Diversions the Dance Company of Wales
Encyclopedia
National Dance Company Wales (NDCWales), formerly Diversions, is the national dance company of Wales
. It was established in 1983 by Roy Campbell-Moore and Ann Sholem and is funded by the Arts Council of Wales
. Formerly known as Diversions, it was renamed in 2009, one year after celebrating its 25th anniversary.
National Dance Company Wales is a resident company at the Wales Millennium Centre
and is a contemporary dance
company which performs work from established international choreographers and tours throughout the UK and abroad. Programmes of dance are presented within the format of double and triple bills.
The company also runs a wide range of participation, professional development and engagement opportunities for people of all ages. This includes open classes and rehearsals, Summer and Easter dance courses, the Associates programme and support for Wales based choreographers.
The Dance House is National Dance Company Wales' part of the Wales Millennium Centre
and includes a 100-seat theatre known as the Blue Room which is a creative laboratory for dance artists. Led by the Artistic Director, Ann Sholem, the Dance House is both a world-class production facility and performance space for other dance projects as well as a home-base for National Dance Company Wales.
as a radio technician with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority
. He began dance training in Brisbane
when he was twenty, then studied at the Rambert School of Ballet before performing with Scottish Ballet
from 1975 until 1981. While there he worked with dance-artists such as Rudolph Nureyev, Murray Louis
and Peter Darrell
who inspired him to become a choreographer. At the age of thirty, he retrained in Cunningham
, Limón
and Nikolais
techniques, and in 1983 he founded Diversions, the Welsh Repertory Dance Company. He was Artistic Director until 2007 productions, when he took on the new post of Artistic Associate, enabling him to concentrate on the Company's wider artistic ambitions. Major achievements include creating over 25 dances for the company, touring them nationally and internationally. From 1997, he developed the concept of an international-quality home for the Company at Wales Millennium Centre
which opened in 2004. He continues to direct new dance, opera and musical productions and works with young people to give them opportunities to train and perform He has also become a successful dance photographer, showing his work internationally.
Ann Sholem (Artistic Director): Prior to founding Diversions with Roy Campbell-Moore in 1983, Ann performed as a soloist with Northern Ballet and from 1975 and spent five years performing with Scottish Ballet
. Ann trained at the Rambert School of Ballet in London where she met Roy Campbell-Moore in 1973. Ann has "transformed the organisation from a company of five into an internationally recognised dance group, known for being one of the most innovative in its field". She works to bring Wales some of the best dancers currently working in Europe, offering them the chance to work with world class choreographers. In 2007 Ann won "Welsh Woman of the Year – Arts and Media" for her work at NDCWales and her dedication to the art form.
David Wright (Deputy Director): Born in Neath, South Wales, David moved to Australia as a child. He studied Drama, Film and English Literature at Macquarie University
, and Arts Management at the University of Technology, Sydney
. Over the last twenty years he has worked predominantly in General/Financial Management with Toe Truck Theatre and Australian Theatre for Young People
(both in Sydney) and London's Bush Theatre
. Most recently he was Executive Director of Greenwich & Lewisham Young People's Theatre in London, Executive Manager of of Sydney Theatre
, and General Manager of Citymoves Dance Agency in Aberdeen, Scotland. David joined NDCWales in September 2011.
Joe Fletcher (Technical Director): Born in West Wales, Joe became Technical Director for NDCWales in 2006. Since then he has production managed 10 new pieces, a co-production with WNO, nine national tours, eight international tours to Holland, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Greece, China, Germany and Italy. Originally trained in Aberystwyth
in 1997 he became Chief Technician in the Aberystwyth Arts Centre, designing lighting and sound for many community shows and productions. Prior to working for the company he acted as Production Manager for the international ceramics festival, "Fresh" film festival and the annual student may ball in Cardiff. He was also a Scenography
tutor for the Theatre Department in the University of Wales Aberystwyth and Coleg Ceredigion Llanbadarn.
