Dance and Circus Take Center Stage at IF: Milton Keynes International Festival 2025

The eighth edition of IF: Milton Keynes International Festival returns from Friday 18 to Sunday 27 July 2025, offering a rich mix of large-scale outdoor performance, immersive installations, and free family-friendly events across the city.

Among the festival’s programming is a slate of innovative dance and circus works, including world and UK premieres by acclaimed international companies.

Highlights include:

UK Premiere: Klub Girko’s Human Time Tree Time

18 July at 2pm & 6pm; 19 & 20 July at 11am & 2pm – Campbell Park Copse
A poetic, high-stakes duet set in the woods of Campbell Park, this German performance explores the fragile relationship between humanity and nature through acrobatic balance and visual metaphor.
Tickets: £6 (Under-16s: £5)

YUCK Circus (Australia)

18 July at 8.45pm; 19 July at 2pm – The Stables Spiegeltent, Campbell Park
Award-winning, all-female Australian troupe YUCK Circus blends gravity-defying acrobatics with bold comedy and honest confessions.
Tickets: £25

NoFit State Circus' Bamboo (UK)

18 July at 5pm; 19 July at 12.15pm & 3.15pm – Campbell Park; 20 July at 12pm & 3pm – Queen’s Court, centre:mk
A captivating circus installation using only bamboo and human bodies, Bamboo delivers elegant strength and poignant spectacle.
Free

World Premiere: Pagrav Dance Company’s One Sky (UK)

19 July at 1.15pm & 6pm – Campbell Park Bulbfield
Blending neo-classical Indian dance with contemporary aesthetics, this large-scale new work celebrates the 20th anniversary of Pagrav and the spirit of India’s kite festivals.
Free

15ft6’s Les Patineurs (Belgium)

19 July at 1pm & 4pm – Festival Square; 20 July at 1pm & 4pm – Festival Central
A roller-skating, circus-fueled showdown featuring comic timing and classical flair.
Free

UK Premiere: Transe Express’ DNA, Vertical Odyssey (France)

25 & 26 July at 9.45pm – Secklow Gate car park by The Point
An aerial epic performed 40 metres above ground on a monumental moving sculpture. Part engineering marvel, part skybound theatre, this gravity-defying spectacle is not to be missed.
Tickets: £7.50 (Under-16s: £5)

Joli Vyann’s Drop Me If You Dare (UK)

26 & 27 July at 11.45am & 2.30pm – MK Rose, Campbell Park
An intimate acrobatic duet that explores the balance of strength, vulnerability, and human connection.
Free

Gandini Juggling’s You Too Can Tutu (UK)

26 & 27 July at 1.15pm & 4pm – MK Rose, Campbell Park (double bill with SAY)
The company’s first-ever children’s show mixes ballet and juggling in a colorful, joyful performance for all ages.
Free

SAY’s the album: skool edition (UK)

26 & 27 July at 1.15pm & 4pm – MK Rose, Campbell Park (double bill with Gandini Juggling)
Interactive contemporary dance meets electrifying new music in this family-friendly piece choreographed by Sarah Golding and Yukiko Masui.
Free