Press Release

For immediate release 30 April

International Dance Festival Birmingham and Bullring need you!

Anyone who has always fancied themselves as a bit of a dancer will get the chance to strut their
stuff at the grand finale of International Dance Festival Birmingham (IDFB) on Saturday 15 May in
St Martin’s Square at Bullring.

Organisers are asking members of the public to learn the Put Your Foot Down routine, choreographed
by French hip hop star Salah on his recent visit to Birmingham’s DanceXchange. Anyone who has learnt
the routine will be invited to perform in the final mass dance of the Festival on 15 May, and hundreds of
people are expected to take part.

Local dance tutors are teaching the routine in classes across Birmingham and anyone can get involved,
even if they don’t have any dance experience.

One of the tutors is Kashmir Leese from Birmingham-based group Smash Bro’z, current UK hip hop
champions. He said, “There are two sections of the routine – a simple part and a slightly more
complicated part. The moves are very similar and keep to the same timing so can be done altogether,
but it means people who are not as experienced can join in as well.”

Louise Hamer-Brown, Marketing Controller at Bullring commented: “It’s great to be a part of the grand
finale event of IDFB, Put Your Foot Down at Bullring. We feel it’s important to celebrate and support the
local arts, which is one of the reasons we launched the Bullring Art Project, which offers a space for
people to upload any pictures, videos and artwork that make them feel happy. Anybody who attends the
event can upload their own photos and videos to lifefeelsbetter.co.uk.”

Classes teaching the routine are running every day in the IDFB Shop in Pavilions and at DanceXchange,
and a special class will be hosted at Bullring on the Lower Level East on Wednesday 12 May between
2pm & 3pm. If you are part of a group you can even invite one of our tutors to come to you and teach the
routine, or for those who prefer to learn at home the whole routine is available on the website.

Classes are free with no obligation, for full details go to www.idfb.co.uk. For people who would like to
take part in the final event on 15 May there is a £2.50 registration charge, which includes unlimited dance
lessons.

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The iconic Bullring will be hosting the grand finale Put Your Foot Down event with a whole afternoon of
free performances and dance demos, plus appearances from Salah and DJ Moyma. The entertainment
will run from 12-6:30pm on Saturday 15 May at Bullring, with the mass dance at 6pm.

Produced by DanceXchange and Birmingham Hippodrome, IDFB 2010 is one of the world’s largest
dance festivals. Representing over 20 countries from six continents, the festival will feature over 70
performances, as well as a number of free public events and plenty of chances for people to get involved.

The Festival is funded by Advantage West Midlands, Arts Council England West Midlands and
Birmingham City Council, with sponsorship from Brewin Dolphin. IDFB is also working in partnership with
the West Midlands Culture Programme for London 2012.

ENDS
For all press enquiries, please contact:
Emily Malcolm, Press Manager for IDFB
0121 689 1082 or emily.malcolm@dancexchange.org.uk

For any Bullring enquires, please contact:

Emma Roberts, PR Manager at Bullring
0121 632 1545 or emma.roberts@bullring.co.uk

LISTINGS:
Put Your Foot Down: The Finale
Saturday 15 May 12-6:30pm
St Martin’s Square, Bullring
The grand finale of IDFB 2010 - a whole afternoon of dance performances will be staged within St Martin’s Square,
Bullring, then all participants will come together at the end to perform the synchronised routine choreographed by
Salah.
Free
www.idfb.co.uk

Classes at Bullring
Wed 12 May, 2pm-3pm
Location: Lower level east in front of Selfridges
Share your experiences of learning the routine and taking part in the event with Bullring at www.lifefeelsbetter.co.uk.

Classes at The IDFB Shop, Pavilions

Tutors include Kashmir Leese of Smash Bro’z, Clare Palethorpe and Mickael “Marso” Riviere.
Week 2, Mon 26 April – Sun 2 May
Mon-Fri, 12.15pm-1.15pm & 5pm-6pm
Sat & Sun, 12noon-1pm
Week 3, Mon 3 – Sun 9 May
Mon-Fri, 12.15pm-1.15pm
Sat & Sun 12noon-1pm
Week 4, Mon 10 – Fri 14 May
Mon-Fri, 12.15pm-1.15pm & 5pm-6pm

Classes at DanceXchange
Sat 1 May, 2.30pm- 3.30pm
Sat 8 May, 2.30pm- 3.30pm
Location: DanceXchange Studios, Level 5 Birmingham Hippodrome, Thorp Street, Birmingham, B5 4TB

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 NOTES TO EDITORS:
- IDFB 2010 is produced by DanceXchange and Birmingham Hippodrome.
- DanceXchange (dx) is a powerhouse of dance with excellence, innovation, education and inclusion at its heart
– and, together with Birmingham Hippodrome and Birmingham Royal Ballet, is part of the largest dance
partnership in Britain. dx takes the best British dance to a worldwide stage, and brings outstanding talent from
across the world to Birmingham. dx also engages people from all backgrounds in healthy dance activity, and
nurtures gifted young people to help shape the dance artists of the future.
- Birmingham Hippodrome is the busiest single theatre in the UK, welcoming c500,000 paying visitors every
year. It is unique in being the home of a classical ballet company, Birmingham Royal Ballet and a national
dance development agency, DanceXchange. Birmingham Hippodrome sells more seats for dance than any
other theatre outside London.
- IDFB 2010 is funded by Advantage West Midlands, Arts Council England West Midlands and Birmingham City
Council. The corporate sponsor for the 2010 festival is Brewin Dolphin.
- Advantage West Midlands is the Regional Development Agency (RDA) for the West Midlands region – one of
nine RDAs in England established to transform English regions through sustainable economic development.
Advantage West Midlands takes the lead role in setting the strategy and focus for regional economic
improvement; building the partnerships needed to achieve the region’s vision; and ensuring that public money
is targeted to those activities and projects best placed to make a real difference.
- Brewin Dolphin is one of the UK's largest independent private client investment managers. The investment
management firm is supporting the event to further build a bridge between the city’s thriving professional
community and its innovative arts offering.
- Additional partners for the festival include media partner BBC WM and accommodations partner Crowne Plaza
Birmingham.
- Venues hosting IDFB 2010 include Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, The Patrick
Centre, Town Hall Birmingham and Ikon Eastside, as well as a number of specialist and outdoor spaces.
- IDFB first took place in 2008 and generated almost 25,000 audience and participatory experiences.
- IDFB 2010 is working in partnership with the West Midlands Culture Programme for London 2012, along with a
range of other exciting programmes including People Dancing, to celebrate and engage people with the
region’s world-class cultural offer. www.wmfor2012.com

PRODUCERS FUNDERS PRINCIPAL SPONSOR

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