By Pawlet Brookes MBE, Artistic Director, Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage

What an unforgettable celebration LDIF25 has been!  As I reflect on this year’s festival, I am filled with pride, joy, and deep gratitude.  Over two dynamic weeks, Leicester came alive with rhythm, movement, and stories from across the globe.  Let’s Dance International Frontiers 2025 wasn’t just a festival it was a vibrant meeting point of cultures, a home for bold new voices, and a true testament to the power of dance to connect, challenge, and inspire.

Marking our fifteenth anniversary with the theme “Intersection: Diasporic Dialogues”, this year’s programme brought together some of the most exciting choreographers, companies and thinkers from around the world.  From Brazil to the USA, from emerging Black British creatives to internationally acclaimed companies, we showcased a rich, global tapestry of talent rooted in heritage, fuelled by innovation, and driven by purpose.

One of the defining moments of the festival was the UK premiere of Ballet Hispánico’s CARMEN.maquia at Curve, Leicester.  This landmark performance stood as a powerful statement under the leadership of Eduardo Vilaro, Artistic Director and CEO of Ballet Hispánico.  Eduardo’s vision for a company that amplifies Latino voices through contemporary dance continues to break new ground, and CARMEN.maquia exemplified this beautifully.  Choreographer Gustavo Ramírez Sansano reimagined the classic opera with a striking modernist aesthetic infusing Picasso-inspired design with emotionally resonant movement that captivated our audiences.  The result was bold, elegant and profoundly moving.  Eduardo’s commitment to reshaping narratives and reclaiming cultural space through dance made this performance a perfect fit for LDIF’s ethos.

Equally powerful were the performances by Cia Pé no Mundo at Leicester Guildhall.  Their fusion of Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous dance traditions brought a raw, rooted energy to the festival, perfectly reflecting the diasporic spirit at the heart of LDIF25.  Their work, like so much of this year’s programme, was a call to honour ancestry while carving new, contemporary paths.

LDIF25 was also a platform for outstanding Black British talent.  Events like Signatures and the Black British Dance Platform continue to be essential to our mission nurturing the next generation of artists and giving them the space to be bold, visionary and unapologetically themselves.  From Jameel Hendricks’ urgent and compelling choreography to our Dance Dialogues curating history in motion, the voices shaping the future of dance are right here.

This year’s masterclasses and talks were equally enriching.  From Melissa M Young leading a Horton technique masterclass, to Claudine Carter Pereira’s inspiring reflections as both forensic scientist and ballerina, the conversations were as powerful as the performances.

LDIF25 was a triumph.  Not just because of the incredible artists and sold-out events but because of the spirit of togetherness it sparked.  Audiences, artists, students, elders, communities we came together to share, to learn, and to dance.  That’s what LDIF is all about.

Thank you to everyone who joined us.  Here’s to the next chapter and to continuing to elevate the voices, movements and legacies of the African and African Caribbean Diaspora on a world stage.

For more on upcoming events, visit www.serendipity-uk.com.