Results tagged “DanceXchange” from Birmingham Post - Lifestyle Blog

Hottest day of the year ... two sports days, one for each grandchild, handily one am, one pm, both ordeals to a grandfather with a sun allergy barely dealt with by a giant straw hat and a flagon of Factor 50 - and (no, don't laugh) a clutch of Christmas communications through the post and via email.

I laughed heartily at the Health and Safety aspects of the infant schools sports, where 'javelin throwing' turned out to be launching a giant dart made of sponge into the wind to see how far it would go - it was simply too light to actually 'throw'. They'd have been better off hurling a cricket ball, but that was probably far too dangerous.

Let me introduce myself - I'm Claire Boot, not Fiona Ferguson. Fi's off on her hols now, so I'm stepping into her shoes as honorary-festival-goer for IDFB's remaining week.

I'll begin with Bare Bones in Action at the Patrick Centre that, like a set of Russian dolls, is in the DanceXchange, which is, in turn, at the Hippodrome. As we filed in, members of the Kirov Ballet filed out. Nothing highlights your own slouchy posture like a ballerina gliding past you, her poise and elegance undimmed by a neon tracksuit. The close encounter between dancers and civilians (to borrow Liz Hurley's terminology) continued once we got inside, because Action plumped for seating the audience along the edges of the performance space.