Sadler’s Wells announces line up for second edition of YFX Festival celebrating youth dance from across the country this July

• Announced today: Schools and youth groups from towns and cities across the nation including Burnley, Penrith, Gosforth, Sheffield, Milton Keynes, Wolverhampton, Leeds and Tring selected to showcase their work at the 2026 National Platform of Sadler's Wells Making Moves programme
• England’s National Youth Dance Company perform new work Memory Keepers by Alleyne Dance
• Olivier Award-winning hip hop dance company Boy Blue takeover Sadler’s Wells East with performances from dancers aged 5-25 and hip hop battles
• Festival also features a symposium exploring the future of youth dance, takeovers on The Dance Floor and free workshops

In July, Sadler’s Wells presents the second edition of annual YFX Youth Festival which celebrates and showcases the exceptional range of youth dance work across England. As well as performances, the festival will host a series of workshops for young dancers, panel discussions, hip hop battles and a symposium centred on dance for young people. YFX Festival will take place across Sadler’s Wells East on the stage, in the studios and on The Dance Floor. 

Director of Sadler’s Wells Learning & Engagement, Joce Giles said, “Building on the success of last year’s festival, the 2nd edition of YFX features an exciting range of performances by talented young people from across England and a programme of free workshops connecting young people to the work of some of the country’s leading dance companies and choreographers. 

I’m delighted Boy Blue are taking over part of YFX 2026 with a range of activities. Generation:Next gives a platform to young hip hop dancers aged 5-25 years and the Boy Blue Frontline Youth Battle will bring The Dance Floor at Sadler’s Wells East to life.

YFX 2026 is an important moment to bring together people working in youth dance and dance education. Through panel discussions and the YFX symposium, there will be the opportunity to discuss the current landscape for dance and young people and look ahead to the future.
YFX has quickly become a key moment in the annual artistic programme at Sadler’s Wells and we can’t wait to welcome hundreds of young dancers from across the country to Sadler’s Wells East in July.”

The week-long festival kicks off on Wednesday 15 July with the 2026 National Platform of Making Moves. Back for its third year, Making Moves is the hugely successful choreographic programme for schools and youth groups across England. Sadler’s Wells Learning and Engagement team provides digital toolkits created by leading choreographers to up to 54 groups across the country, runs a weekend of masterclasses for their group leaders, and delivers practical workshops during regional choreographic sharings for the 700+ young people taking part. This year, the groups are working with Fin Walker, Ivan Michael Blackstock, Richard Alston, and Thick & Tight.  

The eight school and youth groups selected to perform at the National Platform are Burnley College Dance (Burnley, North West), Eden Youth Dance Company (Penrith, North West), Gosforth Civic Theatre Youth Dance Company (Gosforth, North East), High Storrs Dance Company (Sheffield, Yorkshire), MK Dance Theatre (Milton Keynes, South East), Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Academy (Wolverhampton, Midlands), Phoenix Youth Academy Seniors (Leeds, Yorkshire), and Prelude Youth Dance Company (Tring, East).
 
Also on Wednesday 15 July students from Academy Breakin’ Convention (ABC) take over The Dance Floor, ABC supports young artists to grow as performers and creators within hip-hop culture. The same day a panel discussion on the future of dance in schools chaired by Sir Alistair Spalding in the Martha Graham Studio will focus on the value of dance in education and explore the opportunities for dance following recent development in education policy.

On Thursday 16 July, professionals working in youth dance will convene at a symposium which explores the future of the sector through inspiring models and discussions featuring leading artists and organisations from across the UK. Participants have the chance to hear about programmes across the country, share working practices and discuss future collaboration. The symposium will be hosted by young people whose lives have been shaped by youth dance. 

Also on Thursday 16 July Resonance Dance will perform on The Dance Floor, Resonance Dance provide opportunities for young dance artists to showcase their work. This performance sees the dancers consider ways of facing an uncertain global future with optimism and creative endeavour.
 
On Friday 17 July, YFX Local spotlights the creativity thriving in the neighbouring boroughs to Sadler’s Wells East. Local youth focused and community groups will take over The Dance Floor, sharing a taste of their work with festival audiences.  

Also on Friday 17 July Olivier Award-winning hip hop company Boy Blue presents ...Generation:Next a takeover of YFX Festival by Boy Blue youth as part of the company’s 25th anniversary, with performances from their youth companies for dancers aged 5-25. PROJECT rEVOLUTION will also be featured, a dance theatre production created by young artists in collaboration with Boy Blue and Roundhouse. 
 
Founded in east London by composer Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante MBE and choreographer Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy MBE, Boy Blue is the radical force that has defined the potential and power of hip-hop dance theatre across the UK. Boy Blue were also Guest Artistic Directors of National Youth Dance Company in 2025. 

On Saturday 18 July Boy Blue also presents Boy Blue Frontline Youth Battle, an explosive dance battle, accompanied by a line-up of guest judges and a live DJ on The Dance Floor. The line-up of guest judges and DJs is to be announced. 

Also on Saturday 18 July National Youth Dance Company (NYDC) performs Alleyne Dance’s Memory Keepers. Now in its 14th year, NYDC is the country’s flagship youth dance company, run by Sadler’s Wells since its inception. The company aims to create and perform innovative and influential dance, bringing together some of the brightest young dancers from across England to work with Sadler’s Wells’ internationally renowned Associate Artists and visiting companies. 

The current cohort is working with the award-winning East London based Alleyne Dance founded by twin sisters Sadé and Kristina Alleyne. Memory Keepers received its world premiere at Dance East, Ipswich last month and tours across the country this summer including a performance at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in Angel on Saturday 30 May. 
 
Throughout the festival there will be a series of free workshops held across The Dance Floor and studios aimed at experienced young dancers who are going on to further dance training. These workshops will be run by a range of artists from established UK companies, including Uchenna Dance, Far From The Norm, Academy Breakin’ Convention, Studio Wayne McGregor, Hofesh Shechter Company and Boy Blue.