COLL!DE Festival Set For This Month

This May, the University of East London's (UEL) Dance students will take over the stage for COLL!DE Festival - a five-day explosion of performance and professional ambition.

A showcase for the dance artists of tomorrow, COLL!DE offers audiences the chance to experience bold new work from the UK's most exciting emerging talent - raw, original, and ready to reshape the creative industries.

Staged at The Source, in the heart of Stratford, East London's vibrant cultural quarter, from Monday 12 May to Friday 16 May, the festival sees students lead every aspect of production - from choreography, directing, performing, marketing and technical staging to funding, outreach and performance curation.

Highlights of the festival include:

· The 2v2 Battles in House and Popping, with students going round to round until winners are crowned. These battles are judged by Kenrick 'H2O' Sandy, Francesca Miles, and Mechanikool.

· The closing Performance Evening event features a night of performances from UEL's current Dance students, presenting new and existing work from the creative roster of graduates. It also includes works from emerging artists and companies, as well as those leading in the industry right now.

Now in its 14th year, COLL!DE has evolved from a one-day showcase into a sell-out five-day festival that delivers industry-level experience alongside electrifying live performances. Guided by Senior Lecturers in Dance and Executive Producers of the festival Karine Goudout and Robert Nicholson, second-year students step into producer and management roles, while first-year dancers compete in 2v2 Battles and final-year dancers premiere daring original works.

"COLL!DE Festival is more than a platform to showcase the incredible talent of the Dance course," said Karine Goudout. "The festival is an opportunity for our students to make their mark in the industry and create their legacy, stepping into their portfolio career. The festival showcases our first years in their Battles assessment, our final year choreographers with their original works and our second year students producing and running every part of the festival, gaining the experience and confidence to launch professional creative careers."