Tag: dance

Hidden Door reveals festival line-up

Edinburgh’s grass roots arts festival, Hidden Door, is set to transform a huge abandoned industrial site into an ambitious and unique multi artform experience.  

Responding to the vast complex of forgotten warehouses, factory floors, offices and outbuildings, this year’s Hidden Door festival programme is built around the theme of ‘Building as a Myth’, with every rusted pipe, defunct machine and weathered surface becoming part of an artistic reclamation.

From Wednesday 11 – Sunday 15 June 2025, the festival brings together the talents of more than 100 creatives to offer live music, immersive art installations, dance performances, poetry, spoken word, unique collaborations and much more.

Music

The five nights will host a diverse roster of acts, kicking off with an unmissable opening night offering energetic and theatrical fare from Bikini Body, Mermaid Chunky and Snapped Ankles.

Thursday brings punk/pop attitude with Witch Fever, Sprints and SISTER MADDS, whilst Friday night sees Alice Faye’s lyrical Cabaret-come-Queen stylings programmed alongside Hidden Door favourites Tinderbox Orchestra and the dreamlike compositions of Erland Cooper. 

No Windows, The Orielles and Katy J Pearson promise an alternative indie Saturday night to remember, with Sunday’s closing line-up welcoming Moor Mother’s poetic power alongside Bee Asha, MC Yallah & Debmaster and Ishmael Ensemble’s eclectic jazz infused energy.

Edinburgh institutions Samedia Shebeen and Paradise Palms Records are on board to bring the weekend club vibes, and an open call will shortly be launched to invite emerging local talent to join the line-up.

Other acts confirmed so far include Isabella Strange, Pearling, Roller Disco Death Party, Smag På Dig Selv, The Orielles, Theo Bleak, Tina Sandwich and Y with many more to come.

Visual Art

In true Hidden Door style, the visual art programme will make the most of the unique setting, inviting audiences to explore and discover every nook and cranny of The Paper Factory – from the cavernous Crane Shed and the labyrinthine Factory Floor, to transforming the mundanity of The Office Block.

Over 30 visual artists will show a range of work including large sculptural installations, wall-based work, projection and textiles, curated amongst the defunct machinery and spaces.

The visual artists confirmed so far include Adam Hogarth, April Lannigan, Claire Marion Black, David Lemm, Dorsey Kaufmann, Ewan Douglas, Felicity Saravia White, Gosia Walton, Iona Peterson, Izzy Osborn, Jackie Bell, Jo McDonald, Juliana Capes, Laura McGlinchey, Lucas Chih-Peng Kao, Lucy Mulholland, Molly Wickett, Muireann Nic an Bheatha, Olivier Jacques Julien, Paul Meikle, Sam Sharma, Silas T Parry, Sue Sim, Tom Fairlamb, Valerie Reid, Vicky Higginson and Waad AlBawardi.

Poetry and Spoken Word

Thought provoking, personal, funny and moving – this year’s programme brings the power of spoken word performance into a building that has fallen silent; the factory’s atmospheric chambers echoing with the voices of raw human expression. Expect stand out shows every night from 10 poets and performers including award winning Theresa Muñoz, Glasgow poet Charles Lang and post-punk-music-spoken word-comedy duo FEVER PEACH. 

The spoken word programme also includes Aileen Lees, Imogen Stirling, Josh Cake, Julia Sorensen, Sarah Forbes Stewart, Theresa Muñoz and Victoria McNulty.

Dance

Expect dance at its most unconventional as Hidden Door presents a programme like no other in remarkable surroundings. Highlights include Yuxi Jiang’s ‘The Circle Unbound’, an immersive dance theatre inspired by Tibetan Buddhist circular culture, reimagining rhythmic machinery as a meditative force.

Participatory and playful performance ‘Dance Makes The Floor’ by Mark Bleakley centres around the creation of a collectively made dance floor, conjuring past dance floors, both loved and lost.

The dance programme will also feature works by ELELEI, Jessie Roberts-Smith, Katie Armstrong, Dorine Mugisha with even more to be announced.

Creative Collaborations

Threading throughout the 2025 programme are four newly commissioned interdisciplinary collaborations, waiting to be encountered by visitors as they explore The Paper Factory’s labyrinths. Visionaries from radically different disciplines – from electronic musicians and installation artists to contemporary dancers and theatrical innovators – have been challenged to create something that could only exist in this distinct moment and place.

Appearing each night of the festival, these utterly unique multi- disciplinary projects are not to be missed.

‘Ghost in the Machine’ is a site-responsive performance developed by Jill Martin Boualaxai, exploring memory, transformation, and industrial folklore through movement, drawing, and sculptural installation. The piece blends physical theatre, dance, visual art, and costume, evolving over time into performance drawings and sculptural traces that blur the boundaries between ritual, history, and the factory’s own mythology.

‘Time and Memory’ presents a narrative-driven installation by Eszter Marsalkó, featuring Stephanie Lamprea, exploring the lives of the factory’s former workers, weaving together real and imagined stories. This project includes film footage of the site, archival materials, and sculptural elements, bringing the past into dialogue with the present. It connects with broader festival themes of industry, labour, and personal histories embedded in place.

‘A Production Line’ by Acolyte is a poetic and psychedelic ensemble, blending soundscapes, spoken word, and rhythmic loops to reflect factory production cycles. Featuring bassist Ruairidh Morrison, synth and vocals by Gloria Black, percussion by Daniel Hill, and poet Iona Lee, the performance mirrors the repetitive rhythms of labour, incorporating field recordings from the site and hypnotic musical structures to create an immersive, trance-like experience.

