The National Youth Dance Company (NYDC) prepares the search for a fresh intake of dancers for 2015-16 to work with new Guest Artistic Director Michael Keegan-Dolan.
At the same time, the 2014-15 cohort of NYDC will be touring current Guest Artistic Director Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Frame[d], which opened at Sadler's Wells on 10 April, from Sunday 21 June to Saturday 25 July, to Birmingham, Newcastle, Leeds, Suffolk, Ipswich, Bournemouth and Plymouth before graduating on Sunday 26 July and returning to London for a retrospective performance on Friday 4 September, at Sadler’s Wells.
The retrospective on Friday 4 September sees all three NYDC works from the last three years performed on stage—pieces by the different Guest Artistic Directors, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Akram Khan and Jasmin Vardimon.
The evening will be part of the inaugural Apex Rising, a new annual festival programmed by Sadler’s Wells, which presents highlights of the most innovative and exciting dance being performed and created by young dancers today, capturing their ability to shape the future of the form.
The National Youth Dance Company (NYDC) was founded in 2012, and hosted at Sadler’s Wells, its aim to create and perform innovative and influential youth dance, drawing together some of the brightest young talent from across the country to work with Sadler’s Wells’ internationally renowned Associate Artists.
Since its inception in 2012, 1000 young people have worked with the company, NYDC has delivered 47 workshops in 21 different venues across 17 towns and cities, and 90 dancers have joined the company, working intensively with renowned dance artists including Guest Artistic Directors Jasmin Vardimon (2012-13), Akram Khan (2013-14) and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (2014-15). These 90 dancers come from 43 different towns and cities in England.
The new NYDC Guest Artistic Director, Founder and Artistic Director of Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre, Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Michael Keegan-Dolan's productions include Giselle, The Bull and The Rite of Spring, all nominated for Olivier Awards. He has also worked for companies and theatres including English National Opera, La Monnaie, Royal Opera House and the National Theatre.
He has been selected to guide the new intake of up to 30 dancers through their NYDC journey, mentoring them during intensive residencies throughout the year, and creating a new piece of work for them to première at Sadler’s Wells in 2016 and then tour around the country.
NYDC will be looking for the country’s most talented young dancers aged 16 to 19 to join the 2015-16 intake. Experience workshops will run Saturday 23 to Sunday 31 May in Swindon, Plymouth, Birmingham, Manchester, London, Ipswich, Derby, Eastleigh, Newcastle, Hull, Brighton, Leeds and Liverpool.
The workshops include technique classes, creative tasks and discussions on dance training and careers, and are open to dancers from all backgrounds and abilities with experience in any dance style. The company’s new intake will be selected on Sunday 26 July, at the same time as the 2014-15 cohort graduates.
For more information on the NYDC tour and experience workshop dates, see the Sadlers Wells web site.