Artists confirmed for Tŷ Cerdd and National Dance Company Wales collaborative short film series National Dance Company Wales and Tŷ Cerdd will make five short films working with music creators and dance artists based or working in Wales, in a series called plethu: affricerdd. Tŷ Cerdd have commissioned five music-creators of African descent living and working in Wales as part of a collaboration with the Sub-Sahara Advisory Panel. The films are a part of affricerdd, a strand of Tapestri, which is a new initiative (funded by Arts Council of Wales’s Connect & Flourish programme) to create a living musical archive of the people, languages and communities of Wales. Deborah Keyser, Director of Tŷ Cerdd. said: “We’re so thrilled to be working with NDCWales on Plethu: affricerdd. NDCW’s Plethu project with Literature Wales has been such an inspiration, and the opportunity to create a new iteration partnering music-creators with dance artists is bringing wonderful new artistic horizons. We’re delighted to announce the pairings – we know the artists will delight us with the results.” National Dance Company Wales have commissioned five dance artists from any discipline to work in collaboration with these five music-creators to make original short films or music videos. There have been 15 Plethu/Weave films to date which can be watched for free on digital hub on the NDCWales website. “We're delighted to be collaborating with Ty Cerdd on Plethu: affricerdd, a further evolution of the Plethu/Weave project, now pairing dance artists with music-creators. Projects that centre collaboration are part of my ambition and vision for NDCWales, and I am looking forward to seeing the result of these cross art-form partnerships in five new films.” Matthew Robinson, Artistic Director, NDCWales. The films will be released between January and July 2022. Follow @ndcwales and @TyCerdd_org for release dates. The five plethu: affricerdd partnerships are: Idrissa Camara and Eric Martin Kamosi Music-creator Eric Martin Kamosi is a guitarist and electronic musician, who creates folk, rock, concrete, electronic and minimal music using a variety of instruments, field recordings and electronic sounds. Idrissa trained from a young age with the renowned Ballet Bassikolo du Guinee. He has been principal choreographer with many leading dance companies in Guinea and Senegal and pioneered the teaching of dance to the hearing impaired at the Visual Theatre Company of the National Association of Sports and Culture for the Deaf. June Campbell Davies and Seun Babatola (A.K.A Mista B) A.K.A Mista B is a musician, lyricist and socially conscious rapper. His musical tastes vary from break-beat to metal to trip-hop, and he believes, at heart, that genre is simply a veneer. June is a Cardiff Based Dancer, Choreographer and Carnival Artist. June has also worked collaboratively as a singer and sound artist on a number of albums as well as being a consultant & facilitator with Butetown Carnival. Kitsch n Sync and E11ICE E11ICE is the alter-ego of Cornwall-born Cardiff based multi-genre singer and rapper Thalia Ellice Richardson. Melding thoughtful melodies with conscious lyrics on powerful flows E11ICE’s music reflects her journey through each day making the ordinary extraordinary. Taking inspiration from all things retro, vintage and wonderfully absurd, Kitsch n Sync Collective is immediately recognisable by their innovative brand of curiously quirky dance theatre. Rosanna Carless and Sizwe Chitiyo Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, Sizwe ‘SZWÉ’ Chitiyo is a 23-year-old singer, rapper and songwriter based in South Wales. After starting his music career professionally 4 years ago, Sizwe played acoustic sets around Wales before venturing into electronic production 3 years ago. Rosanna grew up in Aberystwyth before moving to Bristol and eventually London, where she fell in love with street dance and breakin’. After joining a number of street dance crews, Rosanna battled as a solo B-girl at events and conventions, winning third place in ‘London’s best street dance crew’. Rosanna has since worked with companies such as HSBC and Sony as well as with musical artists such as Giggs, STylo G and Wiley. Gundija Zandersona and Jeferson Lobo Brazilian-born Jefferson Lobo is a musician, composer, and producer living in Cardiff. His music is an invitation to a world of unpredictable sonic possibilities: sweet harmonies combined with soothing and witty melodies, form the basis for his musical cauldron with a pinch of jazz, orchestral, Latin, reggae, futuristic and world music. Gundija Zandersona is a Latvian performer, choreographer and an educator based in Wales, Cardiff. As an executive director of Kokoro Arts Ltd and an independent dance artist she works across a variety of genres including work for families and young audiences, spoken text and movement, physical theatre and contemporary dance.