What's on?

Discover the talented dancers who have worked on stages across the globe, on films such as Indianna Jones, and with iconic pop stars like Madonna. The history of Black dancers in British ballet is rich and inspiring, but not well known. A project run by Oxygen Arts is seeking to change that, they gave a wonderful talk over our festival but as we couldn’t all attend, we’ve invited them to share their work here. Be inspired by some of their stories and find out more about their important work.

Ten days, so… many… miles! By bike, train and car the team criss-crossed the country to visit as many places as possible over the festival. Alongside managing the media channels and taking turns with 'helpdesk duty' it's really important for us to see events in action, to take photographs (LOTs of photographs!) and support the amazing volunteers and staff working so hard on the ground. From ancient African games and local folklore to industrial mines and pink treasure trails, here's a quick taste of where we went and what we discovered this September.

Have you heard of the pioneering roadbuilder who was blind? The South Asian women who joined the army in WWII? What about the late Victorian queer poet who earned a state pension? Here are some great events shining a light on important, but lesser known histories over the festival.