Press Release: Michael Keegan-Dolan announced as the next Guest Artistic Director for National Youth Dance Company

[Jan McNulty]

Michael Keegan-Dolan announced as the next Guest Artistic Director for National Youth Dance Company 

- Award-winning choreographer Michael Keegan-Dolan selected as NYDC Guest Artistic Director for 2015-16 intake
- Experience workshops to run in May 2015 to search for England’s most talented dancers 
- NYDC’s current cohort prepares for June-July national tour of Frame[d], following 10 April world premiere in London 
- Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Akram Khan and Jasmin Vardimon come together for NYDC retrospective programme at Sadler’s Wells in September

Following the world premiere on Friday 10 April of the new work Frame[d] at Sadler’s Wells in London, National Youth Dance Company (NYDC) now prepares the search for a fresh intake of dancers for 2015-16, who will work with new Guest Artistic Director Michael Keegan-Dolan. The 2014-15 cohort of NYDC at the same time prepares to tour Frame[d] around the country between June and July, before graduating at the end of July and returning to London for a retrospective performance in September.

The new NYDC Guest Artistic Director, the critically acclaimed Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Michael Keegan-Dolan, is the Founder and Artistic Director of Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre. His productions Giselle, The Bull and The Rite of Spring were all nominated for Olivier Awards and The Bull won the UK Critics' Circle Award for Best Modern Choreography in 2008. Keegan-Dolan has worked on productions for world-class companies and theatres including, English National Opera, La Monnaie, Royal Opera House and National Theatre. He has been selected to guide the new intake of up to 30 dancers through their NYDC journey, mentoring them during intensive residencies throughout the year, and creating a new piece of work for them to premiere at Sadler’s Wells in 2016 and then tour around the country. 

NYDC will search far and wide for the country’s most talented young dancers aged 16 - 19 to join the 2015-16 intake. Experience workshops will run Saturday 23 - Sunday 31 May in: Swindon, Plymouth, Birmingham, Manchester, London, Ipswich, Derby, Eastleigh, Newcastle, Hull, Brighton, Leeds and Liverpool. The workshops include technique classes, creative tasks and discussions on dance training and careers, and are open to dancers from all backgrounds and abilities, with experience in any dance style. The company’s new intake will be selected on Sunday 26 July, at the same time as the 2014-15 cohort graduates. 

Jane Hackett, Director of National Youth Dance Company commented: “Joining NYDC can be a life-changing experience, presenting career possibilities and raising aspirations, self-esteem and confidence, besides introducing the very best of professional dance practice.” 

Claire Niesyto-Bame, member of NYDC 2014-15 added: “Although we are all from different areas of England and come from different backgrounds and circumstances, we were all born with the same passion. NYDC brings us together and feeds our hunger for dance; it has already provided us with knowledge and experience that we will undoubtedly carry with us throughout the rest of our dance journeys.”

The current cohort of NYDC dancers will tour this year’s work Frame[d], a new choreography created by current Guest Artistic Director Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, around the country from Sunday 21 June to Saturday 25July, to Birmingham, Newcastle, Leeds, Suffolk, Ipswich, Bournemouth and Plymouth. The dancers graduate on Sunday 26 July, at the same time as the new 2015-16 cohort is selected, and then return to London for a retrospective performance on Friday 4 September, at Sadler’s Wells. 

The retrospective on Friday 4 September sees all three NYDC works from the last three years performed on stage – pieces by the different Guest Artistic Directors, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Akram Khan and Jasmin Vardimon. The evening is part of the inaugural Apex Rising, a new annual festival programmed by Sadler’s Wells, which presents highlights of the most innovative and exciting dance being performed and created by young dancers today, capturing their ability to shape the future of the form. 

About to go into its fourth year, National Youth Dance Company creates and performs innovative and influential dance, bringing together the brightest talent from across England to work intensively with Sadler’s Wells’ renowned Associate Artists. The company has established a reputation for innovative, high quality work that produces dancers that are open-minded, curious and brave. The young members are given the opportunity to engage with dance through working at the highest level and with world class resources, working with an artistic team that have exceptional standards and artistic integrity.

Originally funded for a three-year period from 2012, NYDC was recently granted continued financial support for another year by the Department for Education and for another three years by Arts Council England, from the National Lottery and Grant in Aids funds, as part of a commitment to arts for young people and to nurturing and developing exceptional artistic talent in the country. 

