The National Dance Company Wales, now under the artistic directorship of recently appointed Caroline Finn, has announced details of its Spring Tour 2016. Folk, a world premiere choreographed by Finn, Tuplet by Alexander Ekman and works by Johan Inger, Lee Johnston and Jeroen Verbruggen will tour to venues in Wales and England (including London’s The Place) from 4 February to 14 May 2016.
Folk headlines the tour and is Finn’s first work for the company. Featuring Finn’s darkly comic expressions about life and people, it promises to bring her quirky choreographic style to the stage as she explores social dynamics through familiar and surreal scenes. The company continues to collaborate with regional Welsh talent for Folk; costume designer Gabriella Slade and set and lighting designer Joe Fletcher both being graduates of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Folk is set to an eclectic score including Barcarola (Offenbach and Guiraud), Midnight Waltz (Adam Hurst) and Threnody (Goldmund).
Finn said, “I am hugely looking forward to creating the first of many new works on the company for the spring tour 2016. I know the company’s incredible dancers will fully embody the highly physical, theatrical and often darkly comical aspects of my work. I’m excited to challenge and be challenged by the artists in the studio, so that National Dance Company Wales can maximise the potential and accessibility of its work that we bring to our audiences.”
Also in the spring tour is Alexander Ekman’s Tuplet– a witty and high octane exploration of the simple notion of rhythm. The dancers’ breath and bodies create a powerful drumming soundtrack, combined with pounding electronic accompaniment, as well as the familiar and evocative jazz sounds of Fly Me to the Moon.
Folk and Tuplet will be performed at all tour venues and will be joined by one of Walking Mad by Swedish choreographer Johan Inger, set to the rousing sounds of Ravel’s Boléro and music by Arvo Pärt and full of wit, laced with an unsettling edge of madness; A Mighty Wind by Belgian choreographer Jereon Verbruggen, an energetic piece set against the power of an alternative rock concert; or They Seek to Find The Happiness They Seem by Australian choreographer Lee Johnston, an emotional duet that explores dislocation and separation.
For more details, visit www.ndcwales.co.uk.