The Cilia Dance is a movement piece created & performed by local people.  It’s a conversation using the language of movement, instead of words, to explore how we travel around the city.  A playful, fun, collaborative & empathic exchange to dance in each other’s shoes.

Inspired by Covid & the climate emergency, transport & air pollution, & Cilia, microscopic, hair-like structures on the body’s cells, especially linking the respiratory tract & lungs.  They’re primordial & rhythmic, moving to keep airways clear; allowing us to breath easily without irritation.

Performers move in lines & clusters, dancing looped sequences that describe, epitomise & reflect how they move around the city: scooting, skating, walking, running, cycling, driving, riding… Sharing, exchanging, re-creating & re-forming sequences, the piece will move along a route through Valley Gardens; the lungs of the city & meeting point of routes through Brighton’s city centre.

The Cilia Dance Creative Team includes: Performers & co-creators, local people; Choreographer Ella Fleetwood, mentored by Virginia Farman; Sound Design by Barry Han, with tracks from Tru Thoughts record label; led by Artistic Director, Karen Poley.  Commissioned by Brighton & Hove City Council.

The piece celebrates The Bicycle Ballet Company’s 15th anniversary, on Car Free Day.