‘SPECTRAL’ brings immersive dance and aerial performance to the Crane Shed, a work by Tess Letham developed in collaboration with All or Nothing. Performers move fluidly between floor-based choreography and aerial movement, embodying the physicality of labour and its transformation into something transcendent. Featuring lighting design by Sam Jones, aerial choreography, and a live music set by Dave House, SPECTRAL is a visually striking and physically immersive experience. 

Film work created by Abby Warlow and Lewis Gourlay will be projected across the factory’s vast walls to bring moving image and cinematic storytelling to the Paper Factory.

Ticket prices for all

With an ongoing commitment to inclusivity, Hidden Door has expanded its concessionary ticket options, ensuring that financial barriers and accessibility won’t prevent anyone from experiencing the event:

  • As always, the festival will be free to attend each day until 6pm
  • D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people are entitled to 30% off the standard price ticket for each price tier
  • Anyone who is currently unemployed can also benefit from the 30% discount
  • Students and those under 26 are entitled to 20% off, whilst over 65s can claim 10% off the standard price ticket
  • And going even further to include as many people as possible, for those who need them, a limited number of “Pay What You Can” tickets are available for every evening.

Creative partnerships

Hidden Door is proud to partner with valued sponsors Artisan Roast and Bellfield Brewery, who will both craft limited-edition Hidden Door brews that will capture the spirit of artistic collaboration. Elsewhere, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee-inspired music stage will transport audiences to another continent.

Hidden Door gratefully acknowledges the support of Creative Scotland and other funders who continue to make this ambitious and unique celebration of creativity possible.

About The Paper Factory

The colossal 15.5-acre Paper Factory site sits in Edinburgh’s Maybury Quarter, a former paper and cardboard manufacturing facility on the western edge of the city. The site features a mix of warehouses, factory floors, offices and outhouses.

The site is well served by a variety of public transport links, with frequent bus, tram and train services all stopping nearby, making it easy to reach from anywhere in the city or beyond to the west and Glasgow.

The full address is 1 Turnhouse Road, Edinburgh EH12 8NP.

Hazel Johnson, Festival Director of Hidden Door, said: “Since November’s venue launch party, we’ve been busy clearing more of the vast industrial site and getting ready to fill every corner with our most ambitious programme yet. 

“We exist to support the creative community and to connect audiences with emerging artists, and The Paper Factory will be at the heart of that ambition in 2025.”

The Paper Factory is located in the Maybury Quarter, a 15.5-acre site occupied by the former Saica paper and cardboard manufacturing facility on the western edge of Edinburgh. The site features a mix of warehouses, factory floors, offices and outhouses. Bounded by the Edinburgh Gateway tram and rail station, there are excellent transport links to the city centre as well as to Glasgow and the west.

Hidden Door will transform the entire site for a full-scale multi arts festival. The property has been empty since Saica’s relocation to a purpose-built facility in Livingston. Regeneration specialists Summix Capital are now developing proposals for the future of the site, and have offered Hidden Door access until the end of 2025.

Jill Martin Boualaxai, Creative Lead, said: “Our 2025 festival program, titled ‘The Building as a Myth,’ invites artists to collaboratively develop ambitious multidisciplinary projects. 

“Guided by the overarching concepts of Transformation and Reclamation, Time and Memory, Rituals and New Narratives, and Feminisation and Reimagining the Space, the programme encourages exploration of how industrial spaces can be reclaimed by nature, layered with temporal narratives, and reimagined as inclusive, symbolic environments.”

Edinburgh International Festival to breaks boundaries in a year exploring ‘The Truth We Seek’

1–24 AUGUST 2025 

eif.co.uk / @edintfest

  • Edinburgh International Festival’s 2025 programme offers opportunities to experience world-class artists in thought-provoking and unconventional ways – including an eight-hour choral extravaganza, a distinctive outdoor promedande dance piece and a circus infused opera. Audiences can also get involved in many Festival performances, from an outdoor mass-singlaong to interactive concerts where the audience chooses the repertoire.
  • The Truth We Seek is the timely theme underpinning the 2025 International Festival, as contemporary reflections on the world are presented alongside time-honoured tales, a place where fact meets faith and fiction.
  • The International Festival is the ultimate destination to experience world-class performances, with an exciting lineup of 133 performances, bringing 7 world premieres, 8 UK and Scottish premieres and 2 European premieres to Edinburgh this year. Programme highlights include the world premiere of a gripping new play by James Graham starring Brian Cox, a new narrative ballet from Scottish Ballet, and Festival debuts from rising classical stars – violinist Maria Dueñas, mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, and 2024 BBC Young Musician of the Year Ryan Wang.

From 1-24 August 2025, Edinburgh International Festival presents a hand-picked selection of leading international and local artists in the world’s Festival City, with 24 days of world-class opera, dance, music and theatre.  

The 2025 programme is defined by world-class artists bringing audiences and artists closer together in creative and unexpected ways. Audiences can experience an opera incorporating circus performers for a breathtaking fusion of music and acrobatics in Orpheus and Eurydice, a site-specific promenade dance work that transforms Edinburgh’s Old College Quad into a stage for Dance People, and enjoy Bach through a new lens in Breaking Bach, where hip-hop meets 18th-century period instruments. 

Audiences can also actively participate in performances—whether by shaping the repertoire in a real-time Classical Jam or sharing their dreams to inspire Hanni Liang’s piano recital, Dreams. For those seeking deep immersion, eight-hour choral epic The Veil of the Temple invites audiences to sit on beanbags and lose themselves in waves of harmonies, and a choral workshop welcomes amateur singers that will preview a powerful performance at the Festival’s Closing Concert, Mendelssohn’s Elijah. 
 
