney Co-Operative Developments, and is supported by Hackney Council.
“We programme in consultation with them, and they inform us of any local artistic activity which might be relevant,” said Jamieson.
Further information on the event can be found at:
http://www.barbican.org.uk/theatre/event-detail.asp?ID=16299
