MERSEYSIDE Dance Institute are back on their toes to present LEAP 05, a two-week festival of exhilarating, beautiful and inspiring dance brought to Liverpool from 1-13 March.

No other festival that brings international and national artists to Liverpool exists on Merseyside and it is a rare opportunity for dance veterans, advocates and curious audiences to see something that will stay with them forever.

LEAP 05 has something for everyone who wants to enjoy culture in the city. The programme includes nationally renowned dance companies such as Richard Alston Dance Company and Henri Oguike Dance Company, to the more local talents of dance artists and community members featuring in Moving on Merseyside, Making Waves and Physically Feminine.

For the person who wants something that challenges the definition of dance there is the humorous antics of New Art Club, the vaudeville grandeur presented as part of Vincent Dance Theatre's 'Punch Drunk' or the site specific performance of Serac aboard the Fitzcarraldo theatre ship docked at Liverpool's Albert Dock.

Participating venues include Liverpool Playhouse, Knowsley Community College, Neptune Theatre, Unity Theatre. More information is available at www.merseysidedance.co.uk