Photography: Alice Underwood

UPRISING: Brixton House Takeover

4 October-4 October

A day of dance celebrating movement, community and perseverance.

Brixton House, in collaboration with Dance Umbrella and CASA

Description

Brixton House Takeover is a bold celebration of movement, community and perseverance, presented in new collaboration between Dance Umbrella, Brixton House and CASA, Brixton House’s Associate Company.

Honouring the spirit of resistance and unity that defines Brixton, this day of dance brings people of all ages together to move, create and connect. Experience energising events and workshops from groundbreaking artists, transforming Brixton House into a living, breathing space of joy and expression.

Whether you’re stepping on the floor for the first time or a seasoned dancer, this takeover is a call to come together — to honour the past, embrace the present and move into the future as Brixton House marks the 40th anniversary of the 1985 Brixton Uprising.

Event Schedule

WORKSHOP
Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy: For the Joy

Time: 1pm-2.30pm
Price: £5
Recommended age: Over 30s

A general level hip hop dance workshop for over 30s accompanied by a DJ. Come along and rediscover the joy of moving your body in a fun and relaxed space – no competition, just rhythm, flow and good vibes. This session is taught by award-winning choreographer and co-founder of the renowned Boy Blue company Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy.

WORKSHOP
Jamaal Burkmar: How to Build a Universe

Time: 2.45pm-5.45pm
Price: £10
Recommended age: All ages
Experience level: All levels

In this three-hour workshop, movement becomes a playful game of choices. Together, we’ll explore space, music, relationships and awareness, discovering how every decision shapes what we create.

Through instant composition, you’ll practice reading the room, responding in the moment and making bold choices that serve the group. By the end, we’ll have built something unique: a living universe made entirely from our shared decisions. The session ends with a public sharing in the theatre foyer of the material we have made together.

PERFORMANCE
Chandenie Gobardhan: Caught Again in the Net of Rebirth

Time: 6pm-6.30pm
Price: £8
Recommended age: All ages

Caught in the Net of Rebirth is a hypnotic journey through the paradox of time, inspired by Trimurti – a powerful symbol of creation, preservation and destruction. This extract, which is part of a longer work, will be followed by a Q&A with the choreographer.

Blending past, present and future into a single moment, the work traces shifting identities and timelines, where ego dissolves and transformation begins. It’s a meditation on death, rebirth and the mysteries of self.

In the womb of time, every ending holds the seed of a new beginning.

WORKSHOP
Queer Salsa: Partner work for Complete Beginners

Time: 7pm-8pm
Price: £5
Recommended age: All ages
Experience level: Beginners

Step into the joy of Salsa in a warm, inclusive space that celebrates Queer connection, care, and consent. In this one-hour beginner class, you’ll learn foundational footwork, playful styling, and the basics of leading or following, you choose your role. Through partner-swapping and connection exercises, you’ll explore tension, rhythm, and flow while picking up fun Salsa moves like the basic step, side step, right turn, and a 360 spin. Come solo or with friends and leave with the basics of Salsa partner work.

WORKSHOP
Queer Salsa: Dancing the Orishas—Afro-Cuban Dance

Time: 8pm-9pm
Price: £5
Recommended age: All ages
Experience level: All levels

Discover the African heartbeat of Salsa in this powerful, all-levels workshop with Cuban-born, Queer artist Tropicana Dance, part of Queer Salsa’s collective of practitioners. You’ll learn the story and movements of Oshun, the Orisha of love, beauty, and rivers, using traditional skirts (for anyone, regardless of gender) to embody the dance. Along the way, Tropicana Dance will share how Afro-Cuban dance preserves spiritual traditions born from resistance. We’ll close with a joyful group dance and a stunning solo from Tropicana Dance.

DJ SET
AUKA

Time: 9pm-11pm
Price: Free
Recommended age: All ages

Bass-heavy, percussive music celebrating the global underground. Practice your moves and dance to the rhythm of AUKA’s unique sound.

Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy (he/him)
Kenrick is an award-winning choreographer and co-founder of the renowned Boy Blue company, with credits like Free Your Mind, Cycles, Blak Whyte Gray, The Platinum Jubilee and The London Olympic Games.

Jamaal Burkmar (he/him)
Jamaal Burkmar is an international award-winning choreographer whose first creation was as a second year student at the Northern School for Contemporary Dance (NSCD) where he created a piece entitled Ocean. The piece gained critical acclaim, and was performed around the North until it became the first and only undergraduate commissioned for VERVE, the postgraduate company at NSCD. The success of this piece led to Jamaal being awarded the highly prestigious New Adventures Choreography Award. He has since been commissioned by and received support from the Dance Hub in Birmingham, Leeds Dance Partnership, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Mobius Dance and more. Jamaal’s work has a strong relationship to music and sits in many spaces, outdoor, theatrical and online.

Chandenie Gobardhan (she/they)
Chandenie is a London-based Hindostaanse artist working across movement, memory and ritual. Their choreographic language blends elements of Bharatnatyam, locking and contemporary dance, creating work that is both intimate and expansive.

Chandenie’s work has invites audiences to look again, to feel deeper and to question what they think they know. The stage becomes our altar, a place of offering, remembering and reimagining.

Their work has been presented at The Place, Breakin’ Convention at Sadler’s Wells, Tate Britain, DanceEast, Orsolina28 Art Foundation, Korzon Theatre, Messums Wiltshire Festival of Dance and Northern School of Contemporary Dance.

Queer Salsa
Queer Salsa is a community-led collective where LGBTQIA+ people come together to dance, connect, and celebrate Afro-Latin music and movement.

Afro-Latin communities have long used music and dance as a form of resistance, yet their culture continues to be exploited by the very systems it helped challenge. As queer dancers, we honour this lineage by deepening our understanding of its history, uplifting Afro-Latin practitioners and communities, and ensuring they are consistently represented and materially supported in what we build.

By centering the roots with care and connection, we nurture queer communities both on and off the dance floor.

AUKA (she/her)
Former Worldwide FM resident AUKA’s bass-heavy, percussive sound celebrates the global underground, showcasing her affinity with a breadth of innovative scenes and rare cuts from the mighty continents of Africa, South America, and the beating heart of the diaspora.

London-born and of South African, Chilean, and Welsh heritage, her musical journey began as a trombonist, cutting her teeth on London’s Latin scene before contributing heavily to genre-defying projects and performing as a session musician for artists such as Little Simz, Arlo Parks and Sampa The Great. Her deep bags of global heaters have since taken her from the UK circuit to Santiago (CHL), Dubai (UAE), and beyond. She has hosted shows on Balamii Radio, Reprezent Radio, and Foundation FM.

In 2025, AUKA launches two new offerings: Pangea Tapes — a cross-platform exploration of experimental form and diasporic culture — and UVUYO, a joy-fuelled dance dedicated to pan-African and diasporic music, alongside her continuing work as an artist and trombonist.

Gabriela Román González Head of Exhibitions and Programmes (CASA)
Cordelia Grierson Artistic Director (CASA)
Freddie Opoku-Addaie Artistic Director & Co-Chief Executive (Dance Umbrella)
Jessica Greer Festival Producer (Dance Umbrella)

Part of Dance Umbrella Festival 2025

No performances currently available.

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