Category Archives: Dance

Dance, Theatre

Review Dance to the Bone, Neon Candle and Sherman Theatre by Hanna Lyn Hughes

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out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

Co-directed by Joe Murphy and Matthew Holmquist, Dance to the Bone is a gig theatre show performed at the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff inspired by the dancing plagues of medieval times which explores what it would be like if a plague of this kind were to break out today and how society might react.

The evening started with a folky rock belter with leading vocals by Oliver Hoare who co-wrote the drama with Eleanor Yates, singing “I wanna take you dancing”. I could sense the audience twitching in their seats, itching to throw a limb or two and start a dancing plague of their own. I found myself in awe of the multi talentedness of the cast and particularly loved the music which was a catchy and refreshing mix of folk rock.

The story line is fast paced and the dialogue sharp witted with themes of grief and trauma running throughout. Joanne Bevan (Yasemin Ozdemir), our protagonist works at an insurance company with her brother, John (Jack Beale) both of which have recently lost their grandmother, with Joanne seemingly especially affected by this loss. Choreographed by Krystal Lowe, Ozdemir’s energetic dance solo was a mix of thrashing, kicking and more traditional dance moves which included some very impressive backbends. When the other characters eventually caught the dancing fever, I was particularly impressed by Beale’s agility as he writhed and flailed around with excitement during his impassioned speech about the expectations around his role as a big brother and “man of the house”.

The show ends with the ensemble finally dancing altogether under the warm glowing light bulbs hanging from above; each embracing different ways of moving, some floated ethereally and some kicked, punched and swiped the air purposefully.

All in all, an impressive display of talent and a well rounded, thoroughly enjoyable show.

Dance, Opera & classical

Review James Larter & Meredith Monk with Bang on a Can by James Ellis

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Photo Credit: Victoria Frankowski

out of 5 stars (4 / 5)James Larter

out of 5 stars (5 / 5)Meredith Monk & Bang on a Can

St-Martin-in-the-Field Church in London maintains a calendar of concerts all year. The raw energy of percussionist James Larter should shock an idle Friday afternoon audience in an hour of sizzling, sonic sounds. One might run afar from the music of composer and mathematician Xenakis, yet his Psappha was a powerhouse of force, James greatly showing off the demands of the work with ease and determination. Richard Rodney Bennett and his Marimba Concerto (the first movement) followed featuring on piano Tyler Hay, representing the allusive orchestra in this reduction. Perhaps the most stringent of the programme, Bennett’s time with Pierre Boulez shows here, with some moods of brief Messiaen, the composer being well known for more traditional film scores. James here flexed his percussive muscles with the marimba his gym rack, with Hay a smooth and well equipped companion.

Composer Param Vir introduced his premier work: Drum of Deathless, in a solo arengment. Taken from time spent in a freezing monetary in South Korea, Via has flung into the air a work of great magnitude, quite showy as James chants and clamours away beautifully. Both small percussion and the marimba are on offer, with a dexterity needed in the transfer of sounds. Temple bowls added flavour to an already spicy broth in what could proof to be a percussion favourite in years to come. James’ own piece Bedawi, utilised electronic beats, call to prayers and a middle-eastern inspired musicality. This wrapped things up well, evocative in nature, though slightly too shorty feeling more like an encore. James is one to watch.

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Leading to an evening at the Royal Festival Hall with a music legend, an woman of charm and filled with vim. There was much anticipation for Meredith Monk’s first concert back in the UK for some years. During lockdown I began to engage much more with her canon: Zoom workshops, a kick starter (which I gladly pledged to) and my interview with her all added to my quest to know more, to get a more rounded sense of this interdisciplinary artist.

Entitled Memory Game, the night would feature hand picked work from Meredith’s extensive output. Starting with The Games, a galactic examination of fascism in the guise of a science fiction opera. What lovely things to hear, as always with this music. Meredith’s singers: Theo Bleckmann, Katie Geissinger and Allison Sniffing are individually brilliant in their vast scope of roles. The joy of the absurd thrives here and the thrills that feature leaves faces beaming. The dance work is also unexpected, grounded in simplistic modes of expression, yet always achieves its goal. The utter delight that was Tokyo Cha Cha from Turtle Dreams Cabaret held up as funny and endlessly charming. Migrations from The Games, saw Ukrainian tributes with blue and yellow lighting, as this touching moment stirred hearts, with Meredith near wailing, child like in voice. Double Fiesta ended with that rush hour speed, the ear worm of the night. A few encores also appears this hungry audience, the show being under 90 minutes.

