LCDS presents at SWEAT Hong Kong International Dance Festival

Press Story

30 Jun 2022
Image of SWEAT Festival logo. At the bottom of the image is is a series of collages of people dancing. The letters D A N C E are scattered on the image. The background colour of the image is red.

Faculty and students from London Contemporary Dance School, part of the UK’s leading centre for dance education and performance The Place, have been invited to present and participate in SWEAT Hong Kong International Dance Festival which runs online from 17 – 25 June 2022. The school is one of 15 dance institutions that have been exclusively selected to participate in the sector-leading festival.

Created by The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, SWEAT is an electrifying global event that brings leading dance academies, artists, scholars and other practitioners together to connect and explore new frontiers of dance and beyond. The online festival has been specifically designed for delegates to travel virtually through global dance discourse via a diverse collection of digital research, performance screenings, presentations and more.

On behalf of London Contemporary Dance School, we’re truly delighted to have been selected for this global digital event. This recognition is certainly testament to the thought leadership, creative innovation and dance performance excellence of our faculty and students.

Dr Lise Uytterhoeven, Director of Dance Studies

SWEAT provides a unique opportunity for scholars, performers, choreographers, community dance artists, dance students, local and international dance groups and companies, to connect and share how dance has changed our community and how we prepare for the future.

Professor Anna CY Chan, Dean of the School of Dance at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

London Contemporary Dance School will be involved in various areas of this inaugural digital festival which is divided into three individual events: ArtsCross Hong Kong 2022 taking place on 17 June, Digital International Festival for Dance Academies (IFDA) running from 18 – 21 June and World Dance Alliance (WDA) Global Summit 2022 from 22 – 25 June.

The Digital International Festival for Dance Academies (IFDA) connects 15 international dance academies for a thrilling series of staged performance and original film screenings performed and created by the freshest dance talents in the world and student led forums. During IFDA, London Contemporary Dance School has been invited to present, participate and lead on a range of activities:

  • Work Place Artist Jamaal Burkmar will screen his dance film Pure Comedy
  • Baptiste Bourgougnon Director of the Undergraduate Course and International Development at London Contemporary Dance School will represent the school by participating in an artists’ talk following the screening of Pure Comedy
  • Holly Blakey and FACT Magazine’s acclaimed Phantom will be screened, originally commissioned by London Contemporary Dance School for EDGE Postgraduate Dance Company
  • MA Screendance and MA Extended Dance Practice students will lead a student forum session around the climate emergency

The World Dance Alliance (WDA) Global Summit 2022 follows IFDA. The WDA is designed to immerse delegates in thought-provoking conversations and presentations that empower the dance artists of tomorrow in practice and research. Representing London Contemporary Dance School and its world-renowned status as a leader in dance pedagogy, Dr Lise Uytterhoeven will present a paper on radical curriculum design for access and student wellbeing. Baptiste Bourgougnon will give a presentation around the ‘positive pause’ initiative designed for London Contemporary Dance School students’ mental health and wellbeing.