National Dance Company Wales are running Days of Dance at a range of venues in Wales this autumn. The day will consist of a range of workshops for a variety of ages. The workshops will be linked to the NDCWales Roots autumn tour which visit the same venues later this year.

Roots features four short pieces of dance from Wales, each different from the one before it.

Roots is a guided tour through contemporary dance. NDCWales take some of our favourite pieces and pair them with a discussion to help you get to the heart of the stories, and learn behind-the-scenes secrets.

Rygbi: Annwyl / Dear by our Artistic Director Fearghus Ó Conchúir celebrates rugby in Wales and highlights the hopes, glory and passion of rallying together on and off the pitch.
Rygbi was created with input from rugby fans and players across Wales so that the dance really echoes the sport.

Écrit by Nikita Goile was inspired by a letter from iconic artist Frida Kahlo to her partner Diego.
The clever duet is performed by a female dancer and a giant silhouette of her lover. It’s a beautiful power struggle that reflects the ups and downs of passionate relationships.

Why Are People Clapping!? by Ed Myhill is set to composer Steve Reich’s Clapping Music and uses rhythm as a driving force. The dancers use lively movement and clapping to create a soundtrack for the fun and dynamic dance.

Codi by Anthony Matsena who grew up in Swansea and is about Welsh people who come together to tackle isolation and depression during troubled times. It’s an energetic and uplifting dance about the strength of communities.

You can book Roots tickets here

There is more information on the Day Of Dance workshops and how to book below.

Blackwood Miners Institute

Get your chance to dance with National Dance Company Wales at Blackwood, Miners Institute this autumn!

NDCWales is organising a FREE Afternoon of Dance at Blackwood, Miners Institute on Saturday the 9th November 2019. Take part in a FREE dance workshop. Participants will get the opportunity to learn dance elements of the forthcoming Roots tour, coming to Blackwood, Miners Institute on the 19th November. A range of other FREE activity will also be taking place throughout the day. Perfect for complete beginners as well as those with dance experience.

The below workshops are FREE if you book tickets for Roots at Blackwood, Miners Institute on Tuesday 19 November 2019 7:30pm To book a Roots ticket and FREE workshop place please book in person, or contact the Box Office on 01495 227206.

Please note workshop places are strictly limited.

Workshop Times

14.30 – 16.00 Dance for people with Parkinson’s, their friends and families

16.15 – 17.15 7-11 Years

17.30 – 18.30 Age 55+

The Queens Hall, Narberth.

If you book a ticket for ROOTS, by NDCWales at The Queens Hall Narberth on the 22 November you are eligible to a FREE place on a Day of Dance Workshop being run by National Dance Company Wales on 9 Nov 7:30 pm at The Queens Hall, Narberth. Tickets need to be purchased via the Box Office – please call 01834 869323.

Workshop Times

10.-11.30 am 6-12 years

11.45-1.00 pm 13-18 years

1.30-3pm 16-25 years

The Welfare, Ystradgynlais

The Day of Dance takes place on Saturday the 16th November, this is your chance to explore the pieces and learn some of the moments explored on stage. Freedom Leisure will also be in attendance running some free sports activities throughout the day. Contact 01639 843 163 to book.

Workshop Times

10-11.30 6-11 Years

11.40-1.00 12-16 Years

1.10-2.30 Professional/Pre Professional

2.40-3pm 25+

Neuadd Dyfi, Aberdyfi

The Day of Dance at Neuadd Dyfi,Aberdyfi will take place on Saturday the 23rd November from 3-5pm. The Day will be supported by Sarah Verity School of Dance. Tickets are £3.00 and this gives you £3.00 off the price of a ticket to Roots by NDCWales at Neuadd Dyfi on Sunday 24th November at 7.30 pm. the To book a place email sarahverity93@hotmail.co.uk.

Galeri, Caernarfon

The NDCWales Day of Dance at Galeri Caernarfon takes place on Sun 17 Nov. Tickets are £3.00 and this gives you £3.00 off the price of a ticket to Roots by NDCWales at Galeri, Caernafon on Tuesday the 26th November at 7.30 pm. To book workshop tickets contact Galeri Box Office on 01286 685 222 Or at the links below.

Workshop Times

10-11.30 Age 6-11 Book

11.40-1.00pm Age 12-16 Book

1.10-2.30 pm Professional/Pre-Professional level Book

2.40 3.30 Age 18+ Book

The latest production of the International Contemporary Dance Collective (iCoDaCo), It Will Come Later, explores the interconnected and interdependent nature of human beings with a little help from science. We are individuals, part of a collective, and nature, in a constant effort to transform. In this piece, the body is not only a means to communicate different ideas of transformation, but a tangible instance of it.

The dancers collect their sweat in little glass jars, which will then be connected to a small lightbulb. Electricity can be derived from sweat, as scientists have foundhttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170822092209.htm. Our body transforms under strain and produces sweat and sweat can be transformed into light.  It Will Come Later is infused with raw energy from bodies being pushed and pushing each other.  