Now in its third year under Festival Director and celebrated Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti, the 2025 programme welcomes over 1,700 artists from 42 nations to Edinburgh —including 600 from Scotland—across 133 performances. The Truth We Seek is the theme underpinning the 2025 Edinburgh International Festival, inviting audiences to explore their relationship with truth – within themselves, between one another and in understanding our place in the world.  

Ensuring that cost is not a barrier to live performance, over 50,000 tickets (more than half of all tickets available for the 2025 International Festival) are priced at £30 or under. Thousands of free tickets are available for young musicians, NHS staff and community groups, and £10 Affordable Tickets are available for all performances for anyone who needs them. 

Programme highlights include:

  • Two major world premiere productions in UK theatre and dance: Make It Happen, an eye-opening take on the 2008 financial crisis set in Edinburgh, starring Brian Cox (Adam Smith) and Sandy Grierson (Fred Goodwin), written by one of Britain’s most in-demand playwrights, James Graham; and Mary, Queen of Scots, an iconic story of one of Scotland’s most famous women, unconventionally told with choreography by Sophie Laplane that blends classicism with modernity, and costuming that nods to haute couture and punk.
  • In a landmark year for choral music, marking the 60th Anniversary of the Edinburgh Festival Chorus, this renowned chorus of singers from around Scotland performs at the monumental Opening Concert, as well as Vaughan Williams’s Sea Symphony, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah (this year’s grand Closing Concert). The programme also includes the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists performing works by Handel and Bach.
  • This year’s Opening Concert features the aforementioned Edinburgh Festival Chorus, Monteverdi Choir and the National Youth Choir of Scotland, offering a rare chance to hear John Tavener’s The Veil of the Temple in all its eight-hour glory, a colossal universal prayer performed in full for the second time ever in the UK.
  • The International Festival’s opening weekend welcomes all to Princes Street Gardens’ Ross Bandstand for The Big Singalong, a free event led by Stephen Deazley, artistic director of Edinburgh’s Love Music Community Choir. The following day, Norwegian folk ensemble Barokksolistene returns to lead The Ceilidh Sessions, an afternoon of music and storytelling inspired by the Gaelic ceilidh tradition.
  • The most substantial programme of Polish artists in the International Festival’s 78-year history is featured in celebration of the UK/Poland season 2025. Performances include two concerts from one of the Festival’s resident orchestras in 2025, NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra, and a showcase of Polish artists and repertoire from the Wrocław Baroque Ensemble, VOŁOSI, Piotr Anderszewski, Bomsori Kim to 2024’s BBC Young Musician of the Year, Ryan Wang.
  • Operatic works include a fully staged Australian reimagining of Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice featuring acrobatics; the UK premiere of Book of Mountains and Seas from Chinese composer Huang Ruo, puppeteer Basil Twist and Ars Nova Copenhagen, and two operas in concert: Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus and Puccini’s Suor Angelica with the London Symphony Orchestra, with a line-up of international soloists.
  • Residencies bringing leading orchestras to the International Festival for an extended, more sustainable stay that features multiple performances and community engagement. This year, three outstanding orchestras provide distinctive insights into their collective sound and ambitions: Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra 2, Poland’s NFM Leopoldinum, and the London Symphony Orchestra under the direction of new Chief Conductor Sir Antonio Pappano.
  • Intimate morning recitals at The Queen’s Hall feature International Festival debuts from on-the-rise young virtuoso María Dueñas and Canadian mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, as well as a cohort of exceptional Scottish artists including the Dunedin Consort with John Butt and Scottish percussionist Colin Currie with peerless vocal group The King’s Singers.
  • A wider orchestral programme that stretches the globe to welcome the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, and the NCPA Orchestra from Beijing, with conductor Myung Whun Chung and Bruce Liu as piano soloist. The London Philharmonic Orchestra returns to the International Festival for the first time in a decade under the baton of Edward Gardner with a stunning programme that features pianist Beatrice Rana performing Rachmaninoff’s inspired Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and Holst’s The Planets, a seven-movement orchestral suite journeying through the cosmos to explore our true place in the universe.
  • Aurora Orchestra makes its International Festival debut with Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, in the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death. A work that grapples with the pursuit of truth under oppression, audiences are seated on beanbags as Aurora delve into the symphony from the inside out with a conversational presentation in the round, and then in full later that evening, performed entirely from memory.
  • The Scottish premiere of Figures in Extinction from the internationally acclaimed Nederlands Dans Theater, visionary choreographer Crystal Pite and ground-breaking theatre-maker Simon McBurney (Complicité), which confronts powerful truths about humanity’s impact on the world and art’s meaning in the face of mass destruction.
  • A stellar dance offering continues with works that expand the experience for audiences: Maqamat and Omar Rajeh take performance outdoors to Edinburgh University’s College Quad in promenade with Dance People; the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment combine hip hop with Bach in Breaking Bach with choreographer Kim Brandstrup, and an International Festival debut from Australian disabled dancer Dan Daw about identity and kink.
  • Leading theatre-makers exploring truth via the climate emergency, colonialism and politics, with Cliff Cardinal’s take on Shakespeare in As You Like It A Radical Retelling, a spectacular nonverbal work from Belgian theatre collective FC Bergman in Works and Days and a remount of acclaimed play Faustus in Africa!, 30 years after its original premiere, from Handspring Puppet Company and William Kentridge.
  • The Hub, the International Festival’s headquarters on the Royal Mile, brings together a hand-picked variety of global musical styles and traditions, experienced up close in an intimate performance space, including Up Late gigs from artists such as Kathryn Joseph and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. In a truly international programme, musicians from 16 countries including Australia, China, Poland, Norway and across East to West Africa come to the home of the Festival. 

