Lift Off Dance Festival - Photos and DVDs
Photos from the technical rehearsals and full show DVDs, or edited dance clips, can be purchased following the Galas.
Full show DVDs for either 2, 16 or 17 March are just £10 +P&P
Multi-angle edited clips of just one dance group are £30
www.livelywoodpictures.co.uk/order/liftoff
Expect a 6-8 week turn around on DVDs. Last date to order is 31 March 2024
Single or full gallery photos from the tech runs for the 3 shows are as follows:
Sat 2 March – Musical Theatre Gala
https://www.simonvailphotography.co.uk/f694053384
password is: timetosing95!
Sat 16 March – Youth & Community Gala 1
https://www.simonvailphotography.co.uk/f804709366
password is: 23danceisfun=!
Sun 17 March – Youth & Community Gala 2
https://www.simonvailphotography.co.uk/f1025747158
password is: 25joytodance!
A celebration of dance and musical theatre
A wide range of dance styles, ages, and abilities reaching far beyond Berkshire.
Dance professionals, students of dance and audience members come together for this annual extravaganza of stunning, cutting-edge performances, masterclasses, Dance on Screen cinema events, and youth and community group showcases.
Initially started by Bracknell Forest Council, South Hill Park took full ownership of the festival under the artistic direction of Lena Dee from 2005.
Each year the festival hosts several dance performances by the local community and professional dance companies, alongside a variety of dance workshops, cinema screenings, live dance performances broadcast from around the globe, and dance-inspired exhibitions.
Professional dance companies who have performed their own evenings’ work during the festival include; StopGap, Tavaziva Dance, Sonia Sabri, Jasmin Vardimon to name but a few.
The festival has grown in size and ambition since its inception and the Galas now not only showcase local dance talent from Berkshire but also dancers from Surrey, Hampshire and London and surrounding areas. The Galas include performances and workshops led by professional dancers and choreographers so participants and audience members get to see where years of hard dance training can lead – helping to inspire and give insight into the world of professional dance.
Each year, new elements are added to the festival to widen the appeal for those learning, performing or watching the events. This includes the recent addition of broadcasting live ballet performances from prestigious Opera Houses around the world.
Whether you are a seasoned performer or theatre goer, or new to the world of dance, there is something to interest all tastes. It’s a truly great way to experience the art form.
Please contact Lena Dee at liftoffdance@nullgmail.com for information on how to take part in the festival or for more information on this year’s event.
Lift Off Musical Theatre Gala 2024
Shows and Performances
Musical Theatre Gala
Sat 2 March 7pm, Wilde Theatre
£15, good and best friends £13
Join us for our new edition to the Lift Off Festival programme – a wonderful evening of song and dance, celebrating the best-loved numbers from the world of musical theatre, performed by a wealth of local talent.
Expect well-known tunes alongside a few surprises, including rousing group performances and emotive solos by local groups and industry professionals.
An uplifting, feel-good night of entertainment for the whole family.
A magical, musical evening for the whole family to enjoy!
For more information, click here. Book your tickets online or through the Box Office (01344 484123)
Musical Theatre Gala - Photos and DVD Update
Thank you for attending our Musical Theatre Gala in the Wilde Theatre on Saturday. We very much hope you enjoyed the show. Photos from the Technical rehearsals are now available to purchase as individual photos or full galleries. Please note that the link in the programme and advertised in the Wilde foyer has been updated so the correct link and password to use is as follows:
https://www.simonvailphotography.co.uk/f694053384
Password is lowercase: timetosing95!
DVDs of the whole show will be available in around 6-8 weeks. Individual digital edits of individual group pieces can also be purchased at: www.livelywoodpictures.co.uk/order/liftoff
For further information or to be added to the list for future Musical and Dance galas at South Hill Park, please email Lena at liftoffdance@nullgmail.com
Lift Off Dance Festival 2024
Shows and Performances
Youth & Community Gala 1
Sat 16 March 7-9pm, Wilde Theatre
£15, good and best friends £13
Groups from Berkshire, Surrey, Hampshire, London, and surrounding areas, apply to take part in these hugely popular galas – showcasing the passion that dancers aged 6yrs, to those in their 80s, have for different styles of dance.
Youth groups, community groups, schools and special guest professional dancers come together to present an evening of dance entertainment for families and dance enthusiasts alike. See the website for full listings of groups taking part in each gala.
