A Summer of Talent House Takeovers

28 August 2026

Frankie J’s House Masterclass at From Jazz to Jack

We love supporting artist to bring their vision to life. The OUR HOUSE programme allows artists to take over our building and curate and present work and participant experiences over a week that reflect and engage their artistic and cultural communities.

This summer we were excited to play with the format and introduced a couple of one-day OUR HOUSE Mini Takeovers, both completely unique to the artists curating the work.

First up Francesca Miles presented From Jazz to Jack a series of events and workshops that traced the lineage of UK club dancing, connecting the dots between the UK’s 1980s jazz-fusion dance movement, and house dance as it exists in 2026.

The day kicked off with a re-watch of House Dance Forever 2026 battles, followed by an exclusive panel talk with UK club dancing icons Gary Nurse, Frankie J and Clara Bajado – founder of IndaHouse UK and a key figure in the UK Street Dance scene – discussing the evolution of UK club dancing.

Frankie J, Clara Bajado, Gary Nurse and Francesca Miles – Panel Discussion

“How lacking in events like this we are as a community – knowledge, context and history feels like such a rare thing to access while so important to dance and the artistry of it” Participant

Following the panel there was a rare opportunity to learn from two of these legends with IDJ original member and UK jazz dance pioneer Gary Nurse teaching a Jazz workshop, and global house dance star Frankie J teaching House.

Gary Nurse UK Jazz Masterclass at From Jazz to Jack

The infectious energy and love for dance were palpable and left participants wanting more!

A few weeks later Emma Houston turned the Talent House into a Scottish themed breaking party with their event, Shortbread Source.

With cyphers, panel discussions, a concept battle, a cèilidh and Scottish themed snacks it was a cross-cultural dance celebration full of joy, warmth and heart.

The cèilidh in full swing at Shortbread Source

“I felt a real sense of community and openness to share and it felt very non-judgemental, a safe environment for everyone.” Participant

There are very few places where you could find Bboys and Bgirls learning to cèilidh dance, but Emma created a magical atmosphere where it became the most natural thing in the world!

Concept battle at Shortbread Source

So much joy, plus the participants from both events felt that their experiences helped them learn new skills, supported their wellbeing and made them feel more confident to be creative, which felt like a job well done! Huge congratulations to Francesca and Emma for creating and curating such inspiring, uplifting and needed events.

From Jazz to Jack took place on 11 July 2026 and Shortbread Source took place on 1 August 2026.

OUR HOUSE is supported by Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Arts Council England