A Place to Dance

Presented by Dance Umbrella

Two dancers perform inside a circular performance area on a dimly lit stage. Both raise one arm in mid-motion, while one dancer's hair is caught in motion. Haze and stage lighting fill the background, and a drum is visible at the edge of the space.
Photo by Miguel Angel Rosales

About A Place to Dance

Enter A Place To Dance. A shared space where watching becomes an act of presence and dance becomes an invitation to belong.

The boundaries between audience and performer dissolve in this immersive dance experience by Brazilian choreographer Poliana Lima and British flamenco dance artist Yinka Esi Graves.

Performed in the round, audiences are invited into dynamic choreography that draws on the artists' multiple cultural heritages, blending contemporary, flamenco and Afro-Cuban influences.

With a live soundtrack curated by DJ Oumoukala and drumming from Lucía Martínez, music becomes an essential part of the party-like atmosphere. Here, the body is placed at the centre of transformation, connection and community.

Part of Dance Umbrella Festival 2026. Sign up for limited £10 tickets via their website.

About Yinka Esi Graves

Yinka Esi Graves (she/her) is a British choreographer and dancer based in Spain. Her work explores connections between flamenco and contemporary performance through an Afro-diasporic lens, positioning the body as a site of memory, dialogue and transformation. Working across stage productions, live composition and collaborative projects, she has developed a distinctive choreographic voice that bridges cultures and traditions. Her acclaimed solo work, The Disappearing Act (2023), premiered at the NîmesFlamenco Festival and has since been presented at leading international festivals including El Grec, Tanz im August and the Avignon Festival, establishing her as one of the most distinctive voices working across contemporary dance and flamenco today.

Poliana Lima

Poliana Lima (she/her) is a Brazilian choreographer, dancer and teacher whose work combines her background in sociology and dance to explore the body as a site of expression, research and encounter. Interested in creating stage works that communicate with audiences in both simple and profound ways, she has developed a distinctive choreographic practice over the past 15 years. Lima has created eight full-length works alongside numerous shorter pieces and projects and was an associate artist at Condeduque Madrid from 2018–2020. Her work has been supported by leading international organisations and festivals including Teatrosdel Canal, CND Pantin, Festival Dias da Dança and Aerowaves.

About Dance Umbrella

Dance Umbrella is London’s international dance festival, taking place every October across the capital and online.

https://danceumbrella.co.uk/festival/

Cast & Creatives

Direction, Creation & Dance: Poliana Lima & Yinka Esi Graves

Artistic Accompaniment: Juan Carlos Lérida

Percussion: Lucía Martínez

DJ: Oumoukala

Sound Design: Quino Piñero

Lighting & Space Design: Cube.bz

Costume Design: Carmen 17 & Stéphanie Coudert

Technical Co-ordination: Cristina Bolívar

Lighting Technician: T. Andrés Dwyer

Video and Photography: Miguel Ángel Rosales

Graphic Design: Cintia erre

Communication: CultproyectTrans-Forma

Producción Cultural: María González Vidal (Yinka Esi Graves Company), Asociación PCCVL, Isabella Lima (Poliana Lima Company)

Credits

Presented by Dance Umbrella and The Place.

Co-produced by Mercat de les Flors, Dance Umbrella Festival, Condeduque and the Community of Madrid.

Supported by Teatro Central, Escena Patrimonio Festival, Graner Centre de creació de dansa i arts vives, Artistic Residencies Program of the Andalusian Agency for Cultural Institutions, Fuenlabrada 2025 Choreographic Technical Residencies Program of the Maria Pagés Foundation in collaboration with the Fuenlabrada City Council.

  • Close-up of a dancer in motion under stage lighting. Their braided hair swings outward as one arm lifts above their head and the other extends to the side. The dancer's face is animated, and the dark background isolates the movement.
  • Two dancers perform on a dark stage under spotlights. In the foreground, a blurred figure raises their arms overhead, while a second dancer in the background stands with both arms outstretched and their mouth open. A curved line marking the performance area is visible on the floor.