Birmingham International Dance Festival welcomes people of all abilities, ages and backgrounds. We are continually working towards removing barriers to experiencing and enjoying dance in all its forms. As part of our commitment to ensuring we deliver an inclusive and accessible Festival, we offer a range of access provisions and assisted performances. Our wonderful team of staff, Front of House assistants and volunteers are available for assistance during your visit to the Festival. We are happy to chat with you ahead of your visit to make you feel comfortable and at home during your time with us.
Please scroll down to view our selection of access provisions and assisted performances available. We are happy to chat with you ahead of your visit to make you feel comfortable and at home during your time with us.
“If dance is an expression of the human spirit, then it is best expressed by people of all abilities”
The Dancing Wheels, US
We work from the Social Model of Disability, which, by focusing on the disabling barriers imposed by society, embraces all physical, sensory and invisible impairments, learning disability, mental health, neurodivergent and fatigue conditions. We are always looking at ways to improve our understanding and approach, some of our core staff members have attended Disability Awareness training but we always have more to learn, so please talk to us about your individual requirements so we can discuss how we can accommodate them.
All our Festival spaces both indoor and outdoor are wheelchair accessible, Disability & assistance dog friendly.
If you would like to get in touch please feel free to call us on 0121 667 9460 between the hours of 11.00am – 4.00pm Monday – Friday or email us at access@dx.dance
Click tabs below for more information
At BIDF we do our best to make our events as accessible & inclusive as they can be. All our Festival spaces both indoor and outdoor are;
- Disability Friendly
- Wheelchair accessible
- Assistance dog friendly
Our outdoor sites will have viewing areas with chairs available on request to a Front of House staff member
Indoor Venues
You can find further information about accessibility at our indoor venues on the following websites:
Outdoor Venues
Our outdoor sites pop up across Birmingham during the Festival. These include Birmingham City Centre, Handsworth Park in North Birmingham and Cannon Hill Park / Outdoor Stage at Midlands Arts Centre.
Our City Centre sites include:
Centenary Square 
Centenary Square, Birmingham, B1 2DR (in front of Birmingham Library)
Click here for google maps
Blue Badge Car Parks:
- Cambridge Street parking – 192 yards away. Cambridge Street, B1 2ND, Rear of Library of Birmingham.
- Paradise Circus multi-storey car park – 243 yards away. Brindley Drive, B1 2NB.
Closest Bus stops:
- Baskerville House Stop (0.3 miles) – operates for 9, 10, 12, 12A, 13, 13A, 23, 24, 126, 822, 829 & X8
- Colmore Circus (0.7 miles) – operates for 16, 16A, 25, 82, 87 & 822
- New street Station Stop (0.8 miles) operates for 515, 61, 63, 82, 87, 822, 829A, X21 & X22
- Digbeth Coach station stop (1.1 miles) – operates for 60, X1, X2, 34, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4A, 17, 19, 34
Victoria Square
Victoria Square, Birmingham, B1 1BD (in front of Birmingham Museum)
Click here for google maps
Blue Badge Car Parks:
- Swallow Street parking – 44 yards away. Swallow Street, B1 2AL.
- Waterloo Street parking – 164 yards away. Waterloo Street, B2 5UG, Outside Citysave Credit Union.
Closest Bus Stops:
- Colmore Row Stop (0.2 miles) – operates for 9, 10, 12, 12A, 13, 13A, 23, 24, 25, 126, 822, 829, X8, 82, 87, 89, 101 & 822
- Great Western Arcade Stop (0.2 miles) – operates for the 7
- Livery Street Stop (0.2 miles) – operates for the 52
- Colmore Circus (0.4 miles) – operates for 16, 16A, 25, 82, 87 & 822
- New street Station Stop (0.5 miles) operates for 515, 61, 63, 82, 87, 822, 829A, X21 & X22
- Digbeth Coach station stop (0.8 miles) – operates for 60, X1, X2, 34, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4A, 17, 19, 34
All of the above spaces are open public sites with step-free access, we will have a limited number of chairs on-site for any audiences that require a seat. Just chat to our friendly Front of House team if you require one of these.
Chamberlain Square
Chamberlain Square, Birmingham B3 3AX
This site has built-in seating available but we will also reserve accessible viewing areas for wheelchair users at the front of the seating and at the back.