Emma Lewis (Rehearsal Director): Emma was born near Pontypridd and became Rehearsal Director of National Dance Company Wales in August 2010. From age 11 she trained at the Royal Ballet School
, completing her studies with BA Honours Degree in Sport and Human Movement in UWIC. She first joined the company as a Dancer in 2000 before leaving in 2005 to study Yoga in India and work with the Gelabert Azzopardi Company in Barcelona, Spain. In 2007 Emma worked with Cathy Marston in Bern Ballet, Switzerland before returning to NDCWales as Rehearsal Director in August 2010.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It was established in 1983 by Roy Campbell-Moore and Ann Sholem and is funded by the Arts Council of Wales
Arts Council of Wales
The Arts Council of Wales is a Welsh Government sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales.Established by Royal Charter in 1946, as the Welsh Arts Council , when it merged with the three Welsh regional arts associations...
. Formerly known as Diversions, it was renamed in 2009, one year after celebrating its 25th anniversary.
National Dance Company Wales is a resident company at the Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert...
and is a contemporary dance
Contemporary dance
Contemporary dance is a genre of concert dance that employs compositional philosophy, rather than choreography, to guide unchoreographed movement...
company which performs work from established international choreographers and tours throughout the UK and abroad. Programmes of dance are presented within the format of double and triple bills.
The company also runs a wide range of participation, professional development and engagement opportunities for people of all ages. This includes open classes and rehearsals, Summer and Easter dance courses, the Associates programme and support for Wales based choreographers.
The Dance House
Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert...
and includes a 100-seat theatre known as the Blue Room which is a creative laboratory for dance artists. Led by the Artistic Director, Ann Sholem, the Dance House is both a world-class production facility and performance space for other dance projects as well as a home-base for National Dance Company Wales.
The Directors
Roy Campbell-Moore (Founding Director and Associate Artist): Scottish born in 1951, Roy was educated in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
as a radio technician with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority
Civil Aviation Safety Authority
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is the Australian national aviation authority , the government statutory authority responsible for the regulation of civil aviation.-History:...
. He began dance training in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
when he was twenty, then studied at the Rambert School of Ballet before performing with Scottish Ballet
Scottish Ballet
Scottish Ballet is the national ballet company of Scotland and one of the four leading ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet, English National Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet...
from 1975 until 1981. While there he worked with dance-artists such as Rudolph Nureyev, Murray Louis
Murray Louis
Murray Louis is an American modern dancer and choreographer. He grew up in Manhattan, not far from Henry Street where his company was to be founded years later. At the same time, his sister took him to many of the early modern dance concerts. After his discharge from the Navy in 1946, Mr...
and Peter Darrell
Peter Darrell
Peter Darrell CBE, a ballet choreographer, dancer and founder of the Scottish Ballet, was born Peter Skinner at Richmond, Surrey, on 16 September 1929 and died in Glasgow on 2 December 1987. For almost four decades he had been one of the most productive and imaginative talents in British ballet...
who inspired him to become a choreographer. At the age of thirty, he retrained in Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
, Limón
José Limón
José Arcadio Limón was a pioneer in the field of modern dance and choreography. In 1928, at age 20, he moved to New York City where he studied under Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. In 1946, Limón founded the José Limón Dance Company...
and Nikolais
Alwin Nikolais
Alwin Nikolais was an American choreographer.Nikolais studied piano at an early age and began his performing career as an organist accompanying silent films. As a young artist, he gained skills in scenic design, acting, puppetry and music composition...
techniques, and in 1983 he founded Diversions, the Welsh Repertory Dance Company. He was Artistic Director until 2007 productions, when he took on the new post of Artistic Associate, enabling him to concentrate on the Company's wider artistic ambitions. Major achievements include creating over 25 dances for the company, touring them nationally and internationally. From 1997, he developed the concept of an international-quality home for the Company at Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert...
which opened in 2004. He continues to direct new dance, opera and musical productions and works with young people to give them opportunities to train and perform He has also become a successful dance photographer, showing his work internationally.
