Big Dance in the UK was a biennial festival of people dancing led by the Mayor of London in partnership with People Dancing and the Big Dance Hubs, a network of leading dance organisations across the UK.

Big Dance began in 2006 with biennial editions, where Big Dance 2012 was the UK’s biggest ever celebration of dance, with over 3,500 events taking place at all sorts of locations – lidos, shopping centres, parks, palaces, schools, high streets and squares – in all dance styles, as part of the London 2012 Festival, the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad. The story of 2012 and Big Dance in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2014 are all captured at Big Dance Legacy Website. The final edition, marking 10 years of Big Dance takes place this year!

In 2016, Big Dance kicked off on Friday 20 May with the Big Dance Pledge, a free opportunity to learn an original choreography, then perform it as part of our worldwide performance day. The free teaching resources from this are still available here .

Big Dance was led by the Mayor of London and People Dancing in partnership with a network of Big Dance Hubs.