READ THE BROCHURE HERE

Exclusive dance workshop comes to Edinburgh

ASPIRING dancers in Edinburgh are set to experience a transformative day of contemporary dance training with leading professionals.

Leading contemporary dance artists Errol White and Davina Givan, bring their acclaimed Elite Intensive to Dance Base on Saturday 18th January offering a rare opportunity to train with industry professionals.

As course leaders for The Scottish Institute’s (The SI) pioneering BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance degree, Errol & Davina will share their expertise through an immersive day of training, focusing on the creative processes and that define their celebrated repertoire.

This exclusive session will guide participants through company class, focusing on skeletal alignment, core stability, and fluid movement.

Dancers will also engage in choreographic exercises, delving into group work and solos from White & Givan’s repertoire, offering insights into professional company work and the artistry of contemporary dance.

The pair said: “The Elite Intensives are a fantastic way to connect with the next generation of dance artists. We aim to provide an inspiring and rigorous experience that offers a glimpse into professional training and performance.

“Embedding White & Givan as artists in residence within the Institute is a rare opportunity within the educational world for practicing artists and students to evolve together.

“Passion in sharing knowledge lies at the heart of what we do, and we are extremely proud to play an integral role in developing a new generation of dance artists.”
 
With over 25 years of experience collaborating as performance artists, Errol and Davina have built an acclaimed body of work that engages audiences on a physical and emotional level.

The duos appointment as artists-in-residence at The SI creates a unique bridge between professional practice and education, offering a opportunity to share their expertise and passion for dance with the next generation of dancers.

“The inclusion of sport science and the role it plays in the training of young dance artists at the Scottish Institute is vital, preparing them for a long and fulfilling future career as successful dance practitioners.” White & Givan added.

Dance Base is Scotland’s National Centre for Dance. As a creative charity it aims to see people across Scotland engaging in dance as an art form, a way to exercise and a way of life. 

It supports Scottish dance artists to develop successful careers and develops opportunities for dance to be used to support people’s health and wellbeing. 

The SI is set to welcome its first cohort in September 2025, making it the only higher education provider in Scotland to offer a course that is led by professional dance artists specifically tailored to contemporary dance.

Students will benefit from The SI’s state-of-the-art technologies and professional-grade studios, as well as access to the renowned Howden Park Theatre.

The degree will couple sport science and dance training and is poised to produce well-rounded, successful dance practitioners prepared for long and fulfilling careers.

Mark Langley, Principal of The SI, said: “Having White & Givan as artists in residence creates an extraordinary environment where practicing artists and students evolve together. 

“Our students won’t just learn about the profession – they’ll be immersed in it, working alongside industry specialists, performing in professional venues, and developing their craft through a carefully structured progression from core techniques to professional practice.

“The Scottish Institute was created by professionals to educate the next generation of professionals, and this new BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance program exemplifies that mission.”

The Scottish Institute is Scotland’s only fully CDMT accredited performing arts institution, also holding accreditations from Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), Council of Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre (CDMT) and Imperial Society for the Teachers of Dance (ISTD).

The session is free of charge, offering a rare opportunity for Scotland’s emerging dance talent to work closely with two of its most prominent contemporary artists.

To book a slot at the Elite Intensive day, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/white-givan-elite-intensive-edinburgh-tickets-1137763133159

If you have additional questions on the course, contact: admissions@thesi.co.uk

Roots for Routes programme launch

Thursday 10 October, 7pm

PASS Theatre at Edinburgh College, Granton Campus

Multi-Cultural Family Base (MCFB) is delighted to invite you to a dance performance on October 10th between 7 and 9 pm.

This event is the official launch of our programming for the Edinburgh 900 commemorations, entitled “Roots for Routes”. The concept behind this name is that through celebrating and honouring heritage and culture, we find ways to grow towards the future.

Some of our young people from the MCFBards are collaborating with the PASS performance group to create a full length piece based on their poetry.

Please see the attached invitation. If you are able to attend, please follow this link to our Eventbrite: https://tinyurl.com/Roots4Routes

We hope you are able to join us for this evening of art and celebration!

Tickets & more info: https://tinyurl.com/Roots4Routes

Edinburgh International Festival attracts new audiences

EIF attracts new audiences with Affordable Tickets and Innovative Experiences

  • The 2024 Edinburgh International Festival was more inclusive than ever: more than twice the number of tickets were issued to under 18s, young musicians, and D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent audiences compared to last year.
  • The most expansive affordable ticket offer to date saw over 50% of tickets for the 2024 International Festival sold at £30 or less, with over 5,000 £10 tickets purchased by those who needed them most — a 100% increase on 2023.
  • Scottish talent took centre stage, with 50% of performers from or based in Scotland, all five national performing companies featured, and over 200 specialist freelancers, demonstrating the essential role of Scotland’s arts sector in delivering the International Festival. 

The 2024 Edinburgh International Festival concluded yesterday after an exhilarating 24-day celebration of opera, dance, music and theatre in Scotland’s capital. With over 160 ticketed performances and more than125,000 attendees across the city’s venues, the Festival showcased 21 world, European, UK and Scottish premieres affirming its role as an essential destination for arts and culture. 

