The first LEAP Contemporary Dance Festival took place in 1992, and provided the impetus for the eventual formation of MDI as an organisation. Set out to celebrate the achievements in dance on Merseyside the festival originally included physical theatre and mime since it linked to the partnership developed with the Unity Theatre.
Working alongside venues in the area, LEAP dance festival promotes dance that is challanging, provocative and entertaining enabling local promoters to programme to their strenghts and identify collectively the needs of the local community.
LEAP is an annual festival and is unique to the area and therefore has strategic importance to dance development and promotion. The festival offers opportunities to promote middle and small scale dance companies of national and international repute linked to an educational package of workshops into schools and in addition commissions up to two new works by local/national companies.
Leap offers the ideal opportunity to devise new ways of developing and increasing performing arts audiences, enabling local communities to see high quality work produced by regional, national and international artists and companies.
Although an annual event, the festival is constantly maturing, changing and growing in response to the development of the comapny (MDI) that produces it and its work with artists, local authorities, community groups and other arts organisations to provide an event that is different each year.
Working alongside venues in the area, LEAP dance festival promotes dance that is challanging, provocative and entertaining enabling local promoters to programme to their strenghts and identify collectively the needs of the local community.
LEAP is an annual festival and is unique to the area and therefore has strategic importance to dance development and promotion. The festival offers opportunities to promote middle and small scale dance companies of national and international repute linked to an educational package of workshops into schools and in addition commissions up to two new works by local/national companies.
Leap offers the ideal opportunity to devise new ways of developing and increasing performing arts audiences, enabling local communities to see high quality work produced by regional, national and international artists and companies.
Although an annual event, the festival is constantly maturing, changing and growing in response to the development of the comapny (MDI) that produces it and its work with artists, local authorities, community groups and other arts organisations to provide an event that is different each year.
