Birmingham 2022 Festival to open with spectacular open-air performance in Centenary Square

Wondrous Stories will be a combination of immersive magical action, aerial displays, acrobatics and dance that celebrates the West Midlands’ connection to stories and storytelling, as characters tumble out of a giant flying book into the night sky.

The show has been created by Kevin Finnan MBE, Artistic Director of Leamington Spa based dance-circus company Motionhouse who was choreographer and movement director for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Jamaal Burkmar and Sonia Sabri are Associate Choreographers on the show.

Motionhouse dancers will be joined by a mass cast of hundreds from Critical Mass, a collective of dancers from across Birmingham and beyond which has been put together as part of a project to represent the region’s diversity and ethnicity and give young people the chance to dance together on a world stage.  

Led by DanceXchange in collaboration with Arts Connect and Dance Development Leaders Group (DDLG), Critical Mass is made up of dancers aged between 16 and 30, a third of whom self-identify as D/deaf or disabled. The group will also perform at the Opening Ceremony of Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and at other events during the Birmingham 2022 Festival.

Also performing in Wondrous Stories will be members of wheelchair dance group Freewheelin’, Motionhouse Youth, Sampad and DanceXchange. Live spoken word from local artists Raza Hussain and Sebbie Mudhai, digital projections from Logela Multimedia and an uplifting soundtrack from Birmingham’s Choir With No Name will also feature.

The full Birmingham 2022 Festival programme was announced last month and over 200 events will run from March to September, making it the biggest celebration of creativity ever seen in the region and one of the largest ever cultural programmes to surround the Commonwealth Games.

Raidene Carter, Executive Producer for the Birmingham 2022 Festival, said: "Birmingham 2022 Festival is creating a global platform to show off the home-grown talent of the West Midlands and what better way is there to kick everything off than filling Centenary Square with a massive display of dance, song, acrobatics and more.

"Wondrous Stories brings together the creativity and talent of so many performers from across the region and the shows are completely free, so we want as many people as possible to come along and watch or join our live stream, and help us mark the start of what will be an incredibly exciting six months."

Wondrous Stories is presented by Birmingham 2022 Festival, created by Motionhouse and produced by Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces (OPUS). The £12million festival has been generously supported by a range of funders with the aim of animating the entire West Midlands with ambitious creative works, this includes major support dedicated by Arts Council England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Birmingham City Council and Spirit of 2012.

For more information on Birmingham 2022 Festival and to find out more about Wondrous Stories, visit: birmingham2022.com/festival