Featuring: Ranelagh School, Wild Ridings Primary School, Jenny Thomas Jazzettes, Zambesi Dance Company, OFLAC, The Hot Steppers, Royal Steps – Dance Inspired, Shimmy Cafe Barefoot Dance Fusion, We Love To Dance, St Mary’s School Ascot, Maggie Monk School of Dancing, Senior West Berkshire Youth Dance Company, Elibah School of Dance & St Andrew’s Berkshire, Indigo Movement Company, Brakenhale School, LooP Dance Company: Leighton Park School.
All proceeds in support of South Hill Park’s fundraising campaign
For more information, click here. Book your tickets online or through the Box Office (01344 484123)
Youth & Community Gala 2
Sun 17 March 7-9pm, Wilde Theatre
£15, good and best friends £13
Groups from Berkshire, Surrey, Hampshire, London, and surrounding areas, apply to take part in these hugely popular galas – showcasing the passion that dancers aged 6yrs, to those in their 80s, have for different styles of dance.
Youth groups, community groups, schools and special guest professional dancers come together to present an evening of dance entertainment for families and dance enthusiasts alike. See the website for full listings of groups taking part in each gala.
Featuring: Stage Troupe | Street Troupe, Moving Stories Dance Company, Reading School of Dance, Dance Phaze, Artemis Hip Hop, Thrive Youth Dance Company, StopGap Guildford Dance Company, Dance with Sonia Brown, Jawahir Bellydance, Odyl Creations, Platform YP, St Joseph’s Primary School, Hampshire Youth Dance Company, Orb Youth Dance Company, Eagle House Dance Crew.
All proceeds in support of South Hill Park’s fundraising campaign
For more information, click here. Book your tickets online or through the Box Office (01344 484123)
Tavaziva Dance, Boy’s Khaya. Photographer: Foteini Christofilopoulou
Dance Masterclasses
Sat 16 – Sun 17 March
£6 each
A series of masterclasses, led by professional dancers and choreographers, covering various styles including contemporary, ballet, commercial, street dance, jazz and more. Open to all ages and abilities.
Musical Theatre Masterclass – Dance Only
Sat 16th March 12.45-1.45pm
Dance Studio
Tutor: CJ – SOTA
Suitable: Ages 8yrs+
Come and join CJ from School of the Arts (SOTA) and have terrific fun in this high energy musical theatre workshop learning a number that’ll have you dancing and improving your performance skills at the same time. You don’t have to be the greatest performer and you’ll be amazed at what you can create as a group when you have fun expressing yourself!
CJ is a passionate teacher and has appeared in several major films.
For more information, click here. Book your tickets online or through the Box Office (01344 484123)
Charleston
Sat 16th March 2-3pm
Dance Studio
Tutor: Hannah Batley – Jenny Thomas Jazzettes
Suitable: open level but be ready to get energetic
Hannah is back following her hugely popular and energetic masterclass last year. Experience authentic 1920s Charleston moves that get your feet swivelling and your body bouncing to the infectious jazz music.
Learn a Charleston routine choreographed by Strictly Come Dancing’s Jenny Thomas.
For more information, click here. Book your tickets online or through the Box Office (01344 484123)
Street Dance
Sat 16th March 3.15-4.15pm
Dance Studio
Tutor: Zoe Warboys
Suitable: fast paced and suitable to anyone willing to get energetic
Zoe Has been teaching dance for 30+ years. She specialises in funky street/commercial styles and brings a fun, energetic class to Lift Off.
She breaks down every move and makes routines accessible to all levels of dancer with added difficulty for those that want to be challenged. You will leave feeling hot, energised, happy and looking cool.
For more information, click here. Book your tickets online or through the Box Office (01344 484123)
Contemporary Technique
Sat 16th March 4.30-5.30pm
Dance Studio
Tutor: Lauren Williams – Indigo Movement Company
Suitable: those with experience of contemporary dance and floor-work
Expect high energy contemporary classwork inspired by Lauren’s desire to get people moving. This will include some floorwork, travelling and exercises that rely on physical sensation.
In the last part of class there will be a fun creative task to bring the individuals in the room as one collective.
For more information, click here. Book your tickets online or through the Box Office (01344 484123)
Street Dance
Sun 17th March 3.15-4.15pm
Dance Studio
Tutor: Zoe Warboys
Suitable: fast paced and suitable to anyone willing to get energetic
Zoe Has been teaching dance for 30+ years. She specialises in funky street/commercial styles and brings a fun, energetic class to Lift Off.
She breaks down every move and makes routines accessible to all levels of dancer with added difficulty for those that want to be challenged. You will leave feeling hot, energised, happy and looking cool.