NYDC National Tour 2015
Fri 10 April       Premiere Performance, Sadler’s Wells, London
Sun 21 June    mac, Birmingham
Sat 4 July         Dance City, Newcastle
Sun 12 July      The Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre, Leeds
Tue 21 July      DanceEast, Jerwood DanceHouse, Ipswich
Thur 23 July    Pavilion Dance South West, Bournemouth
Sat 25 July       As part of U.Dance2015, Plymouth

NYDC 2015 Experience Workshops Dates
Sat 23 May       Swindon Dance
Sun 24 May     Plymouth University
Mon 25 May     mac, Birmingham
Mon 25 May     The Dancehouse, Manchester
Tues 26 May    Sadler’s Wells, London
Weds 27 May   Dance East, Ipswich
Weds 27 May   Deda, Derby
Thurs 28 May  The Point, Eastleigh
Thurs 28 May  Dance City, Newcastle
Fri 29 May       Wyke College, Hull
Sat 30 May       Marina College, Brighton
Sun 31 May     Yorkshire Dance Centre, Leeds
Sun 31 May     LIPA, Liverpool

Click here for more information on the NYDC tour and experience workshop dates:http://www.sadlerswells.com/national-youth-dance-company/events-calendar/


NOTES TO EDITORS:

About National Youth Dance Company (NYDC)
Founded in 2012, and hosted at Sadler’s Wells, NYDC is an exciting new company that aims to create and perform innovative and influential youth 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:
- 1000 young people have worked with the company. 
- NYDC has delivered 47 workshops in 21 different venues across 17 towns and cities. 
- Over 18,000 people have seen the company perform.
- NYDC has featured in 23 performances, visiting 15 different venues across the UK, including some leading theatres in the country. 
- 90 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). These 90 dancers come from 43 different towns and cities in England.

About Sadler’s Wells
Sadler's Wells is a world leader in contemporary dance, committed to producing, commissioning and presenting new works and to bringing the very 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 90 new dance works to the stage and its international award-winning commissions and collaborative productions regularly tour the world. Sadler’s Wells supports 16 appointed world class Associate Artists, three Resident Companies and an Associate Company and nurtures the next generation of talent through hosting the National Youth Dance Company, its Summer University programme, its Wild Card initiative and its New Wave Associates.

Located in Islington in 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.

About Michael Keegan-Dolan
Born in 1969, Michael Keegan-Dolan lives in his family ancestral home in County Longford. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre. Productions for Fabulous Beast include: Sunday Lunch (1997),Fragile (1999), The Flowerbed (2000), The Christmas Show (2001), Giselle (2003), The Bull (2005), James Son of James (2007), The Rite of Spring (2009), Helen and Hell (2010), and Rian (2011).

Most recently, he directed and choreographed a new production of Handel's masterpiece Julius Caesar, at the London Coliseum, for English National Opera. Other choreographic work includes: Ariodante, Manon and Alcina (English National Opera); The Rake's Progress (La Monnaie, Royal Opera House); Faust and Macbeth (Royal Opera House);The Duchess of Malfi, Carousel and The Oedipus Plays (National Theatre); Idomeneo (Royal Flanders Opera); The Love for Three Oranges (Cologne Opera); Pique Dame and Ariodante (Bavarian State Opera).

Rian was nominated for a 2011 Irish Times Theatre Award. Giselle, The Bull and The Rite of Spring were all nominated for Olivier awards and in 2008 Keegan-Dolan won the UK Critics' Circle Award for Best Modern Choreography for The Bull. In 2004, Giselle won the Judges' Special Award at the Irish Times Theatre Awards. Both Keegan-Dolan and Fabulous Beast received a nomination for the 2009 Europe Prize New Theatrical Realities. He was appointed a Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist in 2012.

About Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Artistic Director of Royal Ballet Flanders, is one of the most prolific choreographers working today. A Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist, he has created more than 20 works and is acknowledged as one of Europe’s most exciting choreographers.

His productions include zero degrees (2005, with Akram Khan, Antony Gormley and Nitin Sawhney); Faun (which premiered at Sadler’s Wells as part of In the Spirit of Diaghilev); TeZukA (2011, based on the iconic work of manga artist Osamu Tezuka); award winning Babel (2010) and Dunas (2009, with celebrated flamenco dancer/ choreographer Maria Pagés); Sutra (2008), and his recent tango inspired, Sadler’s Wells Production, m¡longa.

About Arts Council England 
Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. ACE support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2011 and 2015, we will invest £1.4 billion of public money from government and an estimated £1 billion from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk