The Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance (BIFF) will this summer mark six decades of entertaining audiences with its scintillating brand of global dance theatre by showcasing the talents of over 250 international, national and regional dancers in venues across Tees Valley.
The dates for your diary are between 9th to 17th August, which is when BIFF will be delivering 50 enchanting events in local locations including Billingham, Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, and Stockton.
This will range from headline theatrical folklore events, international dance workshops, museum costume exhibitions, the children’s club, free bandstand taster performances, and daily arena showcases located in Billingham town centre.
The countries being represented in 2025 will include: Bolivia, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, England, Georgia, Ireland, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Montenegro, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Romania, Scotland, Ukraine, and USA.
Please note: Some of those countries will include multi-cultural dance companies based in the United Kingdom but representing the traditional dance styles of their home nation. They will be performing in the opening weekend’s programme.
Here is some food for thought. The international dancers combined round trip when travelling to and from Tees Valley to perform at BIFF 2025 will be a staggering 50,000 miles. That shows desire, commitment and ambition with the end goal to captivate audiences with their jaw-dropping dance techniques, live music and stunning traditional costumes.
That is excluding the awesome road-trips that all of the UK-based artistes will be making to perform in the region.
Olga Maloney, Artistic Director, Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance, said: “We are lucky to be celebrating our 60th anniversary amongst so many friends, festival supporters and of course our international dance family who will be arriving in Tees Valley from around the world.
“In August, audiences will be treated to an array of different traditional and contemporary dance styles in theatre, museum and open-air locations. This is coupled with workshops and events where people of all ages will be able to experience international theatre up close like nowhere else in the region.
“This promises to be the party of the year!”
The 60th anniversary celebrations are being supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Stockton Borough Council, and Arts Council’s National Lottery Project Grants programme.
This is coupled with additional funding from The Billingham Legacy Foundation, The Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust, The PFC Trust, Point North, and Tees Million part of the Tees Foundation.
Here are some festival highlights:
· The Parade of Nations / (9th August / Billingham Town Centre)
· ‘The Carriage of Dreams’ Family Show / (10th August / Billingham Arena)
· Live Traditional World Costume Exhibition / (10th August / Preston Park Museum)
· ‘Hopak!’ Ukrainian Dance Show / (13th August / Middlesbrough Town Hall)
· ‘The Spirit of the Railways’ Show based of Mexican Celebration of the Day of the Dead (14th August / Billingham Arena)
· Departing at 18:25 (15th August / The Forum Theatre)
· World Dance Gala (16th August / Forum Theatre)
Tickets are on sale now from the Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance website www.billinghamfestival.com/billingham-festival-2025 with prices starting as low as £1.
After being a massive success last time round, the Festival team are continuing to include the Pay What You Decide scheme for a number of their events.
This means that audience members can secure their tickets for £1 and then decide after the show what they would like to pay in the form of a donation.
Grab your tickets today for the biggest and best party in town before they all go! (Full programme is available from the Festival’s online box office).
BIFF@60 welcoming the world of dance to Tees Valley.
