Yorkshire Dance – Ageless Festival 25 and 26 October

Ageless Festival is bringing together artists, film-makers and speakers from around the world in a celebration of Yorkshire Dance’s work with older people in Leeds and elsewhere in Yorkshire.

The Festival will occupy three venues in the Quarry Hill area of Leeds, featuring a mix of intimate and revealing conversations, motivating workshops and exhilarating performance, including some UK premieres.

  • Robbie Synge and his Ensemble, who performed at Yorkshire Dance’s first Encounters Festival.
  • Italian choreographer and installation artist Riccardo Buscarini.
  • Liz Aggiss, a performer, choreographer, film-maker and writer.
  • Alan Lyddiard and members of his performance Ensemble.
  • Tamara McLorg, a choreographer committed to Community Dance for 30 years and has created projects around the world.
  • From France – DIRTZ Theatre
  • Sweden’s Sara Lindstörm, choreographer and film-maker.

Hannah Robertshaw, Yorkshire Dance Programmes Director, said: “Ageless presents a wonderful opportunity for dancers, academics, health professionals and anyone interested in dance to come together for individual events or for the whole two days.  You can take part in any of the morning workshops, or participate in the UK premiere of Riccardo Buscarini’s immersive, I Wish this Dance Would Never End featuring dances from iconic Italian movies, watch some amazing community dance pieces with an evening Celebrating Participation Performance or spend an evening at the Ageless Solo Platform, with three exceptional older soloists including Claudia Moore, Tamara McLorg and founding member of the Northern School of Contemporary dance, Namron OBE.”

Moving Kinship Workshop. Beatrice Allegranti. (Photograph by Martha Kamminga). To be performed 26 October at 2.30 p.m.

Wieke Eringa, Artistic Director at Yorkshire Dance, said “This Festival is driven by a desire to shine a light on this timely and exciting area of dance and research. Deliberately bringing together work by acclaimed professionals with those dancing semi-professionally or those just those for fun, we want to raise the visibility of older people as artists, find new inspiration, challenge clichés, make new friends and have a lot of fun.  We worked closely with festival partners and key stakeholders across the dance, health and wellbeing sectors to ensure that Ageless encompasses the learning and principals of a conference, but also enables audiences to engage in performances, workshops and the artistic output of dance with older people.”

Riccardo Buscarini’s I Wish This Dance Would Never End. Performances on 25 October at 4.30 and 7.30

For more information, visit here.  Festival passes cost from £40 – £100.  Tickets for individual classes, workshops and performances are available from the beginning of October on a Pay As You Feel basis. Ageless is supported by Arts Council England, Leeds Dance Partnership, Leeds Inspired, Leeds City College, Leeds Playhouse, Arts@Leeds, Leeds City Council.

Feature photograph is Nonna(s) Don’t Cry, Dirtz Theatres.  (Pierre Rigo)  To be performed 25 October at 4.30 p.m. 

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