International Dance Festival Birmingham 2016 has put a callout for proposals of work to be performed in ‘Outdoor Places or Unusual Spaces’ (OPUS) for the 2016 edition of the festival.

To see full details go to the full brief on the DanceXchange site: http://www.dancexchange.org.uk/about/commissions-auditions

IDFB is inviting professionals to submit a great idea and concept for a new festival commission for IDFB 2016, with a particular focus on dance or cross-artform projects that take place in outdoor places and unusual spaces. We welcome ideas from any UK or International Artist. The IDFB team will work alongside the successful professional artist/company to produce and realise the OPUS Idea in a collaborative way. The Artist will be paid a fee as collaborator (please include this in your submitted budget), and the project will be creatively produced by IDFB. We welcome proposals that come with a company of performers. Alternatively, performers can be recruited for the project, collaboratively through a fair and equal process. Collaborators or partners should be researched and named within the proposal where relevant, but please note that all artistic personnel will be mutually agreed by the Artist and the Creative Producer.

Deadline for proposals to be submitted: 29 April 2015, 10am

If you have any questions about your proposal, please contact Hannah Sharpe on 0121 689 1093 or email hannah.sharpe@dancexchange.org.uk

Because nothing says ‘I went to a thing’ quite like a blurry photo. The chap on stage is very probably Stuart Griffiths, Hippodrome Chief Exec and Co-Artistic Director of International Dance Festival Birmingham, announcing the launch of that very same festival.

There’s plenty of good stuff on over the next little while. There’s the free Breathe the Beat roadshow at the Bullring today with contemporary dance legend Louise Lecavalier in this evening.

Also tonight is the last night of Un Peu De Tendresse Bordel de Merde at Warwick Arts Centre – a show that’s had a lot of people talking and was the reason this guy was wandering around wearing nothing but a sandwich board the other day.

There’s a load of dance films being shown around town, curated by Flatpack (a nice little partnership, I thought). Birmingham Royal Ballet are doing a Three Short Works at the Crescent Theatre later in the week and next weekend there’s a whole load of family events going on.

There’s more too. Here’s the full line-up.

It’s being produced by the Hippodrome and created by Motionhouse and Legs On The Wall. The latter’s website says:

It involves six performers from Legs, twelve from Motionhouse, a choir of 40, an all women brass band and 140 community performers. It is co-directed by Legs On The Wall’s Artistic Director Patrick Nolan and Motionhouse’s Kevin Finnan.

Sounds impressive.

Incidentally, this is a good example of how to do a website for a project that hasn’t launched yet. None of this ‘watch this space’ or ‘come back when we’re ready’ nonsense. Instead grab a website visitor’s contact details so you can let them know as soon as there’s any news.

Oh, and I’ve also been reminded that Stan’s Cafe are doing a Cultural Olympiad-related project called The Voyage. That one will be on 6 May.

They’re looking to commission regional artists and designers to devise and produce a piece of live art that will be featured inside the iPhone app. It says here that inter-disciplinary collaboration is favourable.

The full brief is here. If you’re interested, you need to submit your idea by 8 Feb (that’s tomorrow). They’re only looking for 200 words and your contact details though, so it’s not too bad.

There’s a good round-up of what’s being planned over on West Midlands Dance.

There’s plenty of good stuff lined up, but the bits that made me nudge the person next to me and go ‘huh, that’ll be interesting’ were:

• Wings of Desire (the big dance spectacular in Victoria Sq), with Circa and 2FaCeD DaNcE Company
• Dave St-Pierre Company – Un peu de tendresse bordel de merde! (which generated a tonne of controversy in London a couple of months ago)

I like IDFB. It was probably the first one, back in 2008, that got me interested in dance in the first place. I then worked on the 2010 festival and managed to pack in 18 shows over the course of its month-long run. This one looks like being another good one.

• Marc Reeves: Why ‘business as usual’ is a fatal response to Birmingham’s riots
  If you only read one thing in this round-up, make it this
• ACE dancer Letty on new challenges « ACE dance and music
  A nice peek behind the scenes
• Birmingham Hippodrome Autumn Season 2011
  A few musicals (Top Hat, Evita, End of the Rainbow), some dance (plenty of BRB, Some Like It Hip Hop, Burn The Floor), opera (WNO doing Don Giovanni) and acrobatic craziness (Guangdong Acrobatic Troupe of China and Cirque Eloize). All to be squeezed in before the panto
• BCMG Concerts, Workshops and Events Sept 2011 – Jan 2012
  A new season brochure’s out for you to browse if you fancy
• 70-Eight.com
  Or 78. Maybe even Seventy-Eight or 7eventy Eight. The replacement for the Medicine Bar at the Custard Factory opens this weekend
• Bring Out Your Dead
  “We are working with Grand Union, an artist-led studio and exhibition space, that support the development of artists and aim to establish a dialogue between contemporary visual artists and art organisations”
• 7 Inch Cinema – Event – Adventures in freelancing
  “At this free one-day event you can explore what it takes to be a freelancer in the film and moving image industries, getting inspiration and advice from professionals in a huge range of fields – from art to animation, from gaming to graphics.”
• Heritage Lottery Fund workshop | The Moseley Exchange
  “To find out more about Heritage Lottery Fund grant schemes, top tips for filling in the application form and a chance to meet the HLF Development Team come along to a workshop at the exchange on Tuesday 4th October – 10am til 12.30” You’ll need to register for this.
• Birmingham Ballroom Wall Of Fame Open Day – Saturday 3rd September
  “Following the unrest not only in the second city but throughout the UK, we were very sad to announce that the original date for the Open Day had to be re-scheduled, however we’re very happy to inform you all that the show is now most definitely going on and we will now be opening the venue to you all on Saturday 3rd September to welcome you all back to the bosom of Dale End once more!”
• transmissions from the hub
  “A volunteer based radio venture homed in the Our Place Community Hub, Sutton Coldfield” Volunteers wanted
• News from Writing West Midlands
  Plenty of good stuff in their newsletter
• Home of Metal Black Country Weekender
  On the first week in the Sept the folksters will be in Moseley for the festival, the metalheads will be in the Black Country for this
• Programme Support Scheme Awards 2011/12 « Museum Musings
  Some museums have gone some money for doing some things