A new choreographic challenge for autumn from National Youth Ballet invites young dancers to explore how it feels to re-emerge and engage with the world around them as lockdown eases.
Dancers can select one of four specially commissioned pieces of music by Nicola Chang to inspire their one-minute work. NYB ambassadors Max Westwell and Vanessa Vince Pang will be hosting discussions on NYB’s social media channels and there will be weekly Zoom workshops to help participants develop their skills.
Performances will be filmed and submitted by 9 October for assessment by a panel of judges including Sir Matthew Bourne and Etta Murfitt from New Adventures, while The Royal Ballet’s Marcelino Sambé will present the Musicality Award. Winning entries will be showcased on NYB’s web site and social media channels.
As part of NYB’s online response to the COVID crisis, NYB's online initiative, Bouncing Back, took palace in August as an intensive weekend of workshops post-lockdown to help students aged 8–18 prepare physically and psychologically to bounce back to school.
Introduced by NYB patron Darcey Bussell DBE, the sessions were led by a team of experienced professionals including Ballet Black co-founder Denzil Bailey, associate director of Billy Elliot the Musical in London Nick Evans, former BRB dancer and teacher Carrie Johnson and choreographer, dancer and NYB Associate Creative Director Charlie Brittain who is also a registered Clinical Sports Therapist and musculoskeletal health specialist.