The Bloom Festival

The Bloom Festival is a two-day celebration of dance of the African Diaspora presented by ADAD and hosted by Southbank Centre's Dance and Performance team. It includes two evenings of performance, film, open workshops and talks that showcase a wealth of talent from around the UK, alongside international guests. 

The first festival was held in June 2009 and attracted the support of almost 1000 people. It included performances, talks, film and workshops open to the public. The artists featured included Jackie Guy, Iris De Brito, Monica George-Otuya and Opiyo Okach (Kenya). The centre piece of the festival was a mixed bill performance showcasing work by Freddie Opoku-Addaie, Avant-Garde Dance (Tony Adigun), Mohammed Dordoh, Imani Jendai, Paradigmz, Tolo Ko Tolo and Vocab Dance. The programme included traditional African, Tap, Caribbean, Contemporary Fusion, Afro-Latin and more. It was a truly inspiring weekend, which highlighted the diversity that exists within dance of the African Diaspora.

The spirit behind this festival is ADAD's desire to cultivate artists who are rooted, confident and flourishing wherever they find themselves in Britain - 'blooming where they are planted'. The Bloom Festival aims to give a glimpse of the dance talent that is growing in our communities nationwide.

On the momentum of this successful pilot, ADAD is planning to make the Bloom Festival a regular feature of the UK's dance calendar.