Click here for google maps
Blue Badge Car Parks:
- Margaret Street parking – 188 yards away. Margaret Street, B3 3BX, Rear of Council House.
- Pinfold Street parking – 217 yards away. Pinfold Street, B2 4AY, Outside the Post Office.
Closest Bus Stops:
- Station street Stop (0.3 miles) – Operates for 25, 80, 16, 16A, 35, 45 & 47
- Small Brook Queensway (0.4 miles) Operates 144, 23, 24 515 & 61
- Colmore Row Stop (0.3 miles) – operates for 9, 10, 12, 12A, 13, 13A, 23, 24, 25, 126, 822, 829, X8, 82, 87, 89, 101 & 822
- New street Station Stop (0.5 miles) operates for 515, 61, 63, 82, 87, 822, 829A, X21 & X22
- Digbeth Coach station stop (0.8 miles) – operates for 60, X1, X2, 34, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4A, 17, 19, 34
Visit the Birmingham City Centre website for Blue Badge Parking information.
The city centre sites are situated close to each other, the journey between each site could take between 5 – 15 minutes.
Outer Birmingham sites include;
Handsworth Park, North Birmingham
Holly Rd, Handsworth, Birmingham B20 2BY
Please note: Handsworth Park is a grass site
Click here for google maps
Blue Badge car parks:
- Handsworth Park Car Park (in front of Handsworth Wellbeing Centre), 195 Holly Rd, Birmingham B20 2BZ
- On street free parking is also available on Holly Road, Handsworth
Closest Bus Stops:
- Holly Road Stop (direct) – operates for 101 & 841
- Church Hill Road Stop (0.6 miles to Holly Road Entrance) – operates for 16, 16A & 848
- Grove Lane Stop (0.5 miles to Holly Road Entrance) – Operates for 74
- Trafalgar Road Stop (0.9 miles to Holly Road Entrance) – Operates for 11C & 11A
Cannon Hill Park & Outdoor Stage @ Midlands Arts Centre, Edgbaston
Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH
Please note: Cannon Hill Park is a grass site with a small section of pathed areas
Blue Badge car parks:
Birmingham City Council manages the
- Queen’s Ride car park next to MAC
- Pershore Road car park next to the Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park (BWCP)
- Russell Road car park.
Please see the Council’s website for information on car park pricing here
Please note: Charges do not apply to Blue Badge holders.
Closest Bus Stops:
- Cannon Hill Park Stop (0.3 miles to The MAC) – operates for 1, 1S & 41
- Priory Road Stop (0.3 miles to The MAC) – operates for 41, 45 & 47
- Park Hill Stop (0.5 miles to The Mac) – operates for 1, 1S, 35 & 41
Content
All videos created by BIDF for social media, our website and events include captions. We also ensure all our promotional materials (flyers, posters etc.) have accessible font types and we will provide downloadable accessible versions of our brochure.
Website
Our website is rated 87.2% on the Web Accessibility Check. It includes accessibility functions such as adjusting the text size and colour contrast.
2022 Festival Brochure & Flyers
Weekend One (17 – 19 June) Flyer
Weekend Two (23 – 26 June) Flyer
Weekend Three (2 – 3 July) Timetable
Easy Read & Audio Description Performance Guides
Look Mum, No Hands! by Daryl Beeton Productions and Mimbre (Easy Read & Audio Description)
The Other Side by Ascencion Dance (Easy Read)
BONDED by Alleyne Dance (Easy Read)
CROWD_CTRL by AndroidX + MHz
Highly Visual performances are those that are particularly enjoyable without the aid of hearing. These events are highly visual and contain few or no words.
Outdoor Shows
Saturday 2 July
Handsworth Park
The Other Side by Ascencion Dance Company – 13:05
PLI by Viktor Černický – 13:40 & 18:35
Forbidden Identity by Billy Read – 14:10
Where All Paths Lead by 2Faced Dance Company – 15:20
Sunday 3 July
Handsworth Park
PLI by Viktor Černický – 14:05
The Other Side by Ascencion Dance Company – 15:10
Theatre Shows
Thursday 30 June
Audio Description is live commentary relayed by a discreet portable headset by trained describers. This assistance can be helpful for people who are blind or partially sighted. Look out for this Audio Description logo in our brochure for shows that are audio described.