A group of dancers form an ensemble by pushing one another in concentrated effort and maintaining connection. They move slowly at the edge of the stage. As they reach me, one pushes my knee and connects me to him and the group. I am suddenly part of that shared energy. There are remarkable duets where dancers display a beautiful interdependence, balance, and reciprocity. In one, a dancer is in a static position, like a statue, and is handled with care by another, then they begin to exchange roles faster and faster. As they take up pace, the careful lifting and handling gives way to stretching, slapping, and tossing the statue’s body to one side. In another duet, the couple begin by fighting each other, but it soon becomes clear that they are challenging each other so that they can sweat more. Perspiration brings inspiration and fights desperation, we are reminded. The body transformation, as a metaphor, is open to the interpretation of the audience.  

The dancers, alone and together, create a mesmerising performance alternating beautiful plasticity, frenzy, gentleness, and primordial intensity. No special effects, no fancy costumes, no elaborate scenario, no dominant music. It is the piece’s simplicity what makes it most compelling and successful in conveying transformation.  

iCoDaCo hosted a workshop on the theme of transformation, Eva Marloes writes about it here.

Performances of It Will Come Later at Chapter Arts Centre run until 26 September 2019. Tickets available now

The International Contemporary Dance Collective (iCoDaCo) is a collaborative community of dancers, choreographers, and performers from different European countries coming together to create a new piece of dance. Ahead of their performance of it will come later at Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff iCoDaCo hosted a workshop to present their research on the theme of transformation. Eva Marloes writes of her experience of the workshop.

I close my eyes and feel the space around me. I feel my feet on the floor, the walls, and people near me. I realise I only become aware of space when I encounter an obstacle, when it is unfamiliar to me, or when it is redesigned in a new way. I often forget about my body too. I am reminded of it when I make a physical effort, feel pain, or trip over something. Dancers are more ‘bodily-minded’. They hug you and, in the dancing space, they take off their shoes and socks, and often trousers to dance in shorts or leggings. They become familiar with the space they use and how to move with one another.

Imre Vass, a dancer from Hungary and part of iCoDaCo, begins the first session of the workshop by asking us to sense the space around us, to sense our bodies, and sense our bodies in relation to the space we are in. He asks us to concentrate on our feet, our footprint, and expand it. ‘Imagine you are painting the floor with our feet,’ he tells us. We begin to slide our feet in small strides to cover our little spot carefully, then in big strides, faster and faster, to cover the entire floor with imaginary paint. We take possession of the space and we do so together. Dance is not just body and space, but the interaction of bodies. It is a constantly changing relationship of people, space, and movement.

The next exercise requires us to touch one another. I roll on the floor while another participant touches me in different parts of my body pushing gently downwards. It is then my turn to ‘apply gravity,’ as Imre calls it. I am slightly uncomfortable at first. I scramble for a polite way of touching someone I have never met before. As the exercise continues, I no longer worry. Then we all come together in a group. All pushing each other downwards towards the ground, to feel the ground and each other. We do not push the other away. Those at the centre barely move while those at the edges end up orbiting around them. It is a ‘testament to human effort,’ Imre says. We connect with our bodies by tensing muscles and with each other by applying pressure on each other’s bodies.

It is an extraordinary experience in sensing the world through the body. We connect with one another and our surroundings without talking, without explanation, without seeing. I find myself with my eyes closed most of the times. I need that darkness to concentrate on my body, to know where it is, and to forget that other people might be watching. We all focus and exert ourselves in every exercise. ‘Do you want my sweat?’ asks a participant. Eddie Ladd, choreographer and performer with iCoDaCo, collects our sweat in small glass jars for an experiment. She uses the sweat to switch a little light on. She leads a rather challenging circuits session to make sure we yield the goods.

The next exercise involves starting with a small movement, like moving a hand or a foot, and letting that move lead to another thus going beyond kinaesthetic movement. I notice I develop patterns of movement and follow a rhythm. I keep my eyes closed but become aware of other people’s rhythms and follow them. The movement arouses images in my head, something another participant notices.

The final exercise involves someone choosing a position and being a statue while their partner tries to manipulate them. I am paired with a male dancer. I feel weak and hopeless next to his muscled body. I copy ‘my’ statue. I align my body with his as if to connect with him physically. I hold him in an embrace and, as I do that, I can begin to shift his body. He lets me hold him and I do my best to protect him from a fall.

The workshop and the performance seek to explore transformation. For me, transformation requires reframing my experience in a new way not by starting afresh, but renewing oneself. This experiment in contemporary dance has helped me connect with my body and others to see, feel, hear, and touch the life that is around me. I become aware of the way I move, my rhythm, my body’s weaknesses and strength. It is an awareness that is made possible by being in relation with others. Transformation is a relationship.

The International Contemporary Dance Collective (iCoDaCo) perform it will come later at Chapter on 24 September, with a post-show Q&A. Performances run until 26 September 2019. Tickets available now