I’d have loved to have heard Hocket and The Boat Song from Facing North, since Theo Bleckmann was present who premiered the work with Meredith. Though Theo’s ludicrous Gamemaster’s Song, another selection from The Games, had a bouncy keyboard riff and oodles of poses and vocal frontiers for him. The Memory Song also from the opera a sweetly scented venture into the characters thoughts as they venture out into space, with a shopping list of things now gone to them. Spaceship which opened the night gave the musicians time to wrap up and enter this universe of thoughtful ideas, harmony never comprised, melodies never to approachable. The years of collaboration with Bang on a Can Allstars also shows. The instrumentalists shined with funk, patience and the passion for every bar of music. It’s the sincerity that surprises you the most in Meredith’s art. A lack of sung words also open up much more interpretation, with a general minimalistic vein exposed. Few would argue she remains an unique voice. Few other artists have chirped, shrieked, scoffed and teased their voice like Meredith has and we love her all the more for it.

The evening ended on a high note with a relaxed post show talk with Meredith and musicians from the night. I finally had the chance to meet her in person and she always speaks so kindly of Wales, hoping to return one day. Photos and autographs were greatly appreciated, as I left filled with love and warmth.

Join Zoom song and dance workshops with Meredith Monk and her singers, see her website for details.

Meredith Monk will continue with Memory Game with her Singers and Ban on a Can All-Stars, with film screenings and Cellular Songs on tour at the Rewire Festival in The Hague, with the Cellular Songs in Nantes, Paris and Luxembourg.

Dance

Review English National Ballet, The Forsythe Evening Sadler’s Wells, Review by James Ellis

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Photo Credit: Laurent Liotardo

out of 5 stars (3 / 5)

A return to London, a return to dance. I could not ignore the allure of Sadler’s Wells and the newest offering from English National Ballet. With choreography and stage design by William Forsythe, this was very much his evening. The showing off of his dance work bled into every moment of the night. The soundtrack over the brief night would randomly feature James Blake, Barry White and a variety of other musical taste. I pondered throughout, does it work?

The dancing on display cannot be underestimated. Yet, the music didn’t always necessarily ground the pieces and we had a choice of various petite performances of blinks and you’d miss them proportions. I want to say it felt more like strident ballet sequences fitted with pop and peculiar musical choices, having a certain charm but just not really making much momentum. The second part of the night entitled Playlist had a more club anthem feel, the audience clearly swept away with it’s frantic mania. This remained a curious take on ballet both old and new, more so of the later. There was an angular, almost cubist approach to movement, the men and women getting stirring duets or flourishing ensemble motifs. You almost want to recreate some of the poses at home.

It was the short nature of the entire night which made for a pleasant variation, two short parts with plenty of insight and intrigue. Like on this press night, this should please a lot of people, the choice of music should help break down some barriers and make ballet per se more accessible. The choreographer appears to be making waves in dance and work like this can only continue his. passions. A night like this can only define the talents of some spectacular dancers with builds that could leave most of us reeling.

Spend a night at the Fosythe Evening. It is a guaranteed success.

The Forsythe Evening runs at Sadler’s Wells till 10 April 2022

Dance, Theatre

Review, You Heard Me, The Albany, by Hannah Goslin

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out of 5 stars (3 / 5)

There really is a lack of basic, physical theatre performances these days. It is encompassed with narrative, but this is usually to explain the physicality, when the physicality is what should be bringing the story across.

With, You Heard Me, we have returned back to the basics and effectiveness with this.

You Heard Me is the true story, by artist Luca Rutherford, as a survivor of sexual assault. On a run, during the day, Rutherford was attacked and if it wasn’t for her lack of silence and fight within her alerting to a passerby, her story may have ended very differently.

The performance is a multi-media performance, expressed through a combination of physical theatre and soundscapes. As previously said, this was interesting as it is rare that artists embark on a purely physical theatre production to express their story. Rutherford almost exhausts herself with her energy and rhythm throughout the piece, showing her fight and her struggle under the physical prowess of her attacker.

