After several months, and the most applications we've ever received for a festival, we can finally announce our new lineup for Firefly, our first festival for a year! Firefly will be held at Pleasance Theatre in Islington on 22 - 24 July. 

Of course the most exciting part of our lineup is Kristen McNally, a Royal Ballet soloist, presenting her unique style of "indie ballet" on both Saturday and Sunday. Even more exciting is that it'll be performed by Tommy Franzén, of ZooNation and BBC's So You Think You Can Dance fame. We'll also have Devaraj Thimmaiah, previously of Tavaziva Dance and currently of Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, whose work Arranged Marriage was described by Graham Watts as "a powerful, superbly performed, duet" when performed at The Place's Resolution! earlier this year.


We'll also have Ross Cooper, formerly of Curve Foundation, who has been described by Article 19 as "one of Scotland's most popular choreographers", and who has helped launch the choreographic careers of people like Royal Ballet's Jonathan Watkins. He appears at Firefly in an exciting partnership with Aikaterina Chatzaki, performing on the Saturday.

We're delighted to be showing the latest work by Mark Smith of Deaf Man Dancing on the Sunday: his past works have included Sadler's Wells' 'Shoes' and Union Theatre's 'Iolanthe', which later transferred to Wilton's Music Hall.


James Cousins, currently dancing with Matthew Bourne's New Adventures, and a promising new choreographic talent will perform on the Friday and Saturday, as will Cloud Dance Festival favourites Slanjayvah Danza, perfoming a brand new solo. Contemporary jazz favourites Sol Dans returns on the Friday with a brand new take on Grimm's Fairy Tales - expect powerful choreography and just a hint of craziness!

Also on Friday 22 July, we'll have Blueprint Bursary winner Joseph Toonga in his company Just Us Dance Company, neoclassical dance from rising stars Diciembre Dance Group, and the latest work from all-male company Udifydance Company, who are Associate Artists at The Point Eastleight and mentored by Hofesh Shechter. We'll also have a solo from Van Huynh Company dancer Dom Czapski, newly returned to London, and fierce choreography from Charlie Dixon Dance Company.

On Saturday 23 July, we'll have a new work from the brilliantly-named Newcastle-based company Exquisite Corpse | Dance Theatre and a solo from Hofesh Shechter dancer James Finnemore. Gerrard Martin, a former member of Ballet Black, Phoenix Dance Company and Aletta Collins Dance Company (among others) will be presenting a new duet.

On Sunday 24 July, we'll have more treats in store for you with a beautiful piece choreographed to Stabat Mater by Edd Mitton of EDDance, and the "happiest piece to grace [The Place's] stage in the history of Resolution!" (Libby Costello, Londonist) by Richard Bermange

We hope that there's something for everyone, and look forward to seeing you at Firefly!