Festival of Ideas

Festival of Ideas 2026: Place and Space 

Dancing for Royalty

Learn how people danced at the top levels of society throughout time. Discover how courtly life functioned and how dance played an important part in the political roleplay of the time.

We'll look at dance in Medieval courts across Europe, the Tudor court of Henry VIII and the moves that would have impressed Queen Charlotte (of Bridgerton fame). As well as learning the history you'll have a chance to perfect these skills yourself as we learn a selection of dances through time.

Festival of Ideas 2025: Making Waves 

Dirty Dancing: A History of Scandalous Dance

Throughout history the way we move our bodies to music has always been a source of contention. Whilst dancing historically was widely regarded as a way to demonstrate grace and elegance it was still often decried as evil or immoral by certain parts of the community.

This will really be a speedrun through history looking at where these dances came from, what they signified and how they changed the world. 

Join me as we take a trip through time to find those dances that broke boundaries and shocked polite society.