However, while there were commentary, changes in lights and adjustments to the stage, it felt very one note and I felt I was waiting for the change, for the WOW moment, for that theatrical power.

By no means do I want to tread on what is a true, emotional and sensitive piece and what I found so brilliant about this was that this was not with an ending we realised. She survived, she got away, but this could have been a lot worse, a lot more like the, unfortunate, tales we often hear. And this made what she expressed powerful to all those female identifiers, or in fact anyone who unfortunately may find themselves in a similar situation.

You Heard Me had a clear message: to fight, to be loud, to not be quiet or ladylike or everything that is impressed upon us, especially in these fight or flight moments. But I did feel that perhaps some different levels to the piece would add to its power as a theatrical performance.

Dance, Theatre

REVIEW Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker!, Wales Millennium Centre by Barbara Hughes-Moore

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Matthew Bourne has always pushed the boundaries of the ballet world, and he’s back with an innovative reimagining of Tchaikovsky’s most enchanting work: The Nutcracker. Having originally premiered the show in 1992, Bourne and the New Adventures team have added plenty of twists, tweaks, and treats to this sumptuous blend of the classic and the new.

The story might be sparse but Bourne and co have thrown a few more ingredients into the mix. Clara (Katrina Lyndon) is trapped in a dreary orphanage ruled by the maniacal Matron (Daisy May Kemp, dressed as a despotic liquorice allsort) and the dastardly Dr Dross (Danny Reubens: be-whipped, bothered, and be-leathered). On Christmas Eve, Clara and the other orphans are paraded around in front of the genteel governors, whose gifts for the youngsters are snatched away the moment their kindly benefactors leave. But Clara’s grown quite attached to her present: a patched-up doll who becomes a hunky prince (Harrison Dowzell) and spirits the whole company away to Sweetieland.

The stellar orchestra ensures that Tchaikovsky’s score has never sounded more magical, and the sheer skill on display is breath-taking. There’s an effortless elegance to every movement and Bourne’s playful and innovative choreography never disappoints. Lyndon is a compelling lead, especially when sharing the stage with either Dowzell or Jonathon Luke Baker’s naughty Knickerbocker Glory. Ashley Shaw is delectably devious as the sickly-sweet Sugar Plum who’s hiding a bitter centre, and shares an unruly chemistry with Dominic North as the petulant Fritz and, later, the bon vivant Prince Bon Bon (there aren’t many people who could carry off walnut whip epaulettes, but North is one of them).

The first act compellingly subsumes you into a Dickensian purgatory before transporting you to a world of candyfloss and freedom. The second act loses some of the first’s drive but dials up the spectacle: a frothy pink fever dream painted in shades of Busby Berkley and Roy Lichtenstein courtesy of Anthony Ward’s resplendent sets and costumes (though Sugar Plum and Clara’s second act outfits might have benefited from a bit more extravagance). It gets even kookier when the guests start turning up for the royal engagement, everyone from a bunch of hard-boiled Bikers to a Candyfloss clique and a trio of polyamorous toreadors. Meanwhile, the stage is set for the wedding of the century which takes the phrase ‘Let them eat cake’ to a new level – quite literally.

Bourne never takes a story at face value: he shakes it like a snowglobe and weaves magic from the debris. His brand of joyous iconoclasm breathes new, anarchic life into well-trodden tales – and make no mistake, this isn’t your grandmother’s fairy tale: there’s something deliciously risqué about the entrance to Sweetieland being through a pair of cherry-red lips, and even the title itself is a little suggestive. The whole thing is flirtatious, mischievous, and enticingly irreverent. Unlike in the original, there are no sword battles, no royal mice, and the sugar plum fairy is not as sweet as she seems. However, while removing the Mouse King from the narrative gives Clara more agency, it also pits her against another woman in the fight for a man’s affections. Sweetieland might be a transgressive utopia, but it’s still ultimately consumed with the question of which bride will join the groom on top of the cake.

Sleeping Beauty might still be my favourite of Bourne’s new adventures, but Nutcracker! is easily his most joyful. A cacophony of confection from start to finish, it’s a decadent, delightful treat you’ll want to savour for yourself.

Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! is playing at the Wales Millennium Centre through 26 March.

Dance

Dance, science and digital collide in this new production by Jack Philp Dance.

