The Leicester-based dance festival, Let’s Dance International Frontiers (LDIF) has announced its 2026 programme, along with exciting developments in the recognition, showcasing, and support of dance by black artists.
Having launched in 2011 and going from strength to strength, Founder and Artistic Director of Serendipity, Pawlet Brookes, said, “The festival has always been driven by a simple but powerful ambition to ensure that black dance is visible, valued and recognised as central to the cultural landscape of this country and beyond.”
Opening on April 29th (International Dance Day) and running until May 9th, the festival’s theme this year is Reimagining Tomorrow: New Work, Afrofuturism and Technology.
A theme sure to resonate with artists, with many creatives worrying about the current rise of AI and cuts to arts funding.
The festival features a truly global programme, with artists and companies from over 12 countries represented, selected from submissions spanning 120 countries. The line-up will be made up of over 340 artists and companies.
Future and new work were key focuses during the announcement, with the emphasis reflected not only in the introduction of emerging talent but also in the presentation of established works receiving their UK premiere at the festival.
A total of 92 UK premieres and 49 world premieres will take place during the festival.
Brookes added, “At the heart of LDIF is the artists themselves, and we have the most fantastic programme for you on offer, as ever. The programme goes through dance dialogues, so it’s an opportunity to investigate and interrogate some works further. The programme also offers workshops and masterclasses by a range of different people.”
At the launch event, Brookes was joined by dance artist and former Director of The Place, and the Africa Centre, now director of culture at Haringey Council, Kenneth Tharp; CEO and Principal of Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Sharon Watson; and Trinidadian-born pioneering dance artist, educator and producer Greta Mendez, who all shared wider aspiration and hopes for black dancers and creatives.
Tharp said, “When I was thinking about reimagining, it made me think that our ability to reimagine is to reimagine worlds that don’t exist, which goes to the heart of what it means to be a creative artist. And I think artists will know that that creative journey so often starts with a simple but profound question made up of two words: What if?”
He added, “Afrofuturism took me a while to get my head around what it was. But I’ve been thinking about that for a while. And I think it is important. When I did an AI search, Google Gemini defined it as a ‘cultural aesthetic, a philosophy, a movement that explores the intersection of the African diaspora with technology, science fiction, and fantasy.’ It went on to say, ‘think of it as a lens that reimagines the past and dreams of the future, where black people are not just present, but are the architects of their own destiny. It’s about reclaiming agency through the what-if of the arts.’”
For him and all the speakers, dance is a gateway to the past and to new work. “Dance gets right to the heart of the matter,” he added.
As the panel of speakers shared their experiences and hopes for the future, a key sentiment was that the lens through which black dance is viewed needs to broaden. Honouring the past but looking promisingly to a future that uses the present to nurture it.
Brookes said, “We actually realise that the lens in which we have viewed contemporary dance previously is not the lens that we want to be moving forward with now. Not that we don’t want to leave what history has given us, but it is absolutely critical that we try to change the lens, open the lens and welcome what’s different.”
To help do this, the Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage, Fabric and People Dancing are joining forces to form a Midlands Dance Powerhouse to help cultivate this and make dance more accessible, not solely rooted in companies and funding in London.
This was also reflected in the announcement of a new MA course, Black British Dance and Performance, Impact, Vice and Gaze, launching in September 2026.
“You may ask why Gaze?” Brookes shared. “Gaze is about changing the lens, and it’s really, really important that we change the lens. And this course is validated by Northern School of Contemporary Dance. This MA represents an important step forward. It creates a dedicated academic space where black British dance can be studied, researched, and critically examined on its own terms, centring voices, histories, and creative practice as artists who have shaped this field.”
In a vow to make changes, Serendipity also shared Black Dance 2036: A Ten-Year Strategy for Growth, Innovation, and Legacy.
Brookes added, “This strategy sets out a long-term vision for the development, preservation, and celebration of black dance across the UK. It focuses on supporting artists, choreographers, and strengthening the pathway of emerging talent and building archives, scholarships, and an infrastructure needed to sustain Black dance for future generations.”
Amongst the sharing of pushing boundaries, community, connection, and the removal of cultural barriers, the future of LDIF and the offshoots mentioned almost paint the festival as of an ecosystem for black dance and creative excellence, so watch this space.
More about LDIF and the performances featured in the festival can be found at www.serendipity-uk.com/whats-on/lets-dance-international-frontiers.
By Jamie Body of Dance Informa.
