Big Dance East Midlands Dance4 on behalf of Big Dance Hub Partnership East Midlands seeks a choreographer who can create an extraordinary flagship dance programme for Big Dance in 2012.

You will create a legendary experience to contribute to Big Dance and London 2012 Festival, the finale of the Cultural Olympiad. This is the UK's greatest sporting year staying in the hearts and minds for generations. It will be bespoke to the region, ambitious, exciting audiences with unexpected dance experiences.  

The Flagship commission will take place at the National Water Sports Centre on July 8 as part of the the National Big Dance week. Led by Dance4 this commission will be the region's signature Big Dance project. The choreographer will also lead the dance element of a major performance to coincide with the Olympic Torch arrival in Nottingham City Centre again led by Dance4 with our partners Lakeside Arts Centre and the University of Nottingham.  

For more information please visit the Dance4 website

Deadline: 5pm on Friday 2 March 2012

Please send applications to Stuart Allen or by post to Dance4, College Street Centre, College Street, Nottingham, NG1 5AQ

Young people/Students from the Leicester and Nottingham areas are invited to take part in a series of fun and creative performing arts/dance workshops which will culminate in a series of extraordinary, synchronised street performances, featuring innovative design, dance and street theatre techniques.

Part of Dress the World, a major East Midlands Cultural Olympiad project.

Interested in taking part? Contact Hannah Stretton for more information! email hannah@artreach.biz or call 0116 261 6882

Added Tuesday 28 February 2012

Music Nation, a Festival 2012 countdown event, will take place on the weekend of 3 and 4 March.

Tunde Jegede joins forces with sinfonia ViVA in Derby for a very special collaboration, plus there are a number of other concerts taking place across the region. 

Check out the Music Nation page for more details

Added Friday 17 February 2012

The next FLOW installation HERO by artist Jo Fairfax will take place at Boughton House, the Northamptonshire home of the Duke of Buccleuch, on Saturday and Sunday evenings on 25-26 February and 3-4 March from 6.30-8.30pm.

The full installation will utilise four lasers aligned above the vertical and horizontal canals at Boughton House providing a range of intriguing visual perspectives for the visitor. HERO is a legacy project of the FLOW commission that were supported a part of the Igniting Ambition Festival 2011.

More info: www.flow-northamptonshire.com

Added Friday 17 February 2012

The Big Dance 2012 handbook is here and it is packed full of all the information you need about Big Dance 2012. The handbook tells you what Big Dance is, why it is happening, how you can get involved and where and when flagship events will be taking place in 2012.

If you would like to be involved with Big Dance 2012 or find out more information then click here. 

For more information about what is happening with Big Dance 2012 in the East Midlands please contact Dance4 by email eastmidlands@bigdance2012.com or call 0115 9410773.

Added Thursday 20 October 2011

From 22 - 24 July 2011 the East Midlands celebrated one year to go to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. With over 80 events taking place across the region it was an extraordinary weekend of excitement and celebrations!

Take a look at the Open Weekend 2011 Photo Gallery to see some of the amazing events which took place across the East Midlands. 

Added Friday 05 August 2011

Some fantastic projects have taken place over the past three years as part of the Breath of Fresh Air programme.

To find out more about Breath of Fresh Air go to our Breath of Fresh Air pages or take a look at the Breath of Fresh Air Image Gallery 

Added on Friday 05 August 2011

The Igniting Ambition Festival 2011 brochure is your guide to all of the great events happening across Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland this year, as part of the East Midlands' Cultural Olympiad celebrations.

Download your copy here

Added Friday 25 March 2011 

In 2011 Igniting Ambition is celebrating the counties of Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland and will showcase exceptional cultural projects, events and festivals that celebrate these counties' rich cultural heritage, outstanding natural environment, local traditions and hidden gems as part of Igniting Ambition, the Cultural Olympiad in the East Midlands

The projects for 2011 have now been selected.

For more information click here

Added Thursday 16 September 2010

The inaugural Night of Festivals begins on Thursday 16 September 2010 in Nottingham's Market Square.