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With dates across Wales in Swansea, Cardiff and Bangor, this hour long evening of contemporary dance will take you on an abstract and athletic journey through the cutting-edge research of Professor Paola Borri. OPTO NANO was created with an exceptional cast of five performers and explores pioneering cell imaging techniques using microscopes and lasers. Using dance to bring biophysics to the stage, the choreography proudly champions collaboration from across different worlds in a dynamic burst of movement, light and colour. Powered by an electronic sound score from critically acclaimed Welsh composer R.SEILIOG, the work celebrates the arts and research that modern Wales has to offer.

https://youtu.be/X1dpIOeY6rc

Jack Philp Dance is lead by choreographer and director Jack Philp. A Wales based artist with a fascination for science and digital technology. Lead by the latest advancements in the world around us and driven by a love for the physical body, his work seeks to capture the wonder in those things through energetic, colourful and collaborative choreography. Jack has toured work with his independent collective as well as choreographed for companies and universities across the UK; presenting work on stage, film and for digital experiences. 

OPTO NANO tours Wales with dates in Swansea, Cardiff and Bangor from March – April 2022.

You can book your tickets here: https://www.jackphilpdance.co.uk/opto-nano-tour

3rd March: Swansea – Taliesin Arts Centre

19th March: Cardiff – Dance House

7th April: Bangor – Pontio

30th April: Cardiff – CULTVR LAB **immersive digital performance

Dance

Review Ailey by Hanna Lyn Hughes

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Ailey is about one of the most celebrated American choreographers of the 21st century, Alvin Ailey. Directed by Jamila Wignot, Ailey explores themes of memory and history by delving into significant chapters in Ailey’s life from his working class upbringing to his soaring choreographic success establishing New York based Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. 

The film starts with rehearsals for a brand new piece choreographed by Rennie Harris to mark the 60th anniversary of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. We are then plunged into Ailey’s past via a mix of archive and present day footage. His story is narrated sensitively and lovingly through interviews by his colleagues and friends. The interviewees are wonderful storytellers and I was moved to tears by their love and compassion, particularly relating to the decline of Ailey’s mental and physical health. 

https://youtu.be/97jqfS3_8io

The structure of the film is a triumph. The way in which the film avoids a predictable chronological structure and seamlessly switches back and forth from past to present not only makes for an engaging cinematic experience but also reiterates the significance and importance of Ailey’s legacy. He refers to the ‘blood memory’ of his rural upbringing in Texas as inspiration for many pieces. I was particularly moved by the time worn recordings of African Americans attending the Baptist church, all in white, singing hymns in procession. This imagery overlaid by the sound of gospel singing is not only heart warming in itself, but it is beautifully contextualised by impressive performances of Wade in the Water from the infamous Revelations. This layering of performance and archive footage is key in exhibiting Ailey’s ingenuity in honouring and celebrating his African American heritage through art. The film superbly encapsulates Ailey’s uninhibited love for movement and creation as well as the sorrow and loneliness he must have felt at the height of his success. 

As a freelancer based in Wales, I did not expect the cinema to be the place where I’d feel the most excitement I’ve felt about watching dance in years! I thought I knew all I needed to know about Alvin Ailey but through the course of watching this documentary, I was educated, inspired and truly fell in love. I was taken by his story and his works and could relate so much to his impulse to create. He had something to say and people wanted to listen and I believe that is the basis of a great and successful choreographer. I left the cinema thinking to myself that whilst his time was cut tragically short, we are so lucky to be left in his enduring legacy. As Judith Jameson says in her last interview “Alvin breathed in and never breathed out and we are his breath out” I urge anybody who loves dance or has an interest in American history to watch this film, it is simply wonderful. 

Ailey is available to watch on several streaming platforms if not at your local cinema. 

You can find out more about Hanna and her work in this interview here

Dance, Musical, Theatre, Uncategorized

Review, Dirty Dancing, Dominion Theatre by Hannah Goslin

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out of 5 stars (3 / 5)

I once went to a shop, bought a watermelon, uttered the infamous line “I carried a watermelon” to receive from the cashier “…Isn’t that from a film?”.