Ann Sholem (Artistic Director): Prior to founding Diversions with Roy Campbell-Moore in 1983, Ann performed as a soloist with Northern Ballet and from 1975 and spent five years performing with Scottish Ballet
Scottish Ballet
Scottish Ballet is the national ballet company of Scotland and one of the four leading ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet, English National Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet...
. Ann trained at the Rambert School of Ballet in London where she met Roy Campbell-Moore in 1973. Ann has "transformed the organisation from a company of five into an internationally recognised dance group, known for being one of the most innovative in its field". She works to bring Wales some of the best dancers currently working in Europe, offering them the chance to work with world class choreographers. In 2007 Ann won "Welsh Woman of the Year – Arts and Media" for her work at NDCWales and her dedication to the art form.
David Wright (Deputy Director): Born in Neath, South Wales, David moved to Australia as a child. He studied Drama, Film and English Literature at Macquarie University
Macquarie University
Macquarie University is an Australian public teaching and research university located in Sydney, with its main campus situated in Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of Sydney...
, and Arts Management at the University of Technology, Sydney
University of Technology, Sydney
The University of Technology Sydney is a university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1981, although its origins trace back to the 1870s. UTS is notable for its central location as the only university with its main campuses within the Sydney CBD...
. Over the last twenty years he has worked predominantly in General/Financial Management with Toe Truck Theatre and Australian Theatre for Young People
Australian Theatre for Young People
The Australian Theatre for Young People is Australia's flagship youth theatre company and the largest youth theatre in the world. Over 6000 young people aged between three and 26 participate in the company's work across Australia....
(both in Sydney) and London's Bush Theatre
Bush Theatre
The Bush Theatre is based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 above The Bush public house by Brian McDermott, and has since become one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world. An intimate venue renowned for its close-up...
. Most recently he was Executive Director of Greenwich & Lewisham Young People's Theatre in London, Executive Manager of of Sydney Theatre
Sydney Theatre
Sydney Theatre is a theatre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Sydney Theatre seats up to 896 people and is part of the Sydney Theatre Company....
, and General Manager of Citymoves Dance Agency in Aberdeen, Scotland. David joined NDCWales in September 2011.
Joe Fletcher (Technical Director): Born in West Wales, Joe became Technical Director for NDCWales in 2006. Since then he has production managed 10 new pieces, a co-production with WNO, nine national tours, eight international tours to Holland, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Greece, China, Germany and Italy. Originally trained in Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
in 1997 he became Chief Technician in the Aberystwyth Arts Centre, designing lighting and sound for many community shows and productions. Prior to working for the company he acted as Production Manager for the international ceramics festival, "Fresh" film festival and the annual student may ball in Cardiff. He was also a Scenography
Scenography
-Usage:Whilst also aligned with the professional practice of the scenographer, it is important to distinguish the individual elements that comprise the 'design' of a performance event from the term 'scenography' which is as an artistic perspective concerning the visual, experiential and spatial...
tutor for the Theatre Department in the University of Wales Aberystwyth and Coleg Ceredigion Llanbadarn.
Emma Lewis (Rehearsal Director): Emma was born near Pontypridd and became Rehearsal Director of National Dance Company Wales in August 2010. From age 11 she trained at the Royal Ballet School
Royal Ballet School
The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London...
, completing her studies with BA Honours Degree in Sport and Human Movement in UWIC. She first joined the company as a Dancer in 2000 before leaving in 2005 to study Yoga in India and work with the Gelabert Azzopardi Company in Barcelona, Spain. In 2007 Emma worked with Cathy Marston in Bern Ballet, Switzerland before returning to NDCWales as Rehearsal Director in August 2010.
