National Dance Company Wales has announced that Caroline Finn has been appointed as the Company’s new Artistic Director from September 2015.
Winner of the Matthew Bourne New Adventures Choreographer Award 2014, Caroline Finn recently received acclaim for Bloom, a co-production with Phoenix Dance Theatre, and Matthew Bourne’s Re:born, which is touring the UK and Europe.
Finn has spent many years working as a freelance dancer and choreographer for a number of international companies including Tanz Luzerner Theater in Switzerand, Cross Connection Ballet in Denmark, Compagnie DIEM in France and Teatr Groteska in Poland.
As a dancer, she has performed with Ballett Theater Munich under the direction of Philip Taylor, Ballet Preljocaj, Compagnie Carolyn Carlson, Jochen Heckmann and Johanna Richter. Her solo production Bernadette has toured to festivals in Germany, Poland, France and South Korea. She has also worked extensively with young people, creating integrated youth dance performances such as Breaking Light with Alan Brooks in northern France.
Finn said of her appointment, "I am delighted to be taking on the role of Artistic Director of National Dance Company Wales. This is a wonderful company to be joining and I relish the opportunities to deliver a vision that engages with audiences both here in Wales and internationally, as well as to develop a participation programme that nurtures an enthusiasm for dance across all communities."
The announcement follows the recent appointment of the Chief Executive Paul Kaynes who has over 25 years of experience working in the arts, including the Cultural Olympiad arts and culture programme which ran alongside the Olympics and Paralympics.
National Dance Company Wales Chairman, Andrew Davies said, “I am absolutely delighted that NDCWales has attracted someone of the calibre of Caroline Finn as our new Artistic Director. She will bring her international reputation, visionary approach and huge potential to Wales.
"Caroline has a great track record and her work is fresh and ambitious and I, and the rest of the board of trustees and company are excited and confident that she will produce exceptionally high quality dance that is inspiring and engaging, not only to Wales but also the rest of the world.”