For more information, click here. Book your tickets online or through the Box Office (01344 484123)
Contemporary Partnering
Sun 17th March 4.30-5.30pm
Dance Studio
Tutors: Odyl Creations with Sarah Hirsch & Philip McDermott
Suitable: those with contemporary experience, although not necessarily partner work
In our contemporary partnering masterclass we’ll be exploring momentum, anchoring, and the architectural structure of the body, allowing participants of all genders to lift and be lifted.
Skills to be developed include multi-level movement, articulate and sophisticated response to the point of contact, and weight transfer. We’ll then put all of the above into action by learning a segment from Sarah and Philip’s duet ‘Magnetoreception’.
For more information, click here. Book your tickets online or through the Box Office (01344 484123)
Cinema
Dance-based films being shown at South Hill Park’s own cinema.
The Red Shoes
Wed 13 March 7pm
Cert PG
Dirs Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger, UK, 1948, 135 mins
Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring, Robert Helpmann
A young dancer is torn between the man she loves and her pursuit to become a prima ballerina. The definitive ballet film, winning Oscars for art direction and music, and featuring a standout performance by real-life ballerina Moira Shearer, a character for whom art is more important than life itself.
Profoundly serious, sublimely innocent, yet deeply and mysteriously erotic THE GUARDIAN
For more information, click here. Book your tickets online or through the Box Office (01344 484123)
Cinema | Dance on Screen
A season of live ballet screenings by The Royal Ballet in collaboration with The Royal Opera House.
Royal Opera House Live – Ballet
MacMillan Triple
Tue 9 April 7.15pm LIVE
195 mins approx, inc 2 intervals
Celebrating Principal Choreographer Kenneth MacMillan’s one-act ballets, starting with his first major work, Danses Concertantes. Followed by the haunting decent into madness, Different Drummer. And finally Requiem, in memory of John Cranko.
For more information, click here. Book your tickets online or through the Box Office (01344 484123)
Royal Opera House Live – Ballet
Swan Lake
Wed 24 April 7.15pm LIVE
200 mins, inc 2 intervals
Tchaikovsky’s sensational score combines with the evocative imagination of choreographer Liam Scarlett and designer John Macfarlane to heighten the dramatic pathos of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov’s quintessential ballet classic.
For more information, click here. Book your tickets online or through the Box Office (01344 484123)
Royal Opera House Live – Ballet
The Winter’s Tale
Wed 22 May 7.15pm LIVE
195 mins approx, inc 2 intervals
Celebrating its tenth anniversary, Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale is an award-winning modern ballet classic adapted from Shakespeare’s profound story of love and loss.
For more information, click here. Book your tickets online or through the Box Office (01344 484123)
Royal Opera House Live – Sadler’s Wells and Universal Music UK
Message in a Bottle
Thu 30 May 7.20pm LIVE
90 mins
Message in a Bottle, the acclaimed dance theatre production by Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Kate Prince, set to the music of Grammy Award-winning artist Sting, centres on the international refugee crisis and an imagined story about one displaced family.
For more information, click here. Book your tickets online or through the Box Office (01344 484123)
Cinema | Big Screen Musicals
Titanic – The Musical
Sun 10 March 7pm RECORDED
Wed 13 March 2.30pm RECORDED
Cert 12A
160 mins, 1 interval
Winner of five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Titanic – The Musical is a stunning and stirring production focusing on the hopes, dreams and aspirations of her passengers who each boarded with stories and personal ambitions of their own.
For more information, click here. Book your tickets online or through the Box Office (01344 484123)
An American in Paris – The Musical
Sun 21 April 7pm RECORDED
Tue 30 April 2.30pm RECORDED
Cert PG
155 mins, 1 interval
This breathtaking Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, inspired by the Oscar winning MGM film, tells the story of a former GI striving to make it as a painter in a city suddenly bursting with hope and possibility.
Featuring the gorgeous music and lyrics of George and Ira Gershwin, including the classics S’Wonderful and I Got Rhythm.
For more information, click here. Book your tickets online or through the Box Office (01344 484123)
42nd Street – The Musical
Sun 19 May 7pm RECORDED
Tue 21 May 2.30pm RECORDED
Cert PG
144 mins, 1 interval
This legendary Broadway musical theatre classic tells the story of Peggy Sawyer, a talented young performer with stars in her eyes who gets her big break on Broadway. Starring national treasure Bonnie Langford as Dorothy Brock and featuring iconic songs 42nd Street, We’re In The Money and Lullaby of Broadway, this is pure musical magic on the big screen.
For more information, click here. Book your tickets online or through the Box Office (01344 484123)
If you would like more information about participating in the festival, please either complete the form below or email Lena Dee directly.
Please check back to this page for updates as the program is finalised.