By Natalie Tharraleos
Edited by Janine Griffiths
Yorkshire Dance welcomes international artists and guests to Leeds for a 2-day festival of dance exploring gender, community and identity, with pay as you feel tickets to the events on July 7th and 8th.

Photo by : Company of People, 2022 © Elly Welford
The festival boasts an eclectic mix of bold new performances, inspirational talks and exhilarating workshops. You can catch locally based international artists Jija Sohn and Ágnes Grélinger alongside Company of People, based in Chapeltown and Harehills.
The festival is part of the European project, Performing Gender: Dancing in Your Shoes. Yorkshire Dance is one of eight partners from eight European countries who have been working over the last two years with a local community to explore gender issues and LGBTQIA+ identities. This project allowed the development of Yorkshire Dance’s Company of People, made up of people of all ages from the Chapeltown and Harehills area of Leeds. Company of People meet weekly, working with a professional choreographer to co-create high quality performances based on their lives and stories.
“I find it hard to put into words – it is literally a new family for me. When I come into this room, I know there is going to be all different people of different ages and experiences, but we are all equal. “Company of People participant
Company of People headline Encounters festival on the Saturday in Performing Gender Double Bill at Leeds Playhouse. Following their sold-out performance in 2022, TC Howard and Company of People return to the stage with ‘Epic Stories of Our Everyday’, a new performance which exposes intimate details and elevates ‘everyday’ culture, literature and history to the grandeur of high art. The piece features local dance artists Kate Cox, Izzy Brittain and Bakani Pick-Up. The Double Bill also features a UK premiere of Nobody Whistles Anymore created by Brina Klampfer, Vita Osojnik and City of Women festival’s newly formed community Company.
Hannah Robertshaw, Yorkshire Dance’s Creative Director, commented ‘we’re honoured to be hosting so many incredible international guests at this year’s Encounters Festival. To have our own Company of People headlining the festival feels very special. The group have been on such a journey. Over the last year they have been creating incredible new work, Epic Stories of Our Everyday with renowned choreographer TC Howard and we’re pleased to announce that following the premiere at Encounters they have been invited to tour their new work in the Netherlands and Italy later this year.’

Photo by Company of People, Ageless Festival 2022 C David Lindsay
The festival, held at two venues in Leeds’s cultural quarter, Yorkshire Dance and Leeds Playhouse, promises an inclusive experience, welcoming participants of all backgrounds and dance expertise levels.
Among the festival highlights is the highly anticipated UK premiere of “But First We Are Going to Eat” by the Community of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Theaterfestival Boulevard. This performance takes audiences on a reflective journey as the performers, hailing from diverse backgrounds with Former Dutch East Indies and Moluccan roots, share their experiences as minorities in the Netherlands.
Adding an immersive element, the show features cooking, allowing the audience to savor tantalizing food during the performance. In addition to captivating performances, Ageless Festival offers enriching workshops designed to explore various themes.
Renowned Japanese-Korean artist Jija Sohn, based in Amsterdam, will lead the “Landing on Feather Workshop,” delving into the concept of care. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with Sohn’s unique artistic approach. Another captivating workshop, the “Express Yourself Workshop,” will be conducted by Ágnes Grélinger, a celebrated dance artist from Budapest.
This workshop aims to celebrate and embrace the hidden aspects of personal identity, offering a platform for self-expression and discovery. As the festival draws to a close, attendees can look forward to an exhilarating Closing Party, featuring the immensely talented Leeds-based DJ Collective, Fresh Junk Arts. Encounters Festival operates on a pay-as-you-feel basis, allowing attendees to contribute according to their means. To secure tickets, interested individuals can visit Yorkshire Dance’s official website at yorkshiredance.com.
The success of Encounters Festival is made possible through the generous support of Leeds City Council, Arts Council England, Leeds 2023, Creative Europe, and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This collaborative effort ensures a vibrant celebration of dance, cultural encounters, and artistic expression within the heart of Leeds.
The full Programme and timetable of events can be found here on the Yorkshire Dance website.
Leeds-based Yorkshire Dance is a charity which works through dance to create happiness, health, connection and change. They create opportunities for people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to see, make and take part in high quality dance.
Those that are interested in joining a dance class have been encouraged to call 0113 243 8765 or visit the Yorkshire Dance Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
Budding dancers can also find the address for Yorkshire Dance on their Contact Us page.