We all know Dirty Dancing. A quintessential love story from the 80’s. Based in the 1960’s, this coming of age story sees teenagers growing up in this time, breaking out of the post war /post 1950’s prudeness and traditions and embracing life, sex, culture. They are becoming more aware of socio and political climates, and women are becoming more vocal and independent. This is when Baby, with her family, spends time at their holiday resort (think American Butlins) and when she leaves 3 weeks later, she has grown from daughter to woman, after meeting Johnny and together, facing a mountain of challenges and issues. Baby’s world is cut open and she soon grows up.

Firstly, I would say that calling this a musical is a little misidentified. Yes, there is music; yes, there is dancing; but very little in singing. Most of the music is pre-recorded. There is the occasional band playing, maybe 3-4 songs sung on stage but other than that, it’s very much like the film; lots of talk and lots of dance. Don’t get me wrong, the dancing is BRILLIANT. Carlie Milner (Penny) has the most envious of techniques, along with Michael O’Reilly (Johnny) who epitomises Patrick Swayze and his snake hips. Together, you can believe they are the envious duo that smashes into the campsite scene. Kira Malou (Baby) also does a great job at performing as if she cannot dance, to slowly building up to being worthy of Johnny’s partnership. But it did feel as if she wasn’t given much stage time to really showcase her skills, until the very end in the encore.

The music is typically 80’s – we know all the songs and sing along, and this does pick it up in enjoyment. There’s more comedy added than the film, and the performers do well to be hammed up enough to be these stereotyped characters supporting; it allows the depths of Johnny to be shown in more detail. The whole cast is so in sync that you wouldn’t quite believe that this was a press night – such perfection in movements, in synergy and in the graceful scene changes and line delivery.

The director for sure knows what they are doing; likely, a show catered for the Millennial and Baby Boomer female audiences, there’s absolutely no hesitation in ensuring that Johnny is swooned over. He is quiet, brooding and tormented, just as we expect from Swayze’s original character, and maybe more muscular. It isn’t until he strips off his top and an accidental bum flash and I think most of the audience had collapsed. As a hot blooded woman, yes it is enjoyable to see, but it also feels quite seedy and thrown in – and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for O’Reilly and the objectification.

What also did not sit right with me was the issue of race. Rightfully so, the cast is a mix of races, which is great to see when theatre and musical theatre especially can be so white, middle class and cis. However, to showcase Baby’s growing independence and outspokeness, the issue of race in America at the time, Martin Luther King, and even the word “Negro” are thrown in. It isn’t developed upon and unfortunately feels uncomfortable, badly placed as well as fueling white savior syndrome. With a number of persons of colour in the cast, I’m sure if this didn’t sit right then I’d hope they would speak up, but to an audience member, it only felt like it was there to show Baby breaking away from tradition and not making a important point about race and history. My memory of this in the film is hazy (and that in itself probably shows a further issue of the original film and their take on this) but even if it was featured in the same way, this is where we, as a reprise to stage, can change this and either fully and completely bring that story to light or not at all. Baby’s independence can be shown in other ways, other than her being the person to speak for a race that is not her own. I also felt it limits the casting process – can a person of colour therefore play the role of Baby or Johnny or any of the other characters? The whiteness of the characters isn’t a point of the narrative in the stage production, as it is in the film with the camp being of Jewish-American tradition, so why limit the casting!? Argument would say that as Baby is Jewish-American, she is part of a minority and can speak but as this isn’t eluded to or even distinguished, I do not feel that there is an argument there.

Dirty Dancing is not what I’d exactly call a musical, but it is good fun nonetheless. Fans of the movie and of 80’s music will be happy to attend for a light-hearted take on this well known tale, with a pink wine in hand and a dance at the end, along with times to swoon, the famous lift and “Nobody puts Baby in a corner”. However, there is a huge conflict of messages throughout and some uncomfortable areas that are never really realised and could probably have done without.

Dance

REVIEW, MIST, FILM BROADCAST, NEDERLANDS DANS THEATER BY JAMES ELLIS

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Photo Credit: Rahi Rezvani

out of 5 stars (5 / 5)

It’s a new year with new beginnings. Whilst we haven’t quite licked the pandemic just yet, it seems that streaming and how we view things will remain this way for a little longer. Let’s continue to be patient.