The Dancers
| Name | Nationality | Training | Joined NDCWales | Other Companies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karol Cysewski | Laban Dance Centre Laban Dance Centre Laban in Deptford, south-east London, is a conservatoire and centre for contemporary dance, and includes 13 dance studios, a 300-seat theatre, dance health suite, Pilates studio, library and café... |
2005 | Poznan Opera House Polish Dance Theatre Transitions Norwegian dance company Carte Blanche |
|
| Lee Johnston | Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts , Edith Cowan University was established in 1980 to provide performing arts tuition comparable to the highest calibre of national and international training benchmarks to be able to meet industry needs around the globe.The school is located in the... |
2004 | LINK Dance Company | |
| Eleesha Drennan | Northern School of Contemporary Dance | 2005 | ||
| Annabeth Berkeley | La Companyia - Elise Lummis Rambert Dance Company Rambert Dance Company Rambert Dance Company, is a leading British dance company. Formed at the start of the 20th century as a classical ballet company, it would exert a great deal of influence on the development of dance in the United Kingdom, and today, as a contemporary dance company, it continues to be one of the... Northern School of Contemporary Dance |
2009 | Henri Oguike Dance Company La Companyia Surface Area Dance Theatre Freelance artist: Roger C Jeffrey, Jean Emile, Vivien Wood |
|
| Eran Gisin | Centro de Dança, Rio de Janeiro Royal Ballet School Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London... |
2011 | Hora Jerusalem Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company 2 The Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company Matte Asher School for the Performing Arts Tanztheater Darmstadt |
|
| Neus Gil Cortés | Professional Conservatorium of Dance of Valencia Maria Carbonell Centre Carmen Roche School Rotterdam Dance Academy |
2009 | Art Ballet Dance Works Rotterdam |
|
| Ygal Tsur | Rotterdam Dance Academy | 2010 | IT Dansa Jove Compania | |
| Gareth Mole | London Contemporary Dance School | 2011 | ||
| Josef Perou | Trinity Laban Trinity Laban Trinity Laban is the UK's only conservatoire of Music and Dance. The Higher Education Institute was formed in 2005 when leading centres of music and dance Trinity College of Music and Laban came together... Central School of Ballet Central School of Ballet Central School of Ballet is a classical ballet school based in London, with students from countries all over the world.The school was established in 1982 by Ann Stannard and Christopher Gable. It established a touring company, Ballet Central, in 1984... |
2011 | Phoenix Dance Theatre Henri Oguike Dance Company |
|
| Nicholas Bodych | Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts is, despite its young age, one of the United Kingdom's leading institutions for the performing arts. The university is situated in the English city of Liverpool... Rambert Dance Company Rambert Dance Company Rambert Dance Company, is a leading British dance company. Formed at the start of the 20th century as a classical ballet company, it would exert a great deal of influence on the development of dance in the United Kingdom, and today, as a contemporary dance company, it continues to be one of the... |
Apprentice, 2011 | ||
| Camille Giraudeau | Arts Educational Schools Trinity Laban Trinity Laban Trinity Laban is the UK's only conservatoire of Music and Dance. The Higher Education Institute was formed in 2005 when leading centres of music and dance Trinity College of Music and Laban came together... |
Apprentice, 2011 | ||
| Naomi Tadevossian | London Contemporary Dance School | Apprentice, 2011 | ||
Current Repertoire
- B/olero & Black Milk Choreographer: Ohad Naharin (Israel)
- Phantoms of Us Choreographer: Eleesha Drennan (Canada)
- Quixoteland Choreographer: Gustavo Ramirez Sansano (Spain)
- By Singing Light Choreographer: Stephen Petronio (USA)
- Romance Inverse Choreographer: Itzik Galili (Israel)
- Veil of Stars Choreographer: Andonis Foniadakis (Greece)
- Lunatic Choreographer: Nigel Charnock (UK)
- Hinterland Choreographer: Roy Campbell-Moore (Wales)
- >>FORM<< Choreographer: Stijn Celis (Belgium)