Big Dance is the world's largest dance programme, with more than two million people having taken part in the project since it began. The 2012 programme celebrated the diversity of dance styles with an array of events across the UK from 7-15 July, including the creation of a new large-scale dance piece by Wayne McGregor for more than 1,000 dancers in Trafalgar Square.
Big Dance staged events across the UK in 2012, building up to Big Dance Week from 7-15 July. For the centrepiece of this year's programme, Wayne McGregor from Random Dance worked in collaboration with performers from across London to create a new large-scale 40-minute dance piece for the stunning location of Trafalgar Square. The piece was performed on the 14 July from 15.00pm and involved around 1,500 participants. Commissioned films of Big Dance Beijing and Big Dance Rio de Janeiro were also shown, as part of the UK's Big Street Dance Day.
Find out more about Wayne McGregor's plans for Big Dance in this interview on the London Dance website
Thousands of schoolchildren in the UK and across the world took part in the Big Dance Schools Pledge, a world-record breaking dance to a specially choreographed piece by Wayne McGregor with an original score Céleste by Scanner and Joel Cadbury. With the support of our Connecting Classrooms project, the dance took place simultaneously in more than 1,000 schools throughout the UK and across Europe, USA, South America, South-East Asia, the Middle East and the Far East.
Big Dance was funded by Legacy Trust UK, creating a lasting impact from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by funding ideas and local talent to inspire creativity across the UK. The programme was delivered by the Mayor of London, Arts Council England and Foundation for Community Dance with a network of Big Dance Hubs, leading dance organisations around the UK.
Find out more on the Big Dance website