Under the leadership of Festival Director and Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti, the theme Rituals That Unite Us successfully brought together over 2,000 internationally renowned artists from 42 nations, exploring the deep connections which bind us all through live performance.

At the heart of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival was a commitment to ensuring that cost is not a barrier to cultural discovery, making high-quality art accessible to the broadest possible audience. 

Over 50% of tickets were sold at £30 or less, and more than 5,000 targeted £10 tickets were sold — a 100% increase on last year. Double the number of free tickets were taken up by NHS staff, charity workers, and low-income benefit recipients through the Tickets for Good programme, marking the highest uptake since the Festival signed up to the initiative.

Additionally, the number of D/deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent concession tickets doubled, with twice as many people enrolling for the Access Pass, which provides a tailored experience for audience members with access requirements. 

The International Festival reaffirmed its dedication to nurturing the next generation of artists and audiences, with a notable increase in young people attending and participating. This year saw more than triple the number of free tickets to young musicians issued through the Young Musician’s Pass compared to 2023 and U18s ticket purchases rose by 100% from 2023.

Over half of all bookers were new to the Festival this year, the highest level since the pandemic. The International Festival also focused on talent development, with initiatives like Rising Stars providing early career artists with invaluable opportunities to work and perform alongside professional mentors such as the Leonore Piano Trio and Yura Lee. 

As an international festival deeply rooted in Scotland, an impressive 50% of the artists were from Scotland in 2024, highlighting the exceptional calibre of local talent alongside their international peers.

This included approximately 250 multigenerational performers in the world-first Healing Arts Scotland Opening Celebrationat the Scottish Parliament, and representation from all five Scottish national performing arts companies—National Theatre of Scotland, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet and Scottish Chamber Orchestra.  

The International Festival also employs over 200 specialist freelancers and relies every year on a pipeline of talented writers, actors, musicians, dancers, singers, producers, facilitators, technicians and cultural workers.

In the precarious funding landscape currently faced by the Scottish arts sector, the Festival remains committed to supporting and advocating for the indispensable community of creative individuals and organisations of which Scotland can rightly be proud. 

Under the theme of ‘Rituals That Unite Us’, the 2024 International Festival programme also reimagined ways in which live performance could bring audiences and artists closer together. 

Audiences sat in beanbags to enjoy six informal concerts at the Usher Hall, including Brazil’s Ilumina, The Hallé, and the European Union Youth Orchestra, while The Hub series once again welcomed audiences into the home of the International Festival for intimate and unforgettable performances from around the world. 

Six artist rehearsals were made accessible to the public and schools, offering a unique behind-the-scenes glimpse into the creative process, while 20 Q&A sessions were offered by artists after their performances to deepen the experience for attending audiences.  

Offering a deeper look into the Festival’s inner workings, 36 audio introductions, hosted by Kate Molleson and Nicola Benedetti, featured insights from artists, programmers, and creatives behind the programme’s performances.

Listened to 32,794 times by audiences, The Warm Up invited artists to discuss the unique rituals they undergo before creating a piece or stepping onto the stage. Nicola Benedetti also made her BBC Radio 3 presenting debut in a six-part series focusing on the origin story and impact of the International Festival, which continues to broadcast until 7 September.

Additionally, nineteen concerts from the Festival were recorded for BBC Radio 3 and will be available on BBC Sounds. More than 130 behind-the-scenes videos shared across the International Festival’s social media channels garnered 1 million views from online audiences. 

Additionally, over 300 people enjoyed a free VR experience with the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Festival’s inaugural Community Connections Hub, held this year in the Edinburgh suburb of Broomhouse. Following this, 2,000 attendees attended a Family Concert at the Usher Hall, where young music lovers had the chance to experience the Philharmonia Orchestra in person, with Festival Director Nicola Benedetti performing on violin. 

Over 7,000 people joined together for a new ritual for the city and the International Festival at the highly anticipated Opening Event: Where to Begin, presented in partnership with The Macallan. Where to Begin launched Edinburgh’s festival season with an immersive experience at the historic Old Town site of George Heriot’s, brought to life by the creative team at Pinwheel. 

Festival Director, Nicola Benedetti said, “Our Festival has been an outstanding success this year. The theme, Rituals That Unite Us, resonated in profound ways with our visiting artists and home community. Although we bring stories from around the world, they change when they interact with the unique spirit of Edinburgh, artist upon artist expressing their awe and desire to return.

“We diversified the experiences in our venues, making the Festival as accessible and affordable as possible. Beanbags returned, as did the intimacy of our home, the Hub.  We programmed exceptional international premieres, doubled the number of Under 18 tickets on last year, and tripled the Young Musician’s Pass attendees – an initiative that offers free Festival tickets to young musicians.”

“Against a tumultuous backdrop of funding crisis, two aspects of our identity were reinforced and strengthened. We are deeply rooted in Scotland, and will continue to present the best of Scottish talent alongside our international counterparts.

“Most importantly, we are making an indelible impact on access to culture for our local community. To present the world’s greatest art to the broadest possible audience is what we are here to do.” 

Chief Executive, Francesca Hegyi said “Our theme for this year’s programme, Rituals that Unite Us, beautifully captured the sense of togetherness felt throughout this past month. There’s something profound and powerful about this shared experience that brings people from every corner of the world and all walks of life together.  

“As we celebrate this year’s Festival, we must also recognise the current fragility of the Scottish cultural sector. With 50% of our 2024 artists hailing from Scotland, the Festival relies on exceptional local talent both on and off the stage and we are deeply concerned about the ongoing survival of our creative community.  

