Touch the Floor is a multidisciplinary curatorial programme exploring the history and evolution of Black British music cultures through the informal spaces where people gathered, danced, connected and created community. From house parties and blues dances to community centres, local functions and clubs, the programme considers how these spaces nurtured cultural expression and collective identity, while offering opportunities for refuge, resistance, healing and celebration.
Guest curator Anthea Lewis (Blulili Projects) traces the ways sound and movement have shaped collective experience in the UK, exploring the relationship between Black British music, social dance and cultural production across generations.
At its centre is communal dance as a living, vital practice — one that offers connection, release and renewal while continuing to shape British culture and society. Bringing together artists, dancers, DJs, academics and audiences, Touch the Floor creates space to gather, move and reflect on the histories, communities and creative legacies carried through Black British music and social dance.
Full programme to be announced
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Anthea Lewis
Creative Practitioner, Curator & Producer
Credit Miguel Altunaga Jr
Anthea Lewis (she/her)
Creative Practitioner, Curator & Producer
London (UK)
Previous Dance Umbrella credits: SystemsLAB Debate: Shifting Groud – Reset /. Reconnect / Reinvigorate (2019, online); Panel Discussion: Out of the System – Tick Box / Break Glass / Look Pretty (2019, Young Vic)
Anthea Lewis is a multidisciplinary creative practitioner, curator and producer, and the founder of Blulilli Projects.
With a background in contemporary dance and physical theatre, she brings over 20 years of experience as a performer, alongside an established career in producing and curating interdisciplinary work.
Her practice centres on amplifying underrepresented voices and exploring themes of identity, embodiment and inclusion. She is the founder and curator of UnTamed, a platform supporting female choreographers, and has curated a range of projects that foreground experimental and socially engaged performance.
Anthea has worked with leading organisations including Dance Umbrella, Tate Modern, FACT, The Blue Coat, The Young Vic, Tramway, BOM (Birmingham Open Media) and Bernie Grant Arts Centre. She was the guest curator for Dance In Vancouver Festival 2024, contributing to the artistic direction of one of British Columbia’s leading international dance platforms.
Alongside her curatorial and producing work, she is a choreographer, movement director and educator, committed to creating inclusive, process-led spaces for artistic development.
Presented by Dance Umbrella and Rich Mix
Credits +
Presented by Dance Umbrella and Rich Mix
The Guest Curator role is part of Diversifying Curatorial Stewardship (DCS), Dance Umbrella’s major multi‑year initiative (2026–2028) designed to transform curatorial leadership within the UK and international dance ecology
DCS is supported by Arts Council England, British Council, Backstage Trust and Netherlands Performing Arts Fund
Venue & Access +
Venue
Rich Mix
35-47 Bethnal Grn Rd,
London E1 6LA
Access information
Rich Mix is an accessible venue, which aims to ensure their events are accessible to as many people as possible.
For access bookings, please call the Box Office to book on 020 7613 7498 or email [email protected]. These are not currently available to purchase online.
Rich Mix offer:
- Step-free access via a ramp at the main entrance on Bethnal Green Road
- Lifts provide access to all gallery, performance, and cinema spaces
- Wheelchair bays are available in all three cinema screens
- Accessible toilets are located on the Ground, 1st, 2nd (next to Screen 2), and 4th floors
- Box Office, Stage, and Studio spaces are equipped with hearing loops. Most hearing aids can connect by switching to the ‘T’ position
- Infrared hearing systems are available in The Studio and in cinema screens. Headsets can be provided on request.
- A portable FM radio system with neck loops and headsets can be provided on request
- Rich Mix accept CEA cards, which allow disabled guests to bring a carer free of charge
There are four accessible toilets in venue with RADAR locks:
- On the ground floor near reception / The Stage / Streetside
- On the first floor by the Cinema Bar and near the Gallery / Cinema
- Outside Screen 2 (2nd floor in the cinema)
- On the fourth floor near The Studio and The Mix space
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