Dance is an acquired taste and my pallet is hungry for more. Across the North Sea, a new work of filmed dance has stunned this critic. Dancers lie on the stage as smoke drifts around them, a transgressive sight and truly one of our time. This just might be one of the finest moments of theatre I will see this year. Damien Jalet might be evoking the mood of theatre practitioner Grotowski with dancers who rarely rise to their feet, here languishing in smoky evocations. Every movement is graceful, yet feels like a mighty effort. We are forever with them in these vividly detailed moments.

This majestic, haunting sight harks to the natural features of The Netherlands, how wind and fog embellish the lowlands. Other moments felt these dancers were flung into a tornado, these bodies wading through the air. They glide around as if almost in water, poetry in slow motion feels the right descriptor. Most amazing of all, the film has no alterations in speed, these artists are moving that obtusely. I didn’t want to feel like the imagery could evoke the Holocaust, though this was hard to get out of my head. Even anime Attack on Titan came to mind, seeing these figures sprawled out and steaming at the same time.

With concept and sets by Kohei Nawa, him and Janet seem to make magic on stage with past work also eye-bulging sights. The sublime soundscape of Christian Fennes is the perfect addition to this already heightened contact. We hear foghorns, gentle and minimal looping, along with some soaring ambience. The music is worthy of it’s own release, I dare say. Shadow and projection conclude the hour long piece, with some stimulating execution with a darkly phased gleam.

In an interview seen after, Jalet, speaks of the influence of Shinto and The Tibetan Book of the Dead. The afterlife or even the other-world feels true to this performance, one which wont be forgotten in a hurry. He takes pride in the birds-eye-view shot of the dancers who appears to be gracing a river, the mist here awash, both exquisite and flowing. We can’t argue with him about that.

Book to stream Mist on Nederlands Dans Theater’s website, with screenings till 8 Jan 22.

Dance

Artists confirmed for Tŷ Cerdd and National Dance Company Wales collaborative short film series

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National Dance Company Wales and Tŷ Cerdd will make five short films working with music creators and dance artists based or working in Wales, in a series called Plethu: affricerdd.

Tŷ Cerdd have commissioned five music-creators of African descent living and working in Wales as part of a collaboration with the Sub-Sahara Advisory Panel. The films are a part of affricerdd, a strand of Tapestri, which is a new initiative (funded by Arts Council of Wales’s Connect & Flourish programme) to create a living musical archive of the people, languages and communities of Wales.

National Dance Company Wales have commissioned five dance artists from any discipline to work in collaboration with these five music-creators to make original short films or music videos. There have been 15 Plethu/Weave films to date which can be watched for free on digital hub on the NDCWales website.

The films will be released between January and July 2022. Follow @ndcwales and @TyCerdd_org for release dates. The five Plethu: affricerdd partnerships are:

Idrissa Camara and Eric Martin Kamosi
Music-creator Eric Martin Kamosi is a guitarist and electronic musician, who creates folk, rock, concrete, electronic and minimal music using a variety of instruments, field recordings and electronic sounds.  Idrissa trained from a young age with the renowned Ballet Bassikolo du Guinee. He has been principal choreographer with many leading dance companies in Guinea and Senegal and pioneered the teaching of dance to the hearing impaired at the Visual Theatre Company of the National Association of Sports and Culture for the Deaf.

June Campbell Davies and Seun Babatola (A.K.A Mista B)
A.K.A Mista B is a musician, lyricist and socially conscious rapper.  His musical tastes vary from break-beat to metal to trip-hop, and he believes, at heart, that genre is simply a veneer. June is a Cardiff based dancer, choreographer and carnival artist. June has also worked collaboratively as a singer and sound artist on a number of albums as well as being a consultant & facilitator with Butetown Carnival.

Kitsch n Sync and E11ICE
E11ICE is the alter-ego of Cornwall-born Cardiff based multi-genre singer and rapper Thalia Ellice Richardson. Melding thoughtful melodies with conscious lyrics on powerful flows E11ICE’s music reflects her journey through each day making the ordinary extraordinary. Taking inspiration from all things retro, vintage and wonderfully absurd, Kitsch & Sync Collective is immediately recognisable by their innovative brand of curiously quirky dance theatre.

