National Dance Company Wales take a triple-bill of work to Blackpool and Ipswich, September 2017


Three very different pieces will form National Dance Company Wales’ September tour, alongside a host of events. 

Profundis, by Israeli-born Assaf, is a provocative and sensual ensemble piece, featuring whimsical wordplay, vintage bathing costumes and an exotic soundtrack by Umm Kultum, Leonard Bernstein and Alva Noto.

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.

Folk features Artistic Director Caroline Finn’s darkly comic expressions of life and people using her quirky and highly engaging choreographic style. Exploring themes of social dynamics, surreal scenes and characters come alive to an eclectic and enchanting musical landscape. 

All three pieces will be performed by NDCWales’ core dancers, who are among the very best contemporary dancers from all four corners of the globe; Àngela Boix Duran, Ed Myhill, Elena Thomas, Robert Bridger, Camille Giraudeau, Cyril Durand-Gasselin, Evan Schwarz, and two apprentice dancers, Marine Tournet and Mathew Prichard. The running time will be two hours, including an interval.

Alongside the three performances, the company will host a series of events and activities, give curious audiences of all ages an opportunity to give it a try, and offer newcomers an introduction by some of the best artists in their field:

Discover Dance performances are a perfect 90-minute introduction to dance for families and schools, in which audiences get a chance to learn some moves, get on stage with the company dancers, watch a short performance and ask the dancers anything they’d like. For more information on Discover Dance, including ticket prices, contact the venue.

Watch Dance Class is 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).

Post-Show Talks are for those of us who sometimes leave the theatre with burning questions, brimming ideas or inspiring thoughts on what we’ve just seen; a FREE opportunity for an informal chat and Q&A with artistic staff and dancers.

At DanceEast in Ipswich, dance fans will also have the chance to connect with award-winning NDCWales’ Artistic Director, Caroline Finn, in a special workshop for 55+ years. The workshop will focus on a warm-up and contemporary technique work, followed by the chance to learn an excerpt from Folk.

More information about these events can be found on NDCWales’ website.

Caroline Finn joined National Dance Company Wales in September 2015 as its new Artistic Director. Her first creation for the company, Folk, toured the UK and internationally in 2016. She subsequently created Animatorium, a versatile piece which can be performed outdoors and in unusual spaces, and which premiered at Green Man festival in 2016. A winner of the Matthew Bourne New Adventures Choreographer Award 2014, she created a new work entitled Bloom for Phoenix Dance Theatre in 2015. As a dancer, Finn performed with Ballet Theater Munich under the direction of Philip Taylor; Ballet Preljocaj (France); Compagnie Carolyn Carlson (France); Jochen Heckmann and Johanna Richter.

Roy Assaf was born in 1982 in the farming community of Sde Moshe in the south of Israel and has been dancing and creating since he can remember. He began formal training at 16 but two years later, was drafted into a paratrooper unit of the Israel Defence Forces and served there until completing his national service. In 2003 he met the internationally recognised choreographer Emanuel Gat and made his mark touring worldwide with Gat as both performer and Choreographic Assistant from 2004-2009. Since 2010, Assaf has been developing his own works independently.

They Seek To Find The Happiness They Seem is Lee Johnston’s second work for the repertoire of National Dance Company Wales. Other credits include Purlieus, which was a World Stage Design 2013 finalist and voted a Telegraph Top 15 highlight. Both works were brought into NDCWales’s repertoire whilst Lee was House Choreographer in 2014. Before her current role as Rehearsal Director for National Dance Company Wales, Lee was Rehearsal Director for Sydney Dance Company, under the artistic direction of Rafael Bonachela. Highlights of her 10-year performance career include working with Christopher Bruce, Stephen Petronio, Ohad Naharin and Nigel Charnock, and touring extensively throughout Wales, Europe, and Australia.

Finn said: “We're thrilled to be presenting three such contrasting works as Folk, They Seeks to Find the Happiness They Seem and Profundis. All three have themes which are rooted in humanity, relationships, and the things that we put into question on a daily basis. Each one creates its own unique universe for audiences to dive into, and I believe the combination of all three works in an evening not only shows the versatility of the company but also how diverse and engaging contemporary dance can be.”

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