Press Release: National Youth Dance Company presents World Premiere of Tarantiseismic at Sadler's Wells in April

[Jan McNulty]

National Youth Dance Company / Damien Jalet

Tarantiseismic
WORLD PREMIERE (followed by UK national tour)
Wednesday 19 April at 7.30pm  
Tickets: £12 (£6 concessions)
Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com

This year’s line-up of the National Youth Dance Company (NYDC), the country’s flagship organisation for young dancers, performs a new creation by the company’s Guest Artistic Director Damien Jalet. The work entitled Tarantiseismic receives its world premiere on Wednesday 19 April at Sadler’s Wells, ahead of a UK national tour in June and July. 

Tarantiseismic is a new commission that sees Jalet present a unique piece of theatre which addresses themes of melancholia, ritual, control and abandon. Jalet’s revered choreographic style combined with the young dancers’ energy and talent is set to produce a mesmerising experience that shifts the consciousness of the audience.

This year’s diverse cohort of 40 young dancers comprises 30 new members, selected through NYDC Experience Workshops held in towns and cities all over the country. The dancers are mentored during three intensive residencies over the year, in order to create, rehearse and develop the new piece. In February, the residency will be held in Hull to coincide with their City of Culture 2017. Throughout the dancers’ time with NYDC they are given a unique insight into the dance profession, gaining skills and techniques that open up career possibilities. 

Now in its fifth year, NYDC has established a reputation for innovative, challenging and influential work, producing open-minded, curious and brave dancers. The company brings together the brightest talent from across England, immersing the members fully in the process of creating, performing and touring new work, giving them a unique insight into the dance profession. NYDC has a track record of putting young people on paths to successful dance careers, with over 80% of all former NYDC dancers now either in further dance studies, in vocational training or working professionally. 

In his appointment as NYDC Guest Artistic Director, Jalet follows in the footsteps of Sadler’s Wells Associate Artists Michael Keegan-Dolan, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Akram Khan and Jasmin Vardimon, who have each in turn held the position over the past four years. Through their work with NYDC, these internationally acclaimed artists illustrate their commitment to young artists and highlight the power young dancers have to shape the future of dance.

Damien Jalet is a French and Belgian choreographer and dancer. He has worked as a dancer for several companies such as Les Ballets C de la B and Wim Vandekeybus. He has been involved in many collaborations with companies such as Eastman, Chunky Move, Icelandic Dance Company, Akram Khan, Erna Omarsdottir and Sasha Waltz. Recent projects include Babel (Words), which won the Olivier Award for Best Dance Production in 2011, les méduses, an itinerary installation inside Louvre museum in Paris with 30 artists. He worked with Hussein Chalayan on the Sadler’s Wells production Gravity Fatigue and a restaging of Ravel’s Bolero for the Paris Opera Ballet – a collaboration with Marina Abramovic and Cherkaoui. Jalet is entitled ‘Chevalier de l’ordre des arts et des lettres’ by the French government and is a laureate 2015 of the Kujoyama residency in Kyoto.

NYDC is jointly funded by Arts Council England and the Department for Education from the National Lottery and Grant in Aids funds

LISTINGS INFORMATION

National Youth Dance Company / Damien Jalet
Tarantiseismic
Sadler’s Wells, EC1R 4TN
Wednesday 19 April at 7.30pm  
Tickets: £12 (£6 concessions)
Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com

Confirmed 2017 UK national tour dates:
Sunday 25 June: Peninsula Arts, Plymouth University
Saturday 1 July: Dance City, Newcastle
Friday 14 July: Birmingham Hippodrome
Tuesday 18 July: Jerwood Dance House, Dance East, Ipswich
Thursday 20 July: Middleton Hall, Hull


NOTES TO EDITORS

ABOUT NATIONAL YOUTH DANCE COMPANY
Founded in 2012, and hosted at Sadler’s Wells, NYDC is an exciting young company that creates and performs innovative and influential dance, drawing together some of the brightest young talent from across the country to work with Sadler’s Wells’ internationally renowned Associate Artists. NYDC is funded jointly by Arts Council England and the Department for Education, from the National Lottery and Grant in Aid funds. 
Since NYDC’s inception in 2012: 

- 150 dancers have joined the company, working intensively with renowned dance artists including Guest Artistic Directors: Jasmin Vardimon (2012-13), Akram Khan (2013-14) and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (2014-15) and Michael Keegan Dolan (2015-16). These 150 dancers come from over 60 different towns and cities in England. 
- Over 2000 young people have worked with the company 
- NYDC has delivered 87 workshops in 32 different venues across 22 towns and cities 
- Over 30,000 people have seen the company perform 
- NYDC has featured in 47 performances, visiting 20 different venues across the UK, including some leading theatres in the country.


ABOUT SADLER’S WELLS
Sadler's Wells is a world-leading dance house, committed to producing, commissioning and presenting new works and to bringing the best international and UK dance to London and worldwide audiences. Under the Artistic Directorship of Alistair Spalding, the theatre’s acclaimed year-round programme spans dance of every kind, from contemporary to flamenco, Bollywood to ballet, salsa to street dance and tango to tap. 

Since 2005, it has helped to bring over 130 new dance works to the stage and its award-winning commissions and collaborative productions regularly tour internationally. Sadler’s Wells supports 16 Associate Artists, three Resident Companies, an Associate Company and three International Associate Companies. It also nurtures the next generation of talent through research and development, running the National Youth Dance Company and a range of programmes including Wild Card, New Wave Associates, Open Art Surgery and Summer University. 

Located in Islington, north London, the current theatre is the sixth to have stood on the site since it was first built by Richard Sadler in 1683. The venue has played an illustrious role in the history of theatre ever since, with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and English National Opera all having started at Sadler’s Wells. Sadler’s Wells is an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation and currently receives approximately 9% of its revenue from Arts Council England.