Dancing With Words at Kala Sangam Bradford

Coinciding with the 25th National Poetry Day – the UK-wide celebration of poetry organised by Forward Arts Foundation – this unique evening on 3 October explores NPD’s 2019 theme of Truth.

A fusion of poetry and dance, Dancing With Words features three artistic pairs – one poet and one dancer – each collaborating to create a brand-new piece of work. Exploring the relationship between the two artforms, and inspiring and simultaneously being inspired by each other, the artists have worked together to push boundaries and take new, exciting approaches to creating pieces that combine and incorporate movement and words.

This special one-off evening, taking place in the Kala Sangam intercultural arts centre and home of music and dance in Bradford, marks the culmination of the innovative project, with the pairs showcasing their trilogy of entirely new performances for the very first time.

The artists have worked together to push boundaries and take new, exciting approaches to creating pieces that combine and incorporate movement and words

Taking part are Yorkshire-based poet Lydia Allison, a graduate of the Manchester Writing School and member of The Writing Squad young writer development initiative, who teamed up with Jamaican-born performing artist Akeim Toussaint Buck for the Dancing With Words project. Lucy Burnett – whose second poetry collection, Tripping Over Clouds, was published earlier this year by Manchester’s Carcanet Press – has been working with dancer Mitul Sengupta, who has performed and choreographed shows internationally. The final pair is Manchester-based poet Shamshad Khan, who is widely published, including by Comma Press and Salt Publishing, and broadcast, including on BBC Radios 3 and 4, and who partnered with Sophie Hutchinson, a graduate of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds.

Funded by Arts Council England and produced by Books Up North, in partnership with Kala Sangam, this National Poetry Day performance will also feature a post-show discussion with the artists, when audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions about the collaborations and processes involved.