A Place to Dance
Presented by Dance Umbrella
About A Place to Dance
LIMITED EARLY BIRD TICKETS AVAILABLE*
Brazilian choreographer Poliana Lima and British flamenco dance artist Yinka Esi Graves draw on their multiple cultural heritages to create an encounter that places the body at the centre of transformation, connection and community.
Performed in-the-round, A Place to Dance dissolves the boundaries between audience and performer, inviting everyone into a shared space where watching becomes an act of presence and dancing an invitation to belong. Featuring music from DJ Oumoukala, this immersive experience celebrates the body as communal, porous and thrillingly alive.
Part of Dance Umbrella Festival 2026.
*The Early Bird discount applies at checkout
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.
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.
