City Steps dance festival this weekend

For one weekend only LEAP 2010 will get the city of Liverpool jumping as City Steps, one of highlights of the LEAP 2010 year long festival of dance, takes place on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 June.

This completely free two-day dance festival has been commissioned by Culture Liverpool, supported by Arts Council England and celebrates Liverpool’s year of Health and Wellbeing. City Steps will see Liverpool city centre come alive with dance as Merseyside Dance Initiative and a wealth of local, national and international dancers take over city centre locations including Clayton Square, Williamson Square, Derby Square and Queen’s Square to name but a few.

MDI are delighted to announce that a full line up has been confirmed for City Steps, which commences at 12pm on the Saturday. Some of Liverpool’s finest dancers and dance companies feature including, Taciturn Dance, Movema, Darren Suarez, and Lea Anderson’s specially commissioned piece Vox Pop, which was originally seen as part of the community dance showcase in March. Shoppers are sure to be kept entertained with live music by the Hot Potato Syncopators and travelling dance pieces which are to take place around the city centre throughout the weekend including brand new work by Bridget Fiske.

Watch a passionate Tango at Williamson Square or take part in the Rock a Hula, mass Hula Hooping event, which is sure to prove popular with the younger dancers amongst your family. Williamson Square also hosts Wired Ariel Dance Company, who are sure to thrill with their inspired Rosa’s Bar, bungee assisted dance performance, while Axial Dance take to their mopeds at Derby Square, proving that scooters aren’t only for driving.

Take a trip to Clayton Square and you’re in for a treat as Gulliver’s Boom Box rocks up for the weekend. Originally seen in 2008, this impressive, giant mobile ‘ghetto blaster’ will have revellers dancing on the sidewalk as they enjoy a high energy street dance show, featuring classic tunes and chart favourites from the soul filled 70’s through to the present day.

City Steps is the highlight event of a new £100,000 dance programme with Liverpool City council also commissioning a dance weekend on 6-8 August as part of the On the Waterfront Season.

The council has also commissioned ten Liverpool-based dance companies to deliver a series of events over the next 12 months The 10 for 2010 commissions will feature performances at City Steps as well as a tribute to gay culture and the premiere of several new works. The 10 for 2010 programme is a key element of the city council’s support of the first year-long LEAP dance programme and the city’s themed year of health and wellbeing.

Cllr Wendy Simon, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture and Tousim, said: “City Steps will bring a huge amount of colour and fun to the city and put a spring in the step of thousands of people as we celebrate LEAP and our year of Health and Wellbeing…The weekend is also part of the biggest dance programme we have supported since our year as European Capital of Culture and the quality of the artistic offer is equal to anything we did in 2008.”

City Steps runs between 12pm and 3pm each day on 12-13 June.