9:44pm Sunday 26th July 2009
By Marc Meneaud
There were acrobatic thrills, stunning dance moves and some very Strange Fruit as thousands of revellers joined the Olympic 2012 fun in Bradford at the weekend.
International acts joined Bradford-based dance groups for the free Step Up event.
It was part of the Open Weekend, a series of national workshops and arts events for disabled and able-bodied people to celebrate the Cultural Olympiad.
This weekend was the start of a three-year programme of arts, cultural and sporting events, leading up to the London 2012 Olympic Games.
In Bradford, hundreds of people took part in a mass dance – believed to be the city’s biggest- ever dancing event – in Centenary Square.
Dance displays on a smaller scale were also performed by Shipley-based DM Dance Academy, Bradford Irish Dancers, Dance For Life and the Bradford Dance Consortium.
Bands performed Latin, sequence and ballroom for visitors to have a go themselves and Bradford-based Cuban musician Omar Puente entertained throughout the weekend with his band, Cubania.
Birmingham Asian wedding band Bombay Baja, a Ukrainian folk band, The Ukes, and a Leeds-based Caribbean Steel Band also joined the party.
Crowds watched on as Circus Acrojou performers took to their “hamster wheels” for an impressive show on Saturday afternoon and Wired Aerial Theatre from Liverpool took to the skies with Fervorosa, a high-wire Tango-inspired act.
Bicycle Ballet, from Brighton and London, held workshops with members of the public, who then joined in a choreographed performance of the company’s show.
The stars of the show were touring company Strange Fruit, based in Melbourne, Australia.
Under the direction of Phillip Gleeson, ten members of Strange Fruit could be seen on top of 15ft poles and as characters emerging from giant, illuminated orbs in a breathtaking aerobatics display.
Vicki Kromer, Strange Fruit tour manager, said: “We are on a tour which includes France and Austria but this event in Bradford is the only one we are doing in the UK.
“We have found it an interesting place and the crowds have been really enthusiastic about the show. Everybody has been going crazy, they are all really into it!”
She described workshops held at the Alhambra Studio throughout last week as “very successful,” adding: “There’s a lot of talent out there.”
Allyson Corney, event officer for cultural services at Bradford Council, organised the event.
She said: “The whole event has been absolutely brilliant. We have had the weather and everybody who has come along has had big smiles on their faces.
“We also had a few gasps of astonishment from people when Strange Fruit performed the spheres and there has been a really nice mix from children in prams right up to grandmas and grandads.”
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