Featuring new contemporary art commissions, a live music stage and participatory carnival procession. A fusion of art forms in celebration of the Bicentenary of Latin America’s independence and the richness of its culture!

Click here for more details or visit www.nightoffestivals.co.uk

Added Thursday 09 September 2010

Image: Mandinga Arts, Brighitta Moser

Lyric Lounge Leicester, part of the Igniting Ambition Festival 2010, was a huge success once again, engagaing hundreds of people in spoken word and writing activities.

Photo Gallery

Added Thursday 05 August 2010

This year's Open Weekend theme was 'challenge' and participants took all kinds of challenges in celebration of the countdown to the London 2012 Games.

Click here to see images of the East Midlands celebrations.

Added Monday 26 September 2010

tanzdance International Exchange: celebrating international youth dance Dance4 invited international artist Miguel Pereira (Portugal) to work with Flying High Youth Dance Company and two young choreographers from the East Midlands – Ben Eagles and Kieran Taylor to create an exciting piece of dance performance.

Ben and Kieran and the young people from Flying High Youth Dance Company have just returned from Berlin where they experienced an exciting exchange with TanzZeit Jugendcompany. The young people spent five fantastic days together showing work to each other, learning material and working creatively to produce movement for a sharing of work on the final day. The end of week performance was the climax of the exchange, sampling snippets of what had been produced throughout the week. Photos and videos from the week can be found on Dance4’s Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/12455402) and Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dance4) pages.

The project will culminate in a celebratory performance by both the UK-based and international young people in Nottingham in the Autumn.
Dance4 aims to increase young people’s understanding of other cultures while nurturing them as decision makers and empowering them artistically whilst raising confidence in devising and performing.  Dance4 is able to do this with support from Igniting Ambition, the East Midlands Legacy Trust UK programme.
Find out more by emailing kirsten@dance4.co.uk 0115 9410773

Added Friday 02 July 2010

A High Tide project created for the launch of Discovering Places over the London 2012 Open Weekend

Shape Arts will be holding five advice sessions for Disabled artists, Disabled and Deaf-led arts organisations and mainstream producers in June and July 2010. The advice sessions will bring together speakers from London 2012, Arts Council England and the British Council so you can find out more about the commissions and how to apply.

You are welcome to attend any of the following sessions:

Tuesday 22nd June, 2pm - 5pm
Arts Council England, London

Friday 2nd July, 2pm - 5pm
Arts Council England, Dewsbury

Monday 5th July, 10am -1pm
Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, Glasgow

Wednesday 7th July, 2pm - 5pm
Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff

Tuesday 13th July, 1pm - 4pm
Arts Council England, The Hive, Manchester

There are two remaining deadlines for the commissions. They are:
• 1 October 2010
• 18 April 2011

London 2012 and the UK Arts Councils want to commission high quality, ambitious work by Disabled and Deaf artists that can be seen and experienced by a broad range of audiences in a wide range of spaces. We are encouraging artists to push beyond their personal best, creating work with the potential to open doors and change minds.

For more detailed information about Unlimited and to view a video explaining the ambition for the project: www.london2012.com/unlimited.

Information on how to apply for the Unlimited Commissions can be found on the Arts Council England website : www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/unlimited.

Advice Sessions are free, but please RSVP with any access requirements to Deepa Shastri via email at Unlimited@shapearts.org.uk Telephone: 0845 521 3457 Minicom: 020 7424 7368, SMS: 0762 480 9145.

Added Monday 07 June 2010

The International Youth Theatre Festival is taking place in Leicester from Monday 28 June until Friday 02 July in celebration of the of International University Theatre Association’s 8th World Congress at De Montfort University.

Youth theatre groups from Lithuania, Colombia, Korea, Italy and France will be performing across the city for the five days of the festival. Click here to see the full schedule and ticket information.  

Added Monday 07 June 2010

Igniting Ambition is proud to be supporting Skegness Organises 2010. Four fantastic days of exhilarating events from Thursday 22nd through to Sunday 25th July 2010 taking place in venues across Skegness town centre.

SO10 is one of the East Midlands major contributions to the London 2012 Open Weekend 2010.

For more information and the most up to date festival line up see the SO10 festival website