Press Release: Giants of the dance world unite to champion youth dance initiatives at new annual festival at Sadler's Wells, 4-5 Sept

[Jan McNulty]

A Sadler’s Wells production
National Youth Dance Company & Guests
Apex Rising
Vardimon / Khan / Cherkaoui / McGregor / Shechter / Kenrick / Nicholls
Sadler’s Wells, EC1R 4TN
Programme A: Friday 4 September at 7.30pm
Programme B: Saturday 5 September at 7.30pm
Tickets: £12 (£6 concessions)
Ticket Office: 08444124300 or www.sadlerswells.com

The National Youth Dance Company (NYDC) hosts a special weekend at Sadler’s Wells on Friday 4 & Saturday 5 September celebrating the innovative and exciting work being performed and created by young dancers today. This inauguralApex Rising festival unites some of the most highly esteemed figures in contemporary dance, including the three past NYDC Guest Artistic Directors, Jasmin Vardimon, Akram Khan and Sidi Larbi Cherakoui. Completing this outstanding line-up of choreographers are Wayne McGregor, Hofesh Shechter, Anna Kenrick and Kerry Nicholls. 

Featuring work by four national youth dance companies from around the UK and abroad, the festival sees these internationally acclaimed artists illustrate their commitment to young dancers and to initiatives that build exceptional artistic talent and nurture the dance landscape of tomorrow.

This new annual festival consists of two contrasting programmes that capture the power young dancers have in shaping the future of dance. Programme A on Friday 4 September is a retrospective celebrating NYDC’s achievements since its inception three years ago, showcasing the critically acclaimed dance works created for the company’s dancers by its three Guest Artistic Directors. 

The 30 first ever NYDC dancers from 2012-13 perform the work (in between) created by Sadler’s Wells Associate ArtistJasmin Vardimon. The second NYDC line-up from 2013-14 performs Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Akram Khan’s creationThe Rashomon Effect. Finally, the third and most recent cohort to complete its NYDC year, in 2014-15, performs Frame[d] by Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, following its national tour in the summer to locations including Leeds, Newcastle, Birmingham and Ipswich. 

As the festival continues, Programme B on Saturday 5 September is an evening featuring a confluence of styles and energy, staging work by youth dance companies of France, Scotland, Wales and England. Leading French youth dance companyGroupe Grenade - Josette Baïz performs extracts from Entity by Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Wayne McGregor andUprising by Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Hofesh Shechter. 

The evening also sees National Youth Dance Company of Scotland perform Stuck in My Throat by YDance Artistic Director Anna Kenrick as part of the company’s 2015 tour, and Dawns Genedlaethol Ieuenctid Cymru / National Youth Dance Wales perform a newly commissioned piece by Kerry Nicholls. It is completed by NYDC’s restaged excerpt of Akram Khan’s Vertical Road. 

Jane Hackett, Director of National Youth Dance Company, said: “It is an honour to be bringing together such esteemed guests for this inaugural festival. We all believe in the importance of nurturing talent at an early age and this weekend is a fitting celebration of the exceptionally high standards to which youth dance companies in the UK and abroad are achieving.”

Jasmin Vardimon, Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist and NYDC Guest Artistic Director 2012-13, said: “It is very exciting to have played an instrumental role in the development of young dance artists, all of whom come from a varied social and geographical background, but share one passion. The experience young dancers gain through initiatives like NYDC not only supports them, but they also carry it back to their communities across the UK, allowing them to share it with and to influence others.”

Akram Khan, Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist and NYDC Guest Artistic Director 2013-14, said: "This weekend once again confirms to me how vibrant the contemporary dance scene is, both in England and beyond. NYDC’s Apex Rising festival represents a tremendously exciting moment for the sector, as we are potentially looking at some of the top dance artists and choreographers of the future.”

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist and NYDC Guest Artistic Director 2014-15, said: “The achievement of the NYDC dancers in such a short space of time is truly exceptional. During my time as Guest Artistic Director over the past year, I have been both impressed and inspired by the sheer commitment and determination of these young dancers coming from all walks of life.” 

Alistair Spalding, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Sadler’s Wells, said: “It is vital for the health of the dance sector that there is a pipeline of talent feeding it. I firmly believe that those performers should have the opportunity to work to the highest standards and with world class resources in the dance profession. At Sadler’s Wells we are continually looking at ways of expanding and building on our efforts to create a growing pool of emerging talent, through our role with NYDC and other work we do with students and young dancers. With Apex Rising, we aim to shine a spotlight on the extraordinary passion, commitment and abilities that these young performers from all backgrounds display.”