“The International Festival is the original spark that lit this city’s path to becoming the world’s Festival City. “Now, 77 years later, we thank you for joining us once again for the ritual that we look forward to each year: the Edinburgh International Festival.” 

Scottish contemporary dance headlines prestigious international showcase

Katherina Radeva’s life-affirming performance piece, 40/40, has been specially selected to showcase at the world’s most prestigious international contemporary dance industry gathering, internationale tanzmesse nrw, taking place in Dusseldorf from 28 – 31 August.

The critically acclaimed 40/40 from Two Destination Language (a collaboration between Katherina & Alister Lownie) is one of a small number of full-length, tour-ready productions invited from across the world (and the only one from the UK from 900 proposals) for the event’s revered Performance programme.

Designed to showcase the latest ‘originality of movement and choreographic practice, relevant topics and aesthetics, a wide geographic spread, and a diversity of backgrounds’, the Programme is keenly anticipated by international artists, promoters and programmers.

Described as ‘dancing joy in defiance of convention’, in 40/40, Katherina celebrates her 40 years as a woman, a migrant and an artist.

Katherina says: “The production is the result of 40 years of joy, migrancy and hardship, laughter and tears, super tunes and super moves.”

Audiences are invited to ‘join the middle-aged woman revolution by dancing, claiming and reclaiming the beautiful, glorious and messy complexities of womanhood. From the little girl dancing at her parents’ student parties, to the teenage rhythm gymnast who was body-shamed, to the creative who refuses to be categorised, 40/40 comprises all the joys and sorrows of 40 years.’

Katherina added: “40/40 is a work which pushes at so many boundaries with humour and joy and for us it is a real privilege to be a part of the current dialogues and critical thinking in dance.”

40/40 received research and development funding from The National Lottery through Creative Scotland and support from Tramway Glasgow and Dance Base Scotland.

Alongside 40/40, Scotland-based artist, Dr Aby Watson has been selected to present their work Back and Forth and Forth and Back – a new work in development as part of the event’s Insights programme.

Commissioned by Unlimited, with funding from Creative Scotland and support from The Work Room, The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Level Centre, Aby’s emerging piece is an immersive, experimental choreography of rhythm, repetition and sensorial play that centres neurodivergent adult audiences, with the performance embodying Aby’s innovative practice research in neuroqueer choreography.

Ahead of the gathering, Aby says: “I hope to connect with delegates who share my values with radical access and inclusion, and make connections with producers, venues, festivals, and other artists to support the development of my work, whilst experiencing exciting international dance work to nourish myself creatively.”

In addition to the artists who will be performing, The Work Room (supported by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland) is supporting a delegation of independent dance artists and choreographers from across Scotland to attend including Mark Bleakley, Mele Broomes, Salma Faraji, Bridie Gane, Dorine Mugisha, Skye Reynolds and Kathryn Spence.

For full information about our delegates, take a look at our dedicated Tanzmesse 2024 webpages on the Creative Scotland website.

Anita Clark, Director at The Work Room said: “International collaboration and exchange expands our perspective and understanding.

“Through the Dance from Scotland presence at International Tanzmesse nrw 2024, dance artists from Scotland will have the opportunity to meet with peers from across the world and develop vital international connections to further their work.”

Paul Burns, Interim Director of Arts at Creative Scotland said: “We are excited to be spotlighting the incredible talents of Scottish artists at this most important of international platforms for contemporary dance and performance.

“Scotland rightly has a strong reputation for both showcasing and creating world-class dance, with Scottish companies regularly touring the globe, or welcoming exceptional international artists to our shores.

“The event has an unparalleled potential to support delegations from Scotland to develop their networks and unlock a range of international opportunities.”

Edinburgh International Festival 2024 set to ignite festival season opening weekend

  • The 2024 Edinburgh International Festival begins today with the first of more than 160 events in an exhilarating 24-day celebration of opera, dance, music and theatre in Scotland’s capital city. More than 2,000 internationally renowned artists from across 42 nations, including more than 1,000 Scottish artists, will perform.
  • The International Festival opens with Opening Event: Where to Begin, an immersive outdoor experience in partnership with The Macallan single malt Scotch whisky. The event is set to welcome thousands in central Edinburgh, blending installation, projection and live performance for only three nights, from 2 – 4 August. 
     
  • First week highlights include: the world-premiere staged adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s bestselling memoir The Outrun, the Scottish premiere of Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos, and the UK production premiere of Carmen, direct from Paris’s legendary opera house, Opéra-Comique. 
  • To ensure that cost isn’t a barrier to cultural discovery, 2024 sees our most generous concessions policy to date: 50% of tickets for the 2024 International Festival are sold at £30 or less. More than 4,000 £10 Affordable Tickets across every event in the programme have already been allocated to those who need them, and many more are still available. Tickets can be purchased from www.eif.co.uk. 

TODAY, the Edinburgh International Festival opens its 24-day programme of more than 160 events for its 77th edition. The original festival, the one that started it all in Edinburgh, runs 2 – 25 August, and features a hand-picked programme of the world-leading artists in theatre, dance, music and opera, framed by the theme of ‘Rituals That Unite Us’.  

More than 2,000 artists from across 42 nations will perform at the International Festival this August, in a major moment in the international arts calendar. Over 1,000 of these performers are from Scotland, and all five Scottish national performing arts companies are represented in this year’s programme. 

In 2024, Festival Director Nicola Benedetti’s second year, the International Festival brings 5 world premieres, 13 UK and Scottish premieres, and 2 European premieres to Edinburgh, including an extensive opera programme, with promenade opera Oedipus Rex in the National Museum of Scotland and two staged operas from major international companies: Carmen from the Opéra Comique and The Marriage of Figaro from Komische Oper Berlin. 

Kicking off the International Festival, Opening Event: Where to Begin invites nearly 10,000 visitors and locals alike to ignite their festival season with a communal experience which evokes the mythology and history of Scotland’s rich heritage. The new event in Edinburgh’s festival tradition will transform the grounds and magnificent renaissance architecture of George Heriot’s with immersive installation, live performance and video projection. 

Presented in partnership with The Macallan, with creative producer Pinwheel and support from EventScotland, the Opening Event runs across three nights from Friday 2 August to Sunday 4 August. Tickets are available online for £15 and concessions from £7.50 are available. 

The first week of the International Festival also features not-to-be-missed performances from some of the world’s leading artists, including:

  • The world premiere of The Outrun, the stage adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s best-selling memoir. Brought to life by Olivier Award-winning playwright Stef Smith, director Vicky Featherstone and Edinburgh’s producing theatre The Royal Lyceum Theatre Company, The Outrun will run throughout August at the Church Hill Theatre. 
  • The most popular French opera in the world, Carmen, direct from Opéra-Comique – the Parisian opera house where it all began. The new production of Georges Bizet’s masterpiece is brought to the stage by director Andreas Homoki, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Music Director of the Opéra-Comique, Louis Langrée, with an international cast led by Gaëlle Arquez as Carmen; runs 4-8 August at the Festival Theatre. 
     
  • A two-part opening weekend exploring different ways of telling the same story, with two distinct interpretations of the Passion: Latin American and Afro-Cuban musical styles mix with contemporary classical expressions in the Scottish premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos, on 3 August at Usher Hall. On 4 August at Usher Hall, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, their Chief Conductor Ryan Wigglesworth and the Edinburgh Festival Chorus take on Johann Sebastian Bach’s masterpiece, the St Matthew Passion.
  • The UK premiere of Penthesilea,Internationaal Theater Amsterdam’s production of Heinrich von Kleist’s classic. Ferocious and emotionally charged, Penthesilea is a powerful fusion of a rock concert and an ancient tragic love story, likened to Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet; runs 3-6 August at The Lyceum.
  • The Scottish premiere of Please right back, award-winning company 1927’s new family production combining fantastical animations with bold storytelling to explore the effects of the criminal justice system; runs 2-11 August at The Studio.

2024’s programme also offers an increased range of innovative and informal audience experiences, designed to create a closer union between artists and audiences.   

Beanbag concerts are back after popular demand, designed to immerse audiences in an orchestral experience. Inspired by the work of Budapest Festival Orchestra founder and conductor Iván Fischer, audiences can take in the thrill and drama of the orchestra from the comfort of a beanbag or choose standard seating in the circle or balcony. Beanbag seating is still available for concerts by Brazil’s Ilumina, the Edinburgh Festival Chorus and the European Union Youth Orchestra conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. 

The Hub, the International Festival’s home on the Royal Mile, once again hosts the most intimate performances in informal surroundings. During August, The Hub is home to The Hub Club Cafe (11am-6.30pm; food service until 5pm) & Bar (6.30pm – late), with drop-in open-doors rehearsals and ‘Ask the Artist’ moments on select days. The Hub music series is truly international – spanning Scotland, Ireland, Wales, India, China, Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, US, Germany, Egypt, Estonia and West Africa, with these artists sharing their musical heritage, cultures and rituals.  

Edinburgh International Festival Director, Nicola Benedetti said: “As we raise the curtain to open this year’s Edinburgh International Festival, we’re reminded of the power of art to unite and inspire us all.

“One of the most moving things in the world, to me, is to see mass, collective effort at work. Each person adding their expertise and experience to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts – and this year’s International Festival programme is the epitome of such a thing.

“I can’t wait for us all to come together this month, to seek, feel and discover something new.” 

The 77th Edinburgh International Festival continues to 25 August.

To purchase tickets and for more information, visit www.eif.co.uk.

Volunteering helps Safia find the perfect work and life balance

As a girl who began watching ballet at the age of 10, little did Safia Qureshi realise that one day her interest in dance would lead to a career in helping to improve people’s health and wellbeing.

Safia is currently Director of Evidence and Digital at Healthcare Improvement Scotland, the national improvement agency for health and care in Scotland, whilst also being a volunteer with Scottish Ballet. She is involved with them as part of a ground-breaking initiative that uses dance as an alternative to medication.

Safia, from Penicuik, is one of 3485 NHS volunteers each month, who give up their time to help others. In total, NHS volunteers donated 584,000 hours in 2023-24 – the equivalent of 24,333 days.

She is encouraging others to do their bit and give up some of their spare time, as part of Volunteers Week, which runs from Monday, 3 June until Sunday 9.

Safia said: “I grew up loving ballet. I went to see it with my mum when I was a little, so I’ve always gone to see it when I can.

“I was doing a leadership development course run by the Scottish Government called Project Lift when I first came into contact with Scottish Ballet in a work setting. and they had this idea which they called Colliding Perspectives.

“I was involved in an initiative where small groups of people who were on the course came together with folk from different industries, and one of the companies involved was Scottish Ballet.

“They were looking for help with developing their Dance Health programme so I was straight at the front for that one, saying ‘Let me help!’

“Some colleagues and I were invited for a visit, to meet them and talk about what they were looking for.

“When I was there, I wondered if Healthcare Improvement Scotland might be able to help them, because one of their challenges was persuading healthcare professionals that dance could be used as an alternative to medication.”

