STARS OF DANCE: SAMPLED Step Out at Birmingham New Street Station and Grand Central

Birmingham commuters were brought to a temporary standstill yesterday as world-class dance stars staged a temporary 'Dance Takeover' at Birmingham New Street Station and Grand Central in countdown to the launch of Dance: Sampled at Birmingham Hippodrome, a two-day festival bringing together the very best in local and international dancing talent.

The surprise tea time takeover saw international tango artists Julia Urruty & Claudio Gonzalez and Acosta Danza's Yanelis Manzanet and Julio Torres treat bystanders to an exclusive 'teaser' from the show, which visits Birmingham Hippodrome from Fri 3 - Sat 4 March.

Bringing a taste of contemporary Cuba to the heart of Brum, the two-part performance saw the stars of Acosta Danza (renowned dancer Carlos Acosta's brand new Dance Company) perform an extract from Miguel Altunaga's Derrumbe, a high-octane, emotionally charged duet set to music by Eduardo Martin and Ahmed Dickson.

This was followed by a masterclass in Argentine dance with Buenos Aires-born Julia and Claudio who treated travellers to a sensuous and seductive tango performance.

Laura Smith, Head of Communications at Birmingham Hippodrome, said "There's nothing quite like the experience of watching a live dance performance unfold in front of you, as Birmingham commuters found out on Wednesday. Dance: Sampled is all about opening up the experience of dance to audiences of all ages and backgrounds, giving them the opportunity to experience something new and get to grips with styles they never even knew they loved. Through our free programme of pop-up activities, taster sessions and workshops, we hope to inspire even more people to fall in love with dance and with a top ticket price of just £15, our evening programme is the perfect way to experience the best in world-class dance talent, all under one roof."

Originally pioneered by London dance house Sadler's Wells, Dance: Sampled is a unique event taking place across two days which gives audiences of all ages the opportunity to 'sample' a diverse range of dance styles including Latin, Ballet, Kathak, Hip-Hop, Contemporary and more.

This year's Dance: Sampled evening programme will feature taster programmes from contemporary dance artists the Aakash Odedra Company, Acosta Danza and Richard Alston Dance Company. Audiences can also look forward to performances from BBC Young Dancer of the Year Connor Scott, tango stars Julia Urruty & Claudio González, Birmingham Royal Ballet and experimental Hip-Hop Dance Company Iron Skulls Co.

Visitors are encouraged to arrive early on both days to take advantage of a free programme of pop-up performances and taster sessions taking place from 6.30pm. Pop-up activities this year include a coming together of young dance talent on the Youth Showcase Stage, masterclasses in both traditional English and South Asian stick dance with Jaivant Patel Dance and The Jockey Morris Men, X-Box dance battles with Hippodrome CREATIVE and an introduction to Hip-Hop with Break mission.

Dance: Sampled runs from Fri 3 - Sat 4 Mar at 8pm. Tickets to Dance Sampled cost £15. To book, call our Ticket Sales hotline on 0844 338 5000 or visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com

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