Fabric announces autumn season as part of city-wide THIS IS DANCE programme

Fabric has announced four performances for its autumn season, presented as part of THIS IS DANCE, a growing partnership bringing ambitious dance to audiences across Birmingham.

Now in its second year, THIS IS DANCE brings together presenting partners, co-producers and commissioning organisations with a shared ambition to showcase ambitious international dance, support artists and make dance a vital part of Birmingham’s cultural identity.

The partnership includes Fabric, Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Midlands Arts Centre, Fierce Festival and Sampad Arts.

This autumn’s programme brings together artists and companies from across the UK and internationally, with work from Italy, the USA, Canada, Poland, the Netherlands, Germany and Benin.

Fabric’s season includes two major partnerships, beginning with the UK premiere of Weathering by Faye Driscoll, co-presented with Fierce Festival at Midlands Arts Centre from 14 to 16 October.

The work brings together ten performers on a moving platform, creating a constantly shifting live sculpture of images, connections and relationships. Audiences surround the stage, placing them close to the physicality of the performance.

In November, Fabric will co-present three new performances with Birmingham Hippodrome in The Patrick Studio.

The Dirty Work by Jo Bannon takes place on 7 November, combining classic magic imagery with Bannon’s lived experience of visual impairment to explore truth, illusion, performance and reality.

On 20 November, Silvia Gribaudi’s Graces uses humour and an empathetic comic style to explore imperfection, blurring the boundaries between dance, theatre and performance.

The season concludes with Anatomy of Survival on 26 November. Created by award-winning playwright Vivienne Franzmann and choreographer and psychotherapist Frauke Requardt, the work draws on 22 eyewitness accounts of an everyday altercation to explore how the human nervous system responds to conflict.

Paul Russ, Fabric’s CEO and artistic director, said: “THIS IS DANCE demonstrates how organisations with distinct identities can work collectively to grow the city’s cultural offer, positioning Birmingham as a city where adventurous dance and performance can flourish.

“THIS IS DANCE will strengthen Birmingham’s reputation for bold and adventurous performance and create the conditions for dance and choreography to reach wider audiences and have greater impact than would be possible independently.”

Jon Gilchrist, Birmingham Hippodrome’s artistic director and CEO, said: “We’re excited to build on the success of THIS IS DANCE with a vibrant new season.

“Together with Fabric and our partners across the city, we’re creating more opportunities for artists and audiences to experience bold, inspiring dance from Birmingham and around the world.”

The wider THIS IS DANCE programme also includes a masterclass with Justine A Chambers, performance artist Dana Mitchel and The Car Man by Matthew Bourne, among other performances.

For full programme details and information about the autumn season, visit Fabric.