For indoor shows, this can service can be booked in advance via the Birmingham Hippodrome booking system.
For our outdoor sites, Audio Description will be available via portable headsets and there is no need to pre-book. Please let us know if you require this service on your arrival at our outdoor sites on the day. We ask that you please arrive 20 minutes before the scheduled performance for our outdoor sites to collect your headset.
We will have a dedicated access point on site that you can arrive at, in order to collect these. Further information about a headset collection point for relevant sites will be updated shortly.
Audio describers across the festival are Mo Pickering-Symes, Julia Grundy and Jonathan Nash.
Outdoor
Saturday 2 July
Handsworth Park / Audio describers – Mo Pickering-Symes, Julia Grundy, Jonathan Nash.
the album: skool edition by SAY – 12:00 & 16:50
Mughal Miniatures by Sonia Sabri Dance Company – 12:15
The Other Side by Ascencion Dance Company – 13:05
PLI by Viktor Černický – 13:40 & 18:35
Forbidden Identity by Billy Read – 14:10
Dandyism by Patrick Ziza Dance – 14:40 & 19:00
Where All Paths Lead by 2Faced Dance Company – 15:20
Black Victorians by Jeanefer Jean Charles – 15:55
Midlands Talent Takeover: Aishani Ghosh – 16:45
Sonder by Marius Mates – 17:05
DEVA by Urja Desai Thakore & Hetain Patel – 17:55
CROWD_CTRL by AndroidX & Megahertz – 19:25
Theatre
Thursday 30 June
Audio describer – Julia Grundy
In order to broaden our access to our d/Deaf audiences, we have committed to providing British Sign Language interpreters every day of our free outdoor programme. Two interpreters will be with us each of the following days Friday 17 – Sun 19 June, Thurs 23 – Sun 26 June, Sat 2 – Sun 3 July. Our interpreters will work alongside our stage hosts to introduce the performances at our City Centre site and at Handsworth Park, North Birmingham.
These interpreters will also sign any performance where spoken word, text or lyrics are used and where appropriate.
We’re excited to be working with a range of Midlands-based interpreters.Including; Hyacinth Powell, Laura Miller, Liz Smith, Olivia Whitter, Selina Jacques
Outdoor Shows
Saturday 2 July
Handsworth Park
the album: skool edition by SAY – 12:00 & 16:50
Mughal Miniatures by Sonia Sabri Dance Company – 12:15
Midlands Talent Takeover: Street Dance Workshop – 12:30
Midlands Talent Takeover: Marshon Dance – 14:05
Dandyism by Patrick Ziza Dance – 14:40 & 19:00
Black Victorians by Jeanefer Jean Charles – 15:55
Midlands Talent Takeover: Aishani Ghosh – 16:45
Sonder by Marius Mates – 17:05
Midlands Talent Takeover: Vogue Workshop – 17:15
DEVA by Urja Desai & Hetain Patel – 17:55
CROWD_CTRL by Android X & MHz – 19:25
Punch Records Midlands Music Showcase – 20:00
Sunday 3 July
Handsworth Park
Hippos by Zum-Zum Theatre – 12:00 & 14:45
the album: skool edition by SAY – 12:25
Mughal Miniatures by Sonia Sabri Dance Company – 12:40
Midlands Talent Takeover: Street Dance Workshop – 12:55
Midlands Talent Takeover: DanceXchange Centre for Advanced Training – 14:30
Sonder by Marius Mates – 14:35
Black Victorians by Jeanefer Jean Charles – 15:25
Midlands Talent Takeover: Breakin’ Workshop – 16:20
Midlands Talent Takeover: Sahyadri Friends Group – 17:00
Dandyism by Patrick Ziza Dance – 17:15
Afro Dance Workshop with Patrick Ziza Dance – 17:40
CROWD_CTRL by Android X & MHz – 18:10
Captioning converts the spoken word into text that provides Deaf people or those with hearing impairments access to any audio used within a live performance. In captioning, the words appear on a screen at the same time as they are sung or spoken. Captions also include sound effects and offstage noises.
Theatre Shows
Saturday 2 July
Screendance
