Everything you love about the Bristol scene - switchy dances, welcoming faces and dreamy dances - in one tiny package.
Micro is very small dancing. It's all about sharing tiny movements in your body and connecting deeply with a partner.
We believe that micro fusion is a diverse dance that can be many different things - we want to make space for every kind of micro, from high-precision, detailed, creative tiny dances to the soft and squishy hug dances which leave you wandering off with a dazed and dreamy look on your face.
Whether you've been dancing for a long time or it's your first time, you can join in the micro magic.
Our aim is that the parties really feel like parties.
Across a micro weekend, we want to hear a variety of music, from a diverse range of artists and genres. We love gentle micro feels, but we like for those feels to be balanced with energetic, vibrant, dynamic moments too.
The energy of the music varies over the weekend - we want some high-energy party time, low-energy wind down time, and everything in between.
We're keeping things simple at Microscope. What does that mean?
Both venues have step-free access from the street to the dancefloor. Our daytime venue has adapted bathrooms. Our evening venue has un-adapted bathrooms on the same level as the main space. They are also a 10 minute walk from one another, and from plenty of eating options on Stokes Croft!
Venue mapSuperstar of the Bristol fusion scene and micro afficionado Frankie will be helping you level up your micro skills over the weekend. With six hours of classes over two days (in the afternoons so you can get your rest) you'll be diving deeply into that micro trance.
Frankie encountered Argentine tango in the heady summer of 2011 and has been dancing like a maniac ever since, falling for blues, fusion, micro, west coast swing, and a grab-bag of other styles along the way. She now teaches fusion and micro in the UK and across Europe; her classes emphasise developing both creativity and control, building concepts in an accessible way to provide an expanded palette of musicality.
On the micro floor she seeks to combine passion with precision, building internal landscapes within a flexible, responsive connection, and will happily micro to anything from hard EDM to a dripping tap.
Lauren - Microscope mastermind
Microscope started when Lauren said the magic words "cosy micro weekend" in Siân's earshot ✨
She fell in love with micro at her first fusion weekends in the US, but Lauren's dance journey has been a far-ranging, heady tour through the worlds of west coast swing, tango, blues, latin dances and zouk.
Thanks to Lauren, Bristol now boasts yet another way to dance and move and enjoy the wonderfully micro connections - in one tiny package.
Siân - Kaleidoscope's creator
For Siân, Kaleidoscope is about joy. About feeling sweatily, vibrantly alive and connected and lifted up by community.
It's also about the future she wants to build. One a little less filled with heteronormativity, rigid expectations, oppressive gender roles and unspoken assumptions about what it means to agree to something - even within a dance.
Siân gets excited about connection, about pleasure, and about how much better our worlds get when we have access to joy. Our joy matters. Your joy matters.
We're giving local folks first dibs on sign-ups, which means we have two important dates for your diary:
We are bringing back hosting this year! It may be limited, so if you want to be in with a chance of getting hosted, make sure you register by 1st August as that's when we'll start the allocation process.
Insta
Do you do social passes?
We're keeping it simple with one pass to cover the full weekend, whether you want to come to the workshops and the parties, or just the parties. This gives you flexibility and as nearly 85% of our costs are on the evening parties, social passes wouldn't save you much.
Can I split a pass with a second caregiver?
Yes! We want to make it possible for parents and caregivers to enjoy Microscope by sharing a pass.
Both of you should register, but just put 50% of the ticket amount in the custom field at payment. Let us know who you're sharing with, either via email or in the "your needs" section at registration.
Can I split a pass for another reason?
Probably not. Your full pass entitles you to as much of the weekend as you can make - but you can't do partial transfers, and full transfers are subject to our "Changing Plans" policies below. We already work to make our events as financially accessible as possible, and we can't spend the organiser time administering further splits.
Will there be single-night tickets available?
Yes. We'll release a tiny handful of single-night tickets for Saturday only 2 weeks before the event.
How much does it cost?
To make the event as accessible as possible, we offer a sliding scale and will give as many discounts as we can afford, plus a limited number of free passes. This is made possible by the generosity of people who can afford to pay a little more!
Here's the pricing breakdown:
There is also the option to pay a custom amount if you want to contribute more, or even the financial hardship option is out of reach for you. Please be realistic about what you can afford, so we can offer as many discounts as possible to people who really need it.
What's your cancellation policy?
We're happy to offer refunds up to one month before the event. After that, you're welcome to arrange a private transfer - just get in touch with us to make sure that we make it work behind the scenes too. The final deadline for letting us know about transfers is 5pm on Thursday before the event.
What's your sickness policy?
If you feel unwell, please test for Covid and do not attend if you test positive. If you have a mild virus that is not Covid, please keep everyone healthy by masking up! We'll have masks available on the front desk in a range of colours to suit your outfit.
If you can't come due to illness, get in touch, we'll do our best to offer refunds though can't make guarantees.
Are you offering hosting?
We're offering the chance to request hosting if you sign up before August 1st. We can't guarantee to host everyone, but will do our best.
Where are the venues?
Check out our map of the venues here.
Who did your adorable illustration?
That was Tanwen McIntyre - fusion dancer and amazing visual artist. Check out her work here or follow @whitefiredaydreams on socials.
What about those gorgeous photos?
Alex Addison has been bopping around the fusion scene with a camera for a while now, and we love how their pictures capture the feel of the dance. Find them @penguat on socials.
6 June
Starts, 19:30
