NDCWales: NOW | NAWR

NDCWales announces a programme of work for 22/23 entitled NOW | NAWR, including: 

• PARTi – a co-creation project for NDCWales company dancers and community members in two south and west Wales towns; Ystradgynlais and Ammanford; 

• a UK Spring tour including new work by Sarah Golding & Yukiko Masui (SAY), two beatboxers including Dean Yhnell, NDCWales company dancers, plus Marcos Morau’s Waltz, performed in the UK for the first time; 

• 4x10; four new works lasting 10 minutes each, created by Wales-based and Welsh artists including NDCWales’ new Artistic Associates June Campbell-Davies and Osian Meilir, a new commission by Daisy Howell and a work performed by NDCWales’ Young Associates, choreographed by Matthew Robinson; 

• a new, international collaboration with the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company (KNCDC) based in South Korea; and 

• the company’s first ever work for young people and their families, choreographed by Lea Anderson MBE. 

National Dance Company Wales’ (NDCWales) new Artistic Director Matthew Robinson has announced his first season of work for the company; an exciting mix of new commissions, collaborations and UK-wide and international tours for 2022/23 entitled NOW | NAWR. 

In November 2022, NDCWales invites audiences to PARTi in Ystradgynlais and Ammanford, in a vibrant evening with dancing at its heart. NDCWales company dancers, together with members of the local community, will work with local choreographer Emily Robinson to co-create a new dance work. This will be performed alongside a second new dance work created by local choreographer Thomas Carsley (BBC Young Dancer 2019 competitor), and a solo performed by Thomas himself. Our host will then invite the audience to join the PARTi in a twmpath to complete the evening. 
 
December 2022 will see NDCWales travel to Germany and Switzerland with an exhilarating triple bill. Caroline Finn’s Ludo and Wild Thoughts by Andrea Costanzo Martini enthralled UK audiences in Spring 2022. They are joined in this programme by audience favourite Why are People Clapping?! created by company dancer Ed Myhill. NDCWales’ international touring plays an important role in promoting Wales to the world, and the company are delighted to be taking this ‘made in Wales’ programme to Europe. 

In 2023 the company will embark on a UK tour featuring new work by choreographic duo Sarah Golding & Yukiko Masui (SAY), known for their infectious energy, captivating drive and love for music that moves them. Collaborating with the NDCWales dancers, two beatboxers including Dean Yhnell as well as artists in the fields of fashion and light design, Sarah and Yukiko’s new work will be a physical, visual and sonic feast. The double bill is completed by Waltz, by trailblazing Spanish choreographer Marcos Morau, creator of Tundra, one of the company’s landmark works. Performed in the UK for the first time, Waltz will lead audiences through some of the greatest musical waltzes in history.   

4X10 will bring together four Wales-based and Welsh choreographers in one thrilling evening of dance in August 2023. Four striking, 10-minute dance works, presented for an audience on four sides, 4X10 invites you to experience movement up close. NDCWales Artistic Associates June Campbell-Davies and Osian Meilir will be joined by Wrexham-born Daisy Howell to create works with the NDCWales company dancers. Meanwhile Matthew will co-create a new work with the company's Young Associates. This unique evening will feature four distinctive voices from the world of dance. 

Focusing on physical, creative and performance development, NDCWales’ Young Associates will work together every Sunday with an Engagement Dance Artist and a range of visiting artists. Through classes, workshops, and performance opportunities, this programme – which has nurtured up and coming dancers for over a decade and is now being refreshed for the next cohort – will be a launch pad for the next generation, ready to shape the future of dance. 

NDCWales are developing a project in collaboration with the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company (KNCDC) based in South Korea. The project will see a Welsh choreographer make work with KNCDC in Korea, and a South Korean choreographer make work with NDCWales in Wales. The resulting double bill will tour venues in the UK and South Korea in the Autumn of 2023. 

And finally, for the first time NDCWales will make work specifically for young people and their families. Working with renowned British choreographer Lea Anderson MBE and a team of prolific collaborators, NDCWales will premiere this work in Cardiff in December 2023, ready to tour the UK in 2024. 

Announcing his first season, NDCWales Artistic Director Matthew Robinson said: “As a company, we are not fixed. We are moving. With ourselves, with others and with the world around us. National Dance Company Wales is a platform for many voices, reflecting the breadth of experiences of living in this world, right now. To be contemporary we reflect ideas and experiences of the moment.  

“Expressing through movement what cannot be said is at the heart of what we do. Whether people meet us in a theatre, a studio, outdoors, on site or in a digital realm, they can expect to experience our passion.” 

Paul Kaynes, NDCWales Chief Executive added: “We want to bring the joy and energy of dance to as many people and as wide a range of people as possible. This programme will engage people across Wales and beyond, by creating dance with local people, showcasing our brilliant dancers internationally, giving families an experience of top-quality dance and by creating work by Wales-based artists in their capital city. We are seeking to entertain people through the richness and vitality of contemporary dance, now.” 

Listen to Matthew talk about NOW | NAWR