Words by Will Baldwin-Pask.
This summer’s Manchester International Festival (3-20 July), or MIF25, is upon us: the multi-arts, biennial festival of local and global culture is on to its 10th edition, and will be the first full festival hosted in Aviva Studios (permanent home of umbrella organisation Factory International) since its official opening in 2023.
From Factory International’s opening to its cornerstone festival this summer, dance was the artform frequently drawn from to bring in audiences and build momentum – 35% of commissioned and co-commissioned events since opening have integrated dance, from its first big welcome statement Free Your Mind, an ambitious concept show grounded in hip-hop and break, to the stunning premiere of Nederlands Dans Theater’s contemporary masterwork Figures in Extinction.
Speaking with John McGrath, chief executive and artistic director of Factory International, ahead of this year’s festival, I ask how conscious this has been:
“We are fundamentally interdisciplinary” John explains, praising their collaborators in dance who embrace this. “I think a lot of dance artists are actually quite comfortable in that space, and particularly international dance artists… it’s a really rich space to mine.”
The goal for John, creative director Low Kee Hong, and the wider Factory team, is to bring together artists from around the world, working with different forms but sharing similar ideas, in order to produce something original and tantalisingly uncertain. When these collaborations pay off, as they often do, audiences who join for one artform likely leave with an interest in another.
“Sometimes over-artforming work can be a barrier,” explains John. “The goal isn’t to build up a list of dance audiences and a list of theatre audiences… we really want to build up an audience that feels comfortable and excited about coming to dance. They may not define themselves as a dance audience, but they’re coming to see exciting work by a great choreographer.”
Those seeing Free Your Mind for Danny Boyle’s direction will have been blown away by Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy and his company Boy Blue; ravers who caught R.O.S.E in 2023 got more than a DJ set, but an immersive view of Sharon Eyal’s beautifully eerie work; get a ticket for the music of John Grant and Jasmin Kent Rodgman in A Single Man, take a new love for contemporary ballet home with you. Rather than “a dance program for dance specialists”, it’s simply sold as new art for the curious.
Developing dance in Manchester for John and the organisation requires more than selling tickets for dance shows. They want to see more professionals, as well as audiences, engaged in their work. Whilst their talent development strand Factory Academy is helping young people from Manchester into creative careers, participation in programmed events can create further opportunities within the dance world. John proudly gives the examples of their MIF21 opening, when choreographer Boris Charmatz coordinated over 150 Manchester residents for a public dance event, as well the group of young performers who, after appearing in Free Your Mind where they “got their first professional gig” went on to create their own company.
Commissioning some of the world’s best artists – Ivan Michael Blackstock, Akram Khan, Crystal Pite, Wayne McGregor – assures the quality of the craft coming to the city. For now these high profile commissions have been with those outside of Manchester – John nods to Benji Reid (Find Your Eyes, MIF23) & Juliet Ellis (A Symphony of Flesh and Bones, MIF25) with their roots in Manchester and their work integrating dance, but hopes over time to see more dancers and choreographers from Manchester in the big events:
“As per that group that has grown up in Manchester since Free Your Mind, we need to find ways to support the more emergent artists. It may be that we are not the right space for them to do their first or second show, but we want artists in Manchester to know that there’s a trajectory that can move towards the kind of scale we’re working on. If that’s right for them, that’s something they could target to do.”
For audiences and professionals, and even those new to dance, it’s a great time as ever to be in Manchester. Whether a fan, an artist or someone hoping to work in this world, the presence of Factory International trickles down through the art platformed and the participation opportunities on offer. And crucially, their formula for audience building – to invite fans of one form that overlaps with another, then nudge them towards something new – helps grow the appetite for dance, which allows them to programme more of it, and be even more adventurous with it.
Alongside their contemporaries at The Lowry, with their own reputation for hosting touring dance, and in step with burgeoning companies and studios like 0161 and Coalesce Dance Theatre, a deeper ecosystem is developing, a richer range of stories are being told, to inspire more love for dance at every level in Manchester.
Look out for the following at Factory International soon:
- Juliet Ellis: A Symphony of Flesh and Bones, a film and live installation, with Ellis conducting a piece examining how age impacts bodies. Part of MIF25
- Blackhaine: And Now I Know What Love Is, an immersive performance work blending choreography and sound. Part of MIF25
- Venture Arts Pop-Up Studio: an open exhibition project, with Manchester dance group Company Chameleon appearing on select days. Part of MIF25
- Dance and movement continues this Autumn at Factory International, with work from Marina Abramovic, Akram Khan and more to be announced.
Header image by Johan Persson.