This Is Dance: Rapeflower

Hana Umeda brings Rapeflower to the Midlands Arts Centre this weekend, with performances on Saturday 17 October at 3:00pm and Sunday 18 October at 2:00pm. It's the UK premiere of the work, a contemporary dance piece that looks at sexual violence and survival.

Rapeflower is part of This Is Dance, an international dance season running across Birmingham this autumn. It's a city-wide collaboration, put together by Fabric in partnership with the Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham Rep, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Fierce Festival, Midlands Arts Centre and Sampad Arts, so there's a fair bit of dance popping up across different venues if you're looking to catch more than one thing.

Umeda is the choreographer here, and she draws on the traditions of classic Japanese Jiutamai dance—a 19th-century art form performed in Japan exclusively by women. That's the thread she's pulling from: a traditional, women-led dance style brought into a contemporary work about sexual violence and survival. It's a heavy subject, and the piece doesn't shy away from it, so it's worth keeping that in mind before you book.

There are two chances to see it over the weekend: Saturday 17 October at 3:00pm and Sunday 18 October at 2:00pm, both at the Midlands Arts Centre. If you're already following This Is Dance, this is one of the pieces that makes up the season.