Rosanna Carless and Sizwe Chitiyo
Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, Sizwe ‘SZWÉ’ Chitiyo is a 23-year-old singer, rapper and songwriter based in South Wales. After starting his music career professionally 4 years ago, Sizwe played acoustic sets around Wales before venturing into electronic production 3 years ago. Rosanna grew up in Aberystwyth before moving to Bristol and eventually London, where she fell in love with street dance and breakin’.
After joining a number of street dance crews, Rosanna battled as a solo B-girl at events and conventions, winning third place in ‘London’s best street dance crew’. Rosanna has since worked with companies such as HSBC and Sony as well as with musical artists such as Giggs, STylo G and Wiley.

Gundija Zandersona and Jeferson Lobo
Brazilian-born Jefferson Lobo is a musician, composer, and producer living in Cardiff. His music is an invitation to a world of unpredictable sonic possibilities: sweet harmonies combined with soothing and witty melodies, form the basis for his musical cauldron with a pinch of jazz, orchestral, Latin, reggae, futuristic and world music. Gundija Zandersona is a Latvian performer, choreographer and an educator based in Wales, Cardiff. As an executive director of Kokoro Arts Ltd and an independent dance artist she works across a variety of genres including work for families and young audiences, spoken text and movement, physical theatre and contemporary dance.

A further two films made in collaboration with Literature Wales, that fuse poetry and dance, will join these five films made in partnership with Ty Cerdd to complete a third series of Plethu/Weave films produced by National Dance Company Wales.

Idrissa Camara
Born in Guinea Conakry in West Africa, Idrissa trained from a young age with the renowned Ballet Bassikolo du Guinee. He has been principal choreographer with many leading dance companies in Guinea and Senegal and pioneered the teaching of dance to the hearing impaired at the Visual Theatre Company of the National Association of Sports and Culture for the Deaf. In 2010 Idrissa, who is also a musician founded Wales’s only professional Black dance/music company, Ballet Nimba. His innovative ideas have taken the UK by storm and with his direction, Ballet Nimba has combined traditional dance roots with dynamic young performers and an original musical score. Idrissa has curated many successful productions throughout Wales and beyond.

Rosanna Carless
Rosanna grew up in Aberystwyth before moving to Bristol and eventually London, where she fell in love with street dance and breakin’. After joining a number of street dance crews, Rosanna battled as a solo B-girl at events and conventions, winning third place in ‘London’s best street dance crew’. Rosanna has since worked with companies such as HSBC and Sony as well as with musical artists such as Giggs, STylo G and Wiley. Rosanna returned to Wales to have her son, and studied to become a Bwy yoga teacher. Rosanna still teaches dance regularly, and has toured with educational and street dance performances, and worked on the Lead creative scheme projects as well as joining National Dance Company Wales as a Dance Ambassador.
@warriorprincessrosa

Gundija Zandersona
Gundija Zandersona is a Latvian performer, choreographer and an educator based in Wales, Cardiff.
As an executive director of Kokoro Arts Ltd and an independent dance artist she works across a variety of genres including work for families and young audiences, spoken text and movement, physical theatre and contemporary dance. Trained in Latvia, Denmark and the UK, she has been working internationally for the last 6 years creating and reviewing performance works.

Sizwe Chivito
Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, Sizwe ‘SZWÉ’ Chitiyo is a 23 year old singer, rapper and songwriter based in South Wales. After starting his music career professionally 4 years ago, Sizwe played acoustic sets around South Wales before venturing into electronic production 3 years ago. Having achieved Spotify Playlisting, National Radio Play and a new Project Manager role for Beacons Cymru, his goal now is to build a hub for Urban Music to thrive in Wales and produce a new wave of sound.

Jeferson Lobo
Musician, composer, and producer Cardiff-based Brazilian-born Jefferson Lobo has been working on his compositions and arrangements for the last couple of years and will be releasing music from his catalogue throughout the year. Jefferson’s compositions are an invitation to a world of unpredictably sonic possibilities, hauntingly sweet harmonies combined with soothing and (at times) witty melodies, form the basis for his musical cauldron which included styles such as jazz, orchestral, Latin, reggae, futuristic, and world music. He has worked with August 012 (theater company), on BBC radio productions, has written, scored, and arranged music for the Butetwon Carnival 2020 and 2021 with special highlights to his transatlantic piece called ” Zamba ” commissioned by BACA

Seun Babatola
A.K.A Mista B is a musician, lyricist and socially conscious rapper.  Born in Nigeria, he spent the first few years of life in Cardiff, then lived in Ibadan (Nigeria), London and Birmingham, before returning to Wales. His musical tastes vary from break-beat to metal to trip-hop, and he believes, at heart, that genre is simply a veneer. Real music will reach out, regardless of the style.  Perfection in substance, not presentation.

