This Saturday Dancin' Oxford might just have the tonic you are looking for with its summer festival Dancin' on the Green. Although the main venue is Gloucester Green keep an eye out for pop-up performances across the city centre too.

Dancin' Oxford, brain child of Claire Thompson, the City Council’s Arts Development Officer, is the vehicle she created ten years ago to bring dance to the people of Oxford. 'We started with a spring festival and now we have 3 festivals a year, each with a different focus. This summer we are setting up a large dance stage in Gloucester Green where from 12.30pm on Saturday 16 July there will be a host of different dance acts, which, very importantly, are all free. It'll be family friendly, with food stalls on site, and we hope people will either make a date with an afternoon of dance, or simply pop in now and then during their shopping. It's going to be a very relaxed event family friendly.'

'There will be two opportunities to learn a dance with Move Me (1.40pm & 4.10pm), a company that has got many of the nation's streets up and dancing. We are hoping that we will see a large number of people having a go, whether they consider themselves dancers or not.'

'Shoppers should watch out for a traditional red telephone box on Cornmarket Street which will be the focus of a dance performance by Corey Baker Dance. Anyone who saw their inspiring Hapa Kapa Tale at Pegasus last year will know just how inventive and enjoyable its work is.'

'There are four professional companies performing on the main stage, two of which will also be performing pop-up events elsewhere in the city centre. The dance programme is a combination of styles, from Turbo & Dai's physical comedy with retro costumes and a ghetto blaster to Company Chameleon, a male duo whose style of is more athletic and sensitive examining dominance and submission in everyday life.'

'Over the years the Dancin' Oxford's festivals have been a perfect showcase for local talent with several companies appearing. This summer is no different with four local companies performing on the main stage. It will be one of the first opportunities for Britain's Got Talent fans to see Elite Squad Royalz aka Messy Jam. This young company, with dancers as young as 5 years, appeared on the ITV talent show reaching the semi-final this year, with their combination of high energy street dance and hip-hop. Not to be missed is Body Politic's street dance which is athletic, sometimes breathtaking and always highly entertaining regardless of musical tastes and never fails to amaze.'

Beat Street & Flaw R’tists are two more Oxford companies both talented groups of young street and break dancers of mixed ages. They regularly wow the crowds with their talent – mixing high energy dance with cool breakin’ moves and tricks.'

The schedule for the day is at www.dancinoxford.co.uk, check it out and come on down.

DANCIN ON THE GREEN

Saturday 16 July 12.30pm - 5pm,

FREE