YOU & US | CATHY WALLER DANCE
FRI 24 APRIL, 7.30PM
THE CAPSTONE THEATRE
What does invisibility mean to you? You and Us asks why we hide parts of ourselves to fit in, and what it might mean to be fully seen. What began with Cathy’s personal experience of invisible disability, grew into a collaboration unravelling the stories of hundreds of people and challenging the unwritten rules of belonging.
Featuring emotionally charged dance performance against an original, pulsing soundtrack created by the MOBO award winning Lewis Wright.
Presented as part of The Angel Field Festival in partnership with Liverpool Hope University
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YOUTH DANCE SHOWCASE
SAT 25 APRIL, 6PM
THE ARTS CENTRE, CITY OF LIVERPOOL COLLEGE
PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT AND THERE WILL NOT BE TICKETS AVAILABLE ON THE DOOR.
Dance schools and youth dance groups from across the north west share their work in an evening celebrating youth talent. Young people performing at the evening's ticketed event will take part in dance workshops throughout the day, led by our amazing dance artists and industry partners.
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DANCING AT THE PALM HOUSE
SUN 26 APRIL, 12.30PM
Sefton Park Palm House
Join us at Liverpool’s iconic Palm House to see performances by community groups from across Liverpool City Region. There’ll also be free dance workshops to take part in throughout the day.
​This event is free to attend, no ticket required.
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SCHOOLS DANCE PLATFORM: DANCING THROUGH THE DECADES
TUE 28 APRIL, 7PM
LIVERPOOL LIGHTHOUSE
Our Schools Dance Platform returns for 2026, celebrating the enormous talent in the region. This year, young people from schools and colleges share work based on music and dance styles from the past century.
LIVERPOOL DANCE PRIZE
THURS 30 APRIL, 7.30PM
UNITY THEATRE
Five grants have been awarded to emerging dance artists to present new work and compete for a further development grant of £1000: Joseph Thomas Adamson, Zara Phillips & Natassa Argyropoulou, Aimee Gerrard, Hui-Hsin Lu and Laura Macy.
Artists from Liverpool Dance Prize 2024 went on to present work at Edinburgh Fringe, Warrington Contemporary Arts Festival and at Turn North West.​
QUEER MOVES
FRI 1 MAY, 7.30PM
UNITY THEATRE
An evening of new work by LGBTQIA+ artists from Liverpool, featuring: Amber Buttery and Owen Gillott, Rowena Gander, Jake Evans and House of Suarez. Please note: this show contains nudity, string language and references to homophobia.
Two of the works shared are new commissions by Culture Liverpool, funded by UKSPF with additional support from Homotopia. Produced by Chaos Arts for Leap Dance Festival 2026.
WINDOWS OF DISPLACEMENT |
TOUSSAINT TO MOVE
SAT 2 MAY, 7.30PM
UNITY THEATRE
Windows of Displacement, is an autobiographical solo from Akeim Toussaint-Buck blending dance, song and spoken word exploring personal and global narratives, ancestral memory and the increasingly urgent shifting politics surrounding the movement of people.
A new commission from Dawn Holgate, working with The Dancing Queens (a community group of Global Majority women based at The Caribbean Centre in Toxteth) will open the evening. Commissioned by Culture Liverpool for Leap.
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DANCING IN THE STREETS
MON 4 MAY, 12PM - 4PM
LIVERPOOL ONE
Our day of free dance activity in the heart of Liverpool City Centre returns enjoy outdoor performances from the region's leading dance artists in a range of dance styles.
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​​This event is free to attend, no ticket required and is sponsored by Liverpool ONE.
INTERPLAY | PHOENIX DANCE
FRI 8 MAY, 7.30PM
LIVERPOOL PLAYHOUSE
A powerful mixed bill showcasing work by internationally renowned choreographers Travis Knight & James Pett (Pett & Clausen Knight) and Ed Myhill, alongside Yusha-Marie Sorzano and Phoenix Dance Theatre’s artistic director Marcus Jarrell Willis.
This compelling evening of dance places creative collaboration at its core, exploring themes of duality and the fusion of distinct artistic voices. Featuring duet and ensemble works, offering a bold and dynamic interplay between contrasting perspectives, celebrating the beauty of shared vision and artistic exchange.
SHAKESPEARE NORTH TAKEOVER
SAT 9 MAY, 12PM - 6.30PM
SHAKESPEARE NORTH PLAYHOUSE
Dance workshop with Taciturn
12pm, The Atrium, Free, drop-in
Join Jen from Taciturn for a dance demonstration and workshop inspired by their current project, Women Holding Things. This will be an open rehearsal for a dance film. More information on our Join In page.
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Film Screening: It is a Tuesday and I am still the wind
2pm, The Gallery, Free, drop-in
The premiere screening of a new commission for Leap 2026 by Tom Shennan. Shot in Toxteth, the film uses an autistic lens to empathise with the wind’s distanced, yet tactile, perspective on the people of Liverpool and their daily lives. Director Tom and dance artist Shivaangee Agrawal will offer an embodied introduction to the film, including fan-induced wind and dance! Commissioned by Culture Liverpool.
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Film Screening: The Thread Between Us
2.30pm, The Gallery, Free, drop-in
An original Dance for Parkinson’s creative film from English National Ballet, drawing on inspiration from Akram Khan’s Giselle and its themes of labour, community, and connection. The film was a cross-national project involving over 100 Dance for Parkinson’s dancers, with partner hubs in London, Liverpool, Cardiff, Ipswich, Oxford coming together to create this poignant work.
Leap Dance Festival Scratch
3pm - 4pm, The Studio, £8/£5 (Book tickets)
Three new works in development exploring identity, intimacy and liberation by Jen Hale (Taciturn), C(P)LAY and Olena Hrabchak, created especially for Leap 2026.​
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A Life Drawing Less Ordinary
5pm - 6.30pm, The Gallery, Free, booking required
Bring your own materials and create artwork inspired by live dancers.
With music from ALDLO. Facilitated by Jen Rees.
BIG BURLESQUE CABARET
SAT 9 MAY, 8PM
SHAKESPEARE NORTH PLAYHOUSE
Enter a world of raucous entertainment as we close this year's festival with an evening of burlesque, cabaret and aerial performances, in Shakespeare North’s breathtaking Cockpit Stage.
Featuring: international burlesque artist Cadbury Parfait, Ooh La La Cabaret’s Paul Curran, boylesque artist Joss La Porta, circus performer Velma Von Bon Bon, The Stiletto Prince Rajan Das and burlesque artist Vil.
This is an inclusive, LGBTQIA+ event, and everyone is welcome (18+).