Eric Martin Kamosi
Eric Martin Kamosi is a guitarist, electronic musician and composer who creates folk, rock, concrete, electronic and minimal music using a variety of instruments, field recordings and electronic sounds. He has written and performed for professional dance and physical theatre and created music installations, sound design, algorithmic compositions and music for live instruments as part of a BA (Hons) ‘Creative Sound and Music’ degree from the University of South Wales and a Master’s degree in ‘Digital Composition and Performance’. Having taken part in a media composition traineeship and created music for screen and live theatre, Eric continues to be interested in working with artists from a wide range of disciplines.

June Campbell-Davies
June is a Cardiff Based Dancer, Choreographer and Carnival Artist. She trained at the Laban Centre for Movement & Dance in London before working with Moving Being Mixed Media Theatre Company, Dance Wales, Cwmni Dawns Gwylan, Welsh Independent Dance and Cwmni Whare Teg. June then taught at Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Cardiff Metropolitan University and for Rubicon Dance, where she taught for their community, arts and health and education strands. June has also worked collaboratively as a singer and sound artist on a number of albums as well as being a consultant & facilitator with Butetown Carnival and has worked on several community projects involving dance in schools, documentary videos and at Hospitals.

June continues to perform, for Striking Attitude Dance Company for senior performers and works with Oasis One World Choir leading movement sessions with Refugee & Asylum Seekers. In May 2021 June was selected for an R & D commission to create a site specific body of work for Artes Mundi 9.

Kitsch & Sync
Taking inspiration from all things retro, vintage and wonderfully absurd, Kitsch & Sync Collective is immediately recognisable by their innovative brand of curiously quirky dance theatre. Taking fashions, fads and toe-tapping tunes, to create an infectious blend of highly visual choreography , colourful characters and a dressing-up box bursting with enough vintage clobber to make your gran proud! Kim Noble and Kylie Ann Smith fuse different dance genres, unusual props and a dash of audience interaction to bring you something truly unique. Kitsch & Sync was set up in 2011 and have built up a reputation for itself as one of Wales’s most exciting, original and eclectic companies. 

If you recognise the name, it may be because you have seen the trio perform at the award-winning Festival Number 6, Green Man Festival or at the Edinburgh Fringe. Perhaps you spotted them at The TATE Britain as part of the David Hockney exhibition, dancing in Goldie Lookin Chain’s music videos or Jarvis Cocker’s DJ set, or you may have seen their picture on the front of The Sunday Times and in the Guardian. You may have danced your socks off at one of the group’s popular electro-swing hop dance classes or at the Depot’s infamous Bingo Lingo nights! Their alter-egos, The Lampshade Ladies, also made a surprise appearance on BBC Two’s Have I Got News for You. This may even be your first venture into the curiously quirky world of Kitsch & Sync. Either way, you’re in for a treat.

 These ferocious females have a large repertoire of small scale outdoor shows, full length theatre and circus Shows and a plethora of walkabout characters that have been performed all over Wales, UK and now internationally. They have received funding from Arts Council Wales, National Theatre Wales, the Millennium Centre- Blysh Festival, Coreo Cymru, and commissions from Articulture and festivals such as The Big Splash, Wilderness, Kendall Calling, Appetite ‘The Homecoming’ – Circus 250 and toured with the Northern Touring Network, as well as various arts festival across the UK and beyond. Kitsch & Sync are also represented by a London agent- Contraband and have performed in clubs, warehouses, cafes and shop windows (amongst many other unusual spaces!).

E11ICE
E11ICE is the alter-ego of Cornwall born Cardiff based multi-genre singer and rapper Thalia Ellice Richardson. A core member of Cardiff based community initiative Ladies of Rage Cardiff E11ICE’s inimitable live performances have made her an integral feature of any Ladies of Rage live showcase. Melding thoughtful melodies with conscious lyrics E11ICE’s music reflects her journey through each day making the ordinary extraordinary. E11ICE’s live performances range from stripped back sets on the mic to full jazz band productions each time E11ICE steps to the stage she seeks to bring something fresh to her audience.