Safia initially volunteered with a programme which helped people with Parkinson’s Disease.

She explained: “Having heard about their dance health programme at a high level, I got the opportunity to volunteer with the Dance for Parkinson’s programme that Scottish Ballet was running in Peebles, so I volunteered with them, probably on and off for maybe a year-and-a-half, and that was what really did it for me.

“It was just the most amazing experience, as the classes were run by professional dancers and they treated everyone who was in the room as a dancer. It was all really respectful and the programmes are based on whatever Scottish Ballet are working on, so there’s always a connection back to the company.

“The class became this real community, where people with Parkinson’s and a friend or a partner would come, and we’d all do the class together. It was great for helping people to relax and unwind.

“There were times when I would be blinking back tears at the positivity and community in the room. There’s something really special about the way that dance helped and united us all. I got such a lot from it personally, and it made me more determined that we need to show other people this is something that is amazing.”

With her knowledge as a health and care professional, Safia has been delighted to bring her professional expertise, her contacts within the world of healthcare professionals, plus her love of ballet together, and in turn has made many friends.

She said: “I helped Scottish Ballet set up their research committee and bringing in clinical experts.

“Having been a volunteer for a while, I was thinking some of the exercises that Scottish Ballet do might benefit people with Long COVID.

“We asked some of the patient representatives who’d supported us develop a clinical guideline for people with Long COVID guideline if they would meet with Scottish Ballet and talk them through what might be useful. They then introduced Scottish Ballet to more people in the Long COVID community. There was a real example of thinking differently, and using what you do in a different way to help people.”

Safia added: “When I was 10 years old and going to the ballet with my mum, I wouldn’t have believed this was all possible and that one day, I’d be working with Scottish Ballet. It still catches me every time I go.

“Through volunteering, you meet fascinating people who you would never otherwise have met and you also get to learn about yourself as you broaden your horizons. It’s very rewarding.

“Volunteering makes you feel good in lots of different ways, by doing something that takes you out of your day-to-day routine. I’ve been part of a community I never knew existed, which is lovely and I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.”

Edinburgh pupils premiere new ‘Junk Food’ dance

P6 pupils from the Royal Mile and Abbeyhill Primary Schools and student dancers from Moray House School of Education and Sport came together yesterday to perform Junk Food, written and created for this year’s Pomegranates Festival.

Over the course of the spring term, pupils at both schools took part in several workshops to discuss themes such as why people dance, what dance looks like, and chose a topic of their choice to create a dance piece that was relevant to them.

The pupils chose to discuss ‘Junk Food’ and used this theme to create a short dance piece accompanied by new electronic music by Gourab Dey, with the help of students at the University. The pupils worked on themes like ‘hangry’ and what this looked like as a dance movement, and after several rehearsals they created today’s final dance piece.

Wendy Timmons, Co-Producer of Pomegranates Festival and Senior Lecturer in Dance at Moray House School of Education and Sport said: “Many children that we work with in schools experience dance as part of physical education, and therefore the aesthetic experience of being in a theatre and being on stage is completely new.

“What this project aimed to do was to create a dance piece using their ideas so they would feel more connected with the process. Today’s performance illustrates the quality of work that this process can create, and this came across in the piece.”

The Pomegranates Festival runs until tomorrow (Tuesday 30 April) and is Scotland’s annual festival of international traditional dance.

Initiated and curated by Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland it is presented and produced in partnership with Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland, Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh City Libraries, Dance Base and the Scottish Storytelling Centre. 

The Festival finishes with a finale performance on International Dance Day 29 April which includes a new piece of dance created by MC, hip-hop dancer and choreographer-in-residence Jonzi D and performed by 20 Edinburgh-based traditional dancers.

The piece will be accompanied by newly-commissioned poetry by Perth-based poet Jim Mackintosh who will also be launching his new book of poetry We are Migrant at the event, and poems by BBC broadcaster Ian McMillan. 

Plus, there will be a screening of a new film by contemporary visual artist and human rights activist Mare Tralla who has been artist-in-residence at this year’s festival.

There will also be a live streamed keynote lecture by Jonzi D on ‘Decolonising the Expressive Arts Curriculum’ tomorrow – Tuesday 30 April at 10am at Paterson’s Land, Moray House School of Education and Sport, Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AQ.

The Scottish Institute unveils new campus with red carpet launch event

The evening marked the opening of The Scottish Institute of Theatre, Dance, Film and Television following renaming and opening of new campus

The Scottish Institute of Theatre, Dance, Film and Television (The SI; formerly the MGA Academy of Performing Arts) unveiled its brand new Livingston campus last night at a red-carpet launch event celebrating the renaming of the school and new facilities for its students.

The launch party, held at The SI’s new state of the art facilities in Livingston, Scotland, marks a pivotal rebrand for the school with a name change, a new campus and new management from Ireland’s Silver Rock Studios.

The university is also now expanding its reach to international students for the first time as well as continuing to boost local Scottish talent, positioning Scotland as the go-to destination for success in the creative industries.

All guests, staff, and students were treated to an evening of performances, art installations, and a special performance of Dougie MacLean’s famous Caledonia from the school’s current students.

Alumni from The MGA Academy of Performing Arts, now known as The Scottish Institute, have gone on to success in film and television including playing leading roles in BBC’s Gossip Girl and major West End shows such as The Book of Mormon, Wicked and Six!.

Under its new management from Ireland’s Silver Rock Studios, and with new President and CEO Andy Egan, future students will be guaranteed credits as part of their degree, as part of The Scottish Institute of Theatre, Dance, Film and Television’s plans to foster the stars of tomorrow.