The City of Plymouth Dance Festival
2026
The 2026 City of Plymouth Dance Festival will run from July 18th to July 26th at Lipson Co-operative Academy. We are also pleased to be returning to Lipson Co-Operative Academy. We heard over and over again that because of the friendly, positive atmosphere, the venue, the helpfulness of Lipson’s staff and the festival volunteers, “Plymouth dance festival was their favourite festival”.
Click below to upload your music for the 2026 City of Plymouth Dance Festival
Venue
The venue for the Dance Festival is:
Lipson Co-Operative Academy
Bernice Terrace
Plymouth PL4 7PG
what3words: select.shop.chat
Adjudicator Dance: Maxine Percy
Dance classes offered:
Ballet (Classical), Commercial Dance, Contemporary, Greek, Jazz/Modern, Modern, Musical Theatre, Global, Narrative/Character, Tap
Qualifications: AISTD, CDE
Memberships: This Adjudicator is available for international engagements
Maxine trained at Northern Ballet School where she gained her teaching qualifications in ISTD Ballet, Tap, Modern and National, the latter being under the watchful eye of the much loved expert Robert Harold. Whilst at college, Maxine performed on numerous occasions at the Manchester Opera House and Palace Theatre alongside Elaine Paige, Richard Harris and Bernard Cribbins to name but a few.
Maxine went on to perform professionally appearing in the King & I (Topsy), West Side Story (Graziella) both at the Leicester Haymarket. She worked with choreographer Nicola Treherne in Her Benny at the Liverpool Empire Theatre and partnered Andy Serkis as the Gorilla/Lulu in Cabaret at the Sheffield Crucible.
Other credits are Last Night of The Proms, Hyde Park, The Queen’s Golden Jubilee at Buckingham Palace, The Big Breakfast on Channel 4 with Soulfish, a 10 piece soul band with whom Maxine still performs as a backing/lead vocalist.
Furthering her teaching career, Maxine gained her CDE in 2009 and holds diplomas in Ballet, Tap and Modern. With the RAD, she gained qualifications in Anatomy and History of Dance. To complete the CDE she completed certificates in Health and Safety and Child Psychology.
Maxine has a love for dance and a passion for the wider arts. Having been an All England competitor herself, performing at the prestigious galas held at Sadler’s Wells, Maxine wants to inspire the next generation of young performers to reach their goals. The festival movement is a great platform for this and Maxine wishes all performers the best of luck as she hopes to encourage them all to enjoy their experience both on and off stage.
Return of Cups and Trophies
Auditing and preparing returned cups ready for presentation is a mammoth task and requires a lot of time, effort and space.
The cups and trophies needing to be returned by June 1st are those which had been presented in the previous years.
If you have any queries regarding the return of your cup or trophy, please use our contact form and select Cups and Tropies.
Supervision of Performers
Please remember that for the duration of the festival all teachers, parents, guardians and carers are responsible for the continuous care and supervision of their own children or pupils. If they are unable to attend personally, they must delegate their responsibilities to an identified adult and ensure that their children or pupils are aware of the identity and name of the person responsible for their care. This includes supervision throughout all Festival venues, performance and practice and changing areas that are be provided. A child’s carer must at least 18 years old.
For your information, please read Plymouth Festival’s Safer Festivals Statement which can be downloaded from the bottom of every page.
The Festival Performance
The Festival experience differs from the examination situation in that it offers participants the opportunity to perform on a public stage in front of an audience and receive a mark and feedback from a qualified adjudicator.
The adjudicator will therefore look for a complete performance, including attention to dress, entrances and exits, announcing and acknowledging both applause and, where appropriate, the accompanist.