Party at the Enchanted Palace
3 – 4 July 2010
Gardens of Kensington Palace

Inspired by the Kensington Palace experience The Enchanted Palace, discover tales of love and hate, secrets and surprise through dance, storytelling and art activities.

Hundreds of residents and visitors to London came to Kensington Palace Gardens for a weekend of first class dance performance and fun for all. Professional dance demonstrations and beginners sessions in baroque and regency dancing, scottish country dancing and rock and roll were delivered in the grounds of one of London’s most beautiful and enchanting locations. Art activities and storytelling sessions brought the stories of mysterious characters and events from the palace’s past to life. In the spirit of Big Dance, Party at the Enchanted Palace brought together people of all ages and abilities for a weekend of participation celebrating a diverse rang of dance styles.

Key to the Palace Garden
As part of the Big Dance event Party at the Enchanted Palace, English National Ballet’s Department of Learning worked with a group of people over 50 from West London to create a site specific performance set in the beautiful surroundings of Kensington Palace Gardens. The participants, from two centres in the West of London, worked with Dance Artists from English National Ballet’s Department of Learning over a series of four creative sessions and two intensive rehearsals at English National Ballet studios. The resulting choreography; inspired by The Enchanted Palace exhibition, was perfromed as part of the Party at the Enchanted Palace event on 3 and 4 July along with two live musicians performing specially created music.

The participants who had little or no previous experience performing were well received by a relaxed audience, enjoying an impromptue performance in the summer sun.

Exhibition details
The Enchanted Palace opened at Kensington Palace on 26 March 2010 – a multi sensory exhibition combining fashion, performance, and dazzling spectacle to reveal Kensington’s magnificent State Apartments in a magical new light. As visitors journey through the Enchanted Palace, they will encounter a series of spectacular contemporary fashion installations produced by leading designers and new talent. These will be woven together with stories from the palace's history – providing a unique opportunity to explore the magic and drama of Kensington Palace's past.

Please see the Kensington Palace website for more information on the Palace and exhibition.