About to go into its fourth year, NYDC has established a reputation for innovative, high quality work that produces dancers that are open-minded, curious and brave. The company creates and performs challenging and influential dance, bringing together the brightest talent from across England to work intensively with Sadler’s Wells’ renowned Associate Artists. 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. 

Following on from the outstanding contributions of Vardimon, Khan and Cherkaoui, Michael Keegan-Dolan has been selected as the Guest Artistic Director of NYDC for 2015-16 and will work with the new intake of NYDC dancers, creating a specially commissioned piece to premiere at Sadler’s Wells in 2016 and tour around the country. The new line up of NYDC 2015-16 is to be announced in September. 


Under 5s admitted 


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

Frame[d] is created in partnership with Eastman. The Rashomon Effect is choreographed with Andrej Petrovič. 

Groupe Grenade-Josette Baïz is supported by the French Institute and the Region PACA for this special event at Sadler's Wells, and is supported by Conseil Départemental des Bouches-du-Rhône, the Communauté du Pays d’Aix, Ville d’Aix-en-Provence. 

National Youth Dance Company of Scotland (NYDCS) is the flagship contemporary dance company of YDance (Scottish Youth Dance). YDance is funded by Creative Scotland.

Dawns Genedlaethol Ieuenctid Cymru / National Youth Dance Wales is part of National Youth Arts Wales and is supported by WJEC/CBAC, Welsh Government and the Arts Council of Wales.


NOTES TO EDITORS:

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.

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.  

Jasmin Vardimon
A leading force in British dance theatre for nearly twenty years, Jasmin Vardimon has built a reputation for challenging, exciting and visually stunning dance and continues to add to the body of critically acclaimed, artistically respected yet accessible work both for the company she formed in 1997 and for some of the leading arts institutions she works with across the world.

Enjoying sell-out performances across the UK and internationally, her company’s most recent works include: Maze, a collaboration with the architect Ron Arad, artist Guy Bar Amotz and The Turner Contemporary, Park, Yesterday and Justitia.

She is the recipient of numerous awards including: Arts Council England’s Exceptional Award in partnership with Turner Contemporary, The Kent Culture Award’s Artist Award, Destination East Kent Award and Canterbury Award (2014), the Dimitrije Parlić Award, Serbia’s most prestigious award for Choreography (2013), the International Theatre Institute (ITI) Award for Excellence in International Dance (2013); the Jerwood Foundation’s ‘Changing Stages’ Award (2004); the Jerwood Choreography Award (2000); a nomination for Best Female Artist at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards (2003); The London Arts Board ‘New Choreographers’ Award (1998); The Colette Littman Scholarship Award (1997); The Havatzeleth Foundation Scholarship (1997 & 1995); and the America-Israel Foundation Choreography Scholarship (1989 & 1991).

An Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells since 2006, Jasmin has also been recognised with the positions of Associate Artist at The Place in 1998 and at Yorkshire Dance as a Partner from 1999 – 2005 and has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Wolverhampton since September 2011. She developed a Higher Education programme for dancers and actors, led by her company as a postgraduate diploma at Royal Holloway University London and in 2012 launched JV2, a full-time certificate course at her company’s home base in Ashford. In July 2014 she received an honorary doctorate from Royal Holloway, University of London.

Akram Khan
Akram Khan is one of the most celebrated and respected dance artists today. In just over a decade he has created a body of work that has contributed significantly to the arts in the UK and abroad. His reputation has been built on the success of imaginative, highly accessible and relevant productions such as DESH, iTMOi, Vertical Road, Gnosis and zero degrees.

An instinctive and natural collaborator, Khan has been a magnet to world-class artists from other cultures and disciplines. His previous collaborators include the National Ballet of China, actress Juliette Binoche, ballerina Sylvie Guillem, choreographer/dancer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, singer Kylie Minogue, visual artists Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley and Tim Yip, writer Hanif Kureishi and composers Steve Reich, Nitin Sawhney, Jocelyn Pook and Ben Frost.

Khan’s work is recognised as being profoundly moving, in which his intelligently crafted storytelling is effortlessly intimate and epic. Described by the Financial Times as an artist "who speaks tremendously of tremendous things", a recent highlight of his career was the creation of a section of the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony that was received with unanimous acclaim.

Khan has been the recipient of numerous awards throughout his career including the Laurence Olivier Award, the prestigious ISPA (International Society for the Performing Arts) Distinguished Artist Award, the South Bank Sky Arts Award and the Critics' Circle National Dance Award. Khan was awarded an MBE for services to dance in 2005. He is also an Honorary Graduate of Roehampton and De Montfort Universities, and an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Laban.

Khan is an Associate Artist of Sadler’s Wells, London. 

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's debut as a choreographer was in 1999 with Andrew Wale's contemporary musicalAnonymous Society. Since then, he has made more than 20 fully-fledged choreographic pieces and picked up a slew of prestigious awards. In 2008, Sadler's Wells named him as an Associate Artist, and since 2010 he has been artistic director of the Festival Equilibrio in Rome.

While Cherkaoui's initial pieces (Rien de Rien, Foi, Tempus Fugit) were made as a core member of the Belgian collective Les Ballets C. de la B., he also made work that both expanded and consolidated his artist vision: Ook (2000) with Nienke Reehorst and the mentally disabled actors of Theater Stap, D'avant (2002) with Damien Jalet and dancer-singers of the Sasha Waltz & Guests company and zerodegrees (2005) with Akram Khan. Between 2006-2009, during his stint as associate artist at Het Toneelhuis in Antwerp, he extended his exploration of the equations between self and otherness through Sutra (2008), his dialogue with the warrior monks of the Shaolin Temple and Dunas (2009) alongside flamenco bailaora, Maria Pagés, and Play (2010) with kutchipudi danseuse Shantala Shivalingappa.

In 2010, with the founding of his company Eastman in Antwerp, Cherkaoui began a new phase in his trajectory, marked by the multiple-award-winning Babel, co-choreographed with Damien Jalet and designed by Antony Gormley. TeZukA (2011) His homage to Osamu Tezuka, the founding father of modern manga, and Puz/zle (2012) followed.

He continues to work with a variety of theatres, opera houses and ballet companies from the world (Dutch National Ballet, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Paris Opera Ballet). Cherkaoui also received much international acclaim for his choreography in Joe Wright’s feature film AnnaKarenina (2012).

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.

Hofesh Shechter
Hofesh Shechter is becoming one of the UK's most exciting artists, recognised as both a choreographer and composer. Born in Jerusalem, Hofesh graduated from Jerusalem Academy for Dance and Music before moving to Tel Aviv to join Batsheva Dance Company. He began drum and percussion studies whilst in Tel Aviv and continued later in Paris at the Agostiny College of Rhythm. In 2002, Hofesh arrived in the UK and joined Jasmin Vardimon Company.

His choreographic debut Fragments, for which he also created the score, won the third Sergei Diaghilev choreography competition. In 2004 Hofesh was commissioned by The Place Prize to create Cult. Hofesh was also Associate Artist at The Place from 2004 to 2006. In 2006, The Robin Howard Foundation commissioned Uprising, Hofesh's ever-popular work for seven men. In 2007 The Place, Southbank Centre and Sadler's Wells collaborated in commissioning In your rooms which was presented at all three London venues, culminating in sell-out shows and subsequently won the Critics' Circle Award 2008 for Best Choreography (modern) as well as being nominated for a South Bank Show Award.

Hofesh has created works for many UK and international companies including Scottish Dance Theatre, CandoCo, Dance United, StopGAP, Bare Bones, Ballet CeDeCe, Hellenic Dance Company, Bern Ballett, Skanes Dansteater, Carte Blanche and Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet.

Hofesh worked as choreographer at The Royal Court Theatre for Motortown by Simon Stephens (2006), and on The Arsonists (2007). Hofesh was choreographer for the National Theatre's award winning production of Saint Joan (2007) directed by Marianne Elliot and starring Anne Marie Duff. Hofesh also choreographed the hit dance sequence Maxxie's Dance for the opening of the second series of Channel 4's popular drama Skins.

In 2008 Hofesh formed Hofesh Shechter Company, which now tours globally to critical and popular acclaim.

Wayne McGregor
Wayne McGregor is a multi-award-winning British choreographer and director, internationally renowned for his physically testing choreography and groundbreaking collaborations across dance, film, music, visual art, technology and science. He is Artistic Director of Wayne McGregor | Random Dance, Resident Company at Sadler's Wells Theatre in London and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet (appointed 2006).

McGregor has created new works for La Scala, Paris Opera Ballet, New York City Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Australian Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet among others. He has also directed movement for theatre and film, and in 2011 he choreographed the Grammy-nominