National Dance Company Wales’ Autumn tour 2017, entitled Roots, will incorporate four short dance pieces telling four distinct stories, offering a breadth of styles in one programme. The tour’s evening performances will also include discussions and anecdotes from the Company’s artists.
The Company’s Artistic Director, Caroline Finn, presents Beside Himself. Exploring how the ego and alter ego can exist side by side, this funny and touching duet results in a brutal power struggle. Having won the 2010 Copenhagen International Choreography Competition Production Prize, Caroline returned to Copenhagen in 2011 where she conceived this piece. It was originally entitled Beside Myself and was about a woman. This time, it’s about a man. Animatorium is another Caroline Finn creation. In it, a troupe of characters are brought to life and controlled by their charming yet sinister Master – but for how long? A characteristically theatrical piece by the NDCWales’ Artistic Director.
Lee Johnston’s They Seek to Find the Happiness They Seem is a heart-wrenching duet, set to music by Max Richter. A jigsaw puzzle of reconfigured snippets from classic love stories and famous dance partnerships like Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers, this piece focuses on the theme of dislocation and separation within a relationship. Its title is inspired by a lyric in Irving Berlin’s Cheek to Cheek.
Omertà by Matteo Marfoglia is a moving and powerful piece about the role of women in Italian Mafia society, and their route to freedom. It was originally created for Alternative Routes 2014, NDCWales’ choreographic platform for its company of dancers, and earlier this year won the Coreografia d’Autore by Grand Prix de Sicilie.
All four dance pieces will be performed by NDCWales’ core dancers;
Àngela Boix Duran, Ed Myhill, Elena Thomas, Robert Bridger, Camille Giraudeau, Cyril Durand-Gasselin and student apprentice dancer Marine Tournet.
NDCWales’ Artistic Director, Caroline Finn said, “We are so thrilled to bring this exciting programme of new and existing works to venues across Wales; even more so because the works have been created by artists who are such an intrinsic part of the Company. These four short, sharp pieces will really give audiences a chance to experience the many different flavours of what contemporary dance can be, and the evening will be topped and tailed by discussions with our audiences, giving them an idea of what they can expect and a chance to reflect on what they saw, ask questions and talk to the dancers too. It’s the perfect evening for anyone who’s completely new to dance as well as for seasoned dance-goers!”
More information about the Roots tour can be found on NDCWales’ website at www.ndcwales.co.uk
ROOTS
Theatrau Sir Gâr: Ffwrnes, Llanelli
Saturday 11 November 7.30pm
Box Office: www.theatrausirgar.co.uk
Tel: 0845 226 3510
Dance House, Cardiff (part of Cardiff Dance Festival)
Monday 13 November 7.30pm
Tuesday 14 November 1pm
Tuesday 14 November 7.30pm
Box Office: www.wmc.org.uk
Tel: 029 2063 6464
Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan
Thursday 16 November 7.30pm
Box Office: www.mwldan.co.uk
Tel: 01239 621 200
Borough Theatre, Abergavenny
Friday 17 November 7.30pm
Box Office: www.boroughtheatreabergavenny.co.uk
Tel: 01873 850 805
Blackwood Miners’ Institute, Blackwood
Saturday 18 November 7.30pm
Box Office: www.blackwoodminersinstitute.com
Tel: 01495 227 206
Theatr Clwyd, Mold
Wednesday 5 December 7.45pm
Thursday 6 December 7.45pm
Box Office: www.theatrclwyd.com
Tel: 01352 701 521
Running Time: Approx. 90 mins including an interval
Alongside the four performances, the Company will host Watch Dance Class; an open house session in which anyone and everyone is invited to watch, sketch, film and photograph a ballet or contemporary class on stage, giving a unique glimpse into how NDCWales dancers prepare hours before a show. Perfect for dance students, artists, bloggers, photographers and anyone interested in peeking behind the scenes. Watch Dance Class is FREE to attend, but booking is required (via the venue):
Theatrau Sir Gâr: Ffwrnes, Llanelli
Saturday 11 November, 12.45pm-2pm
Dance House, Cardiff
Monday 13 November, 12.45pm-2pm
Theatr Clwyd, Mold
Thursday 6 December, 3pm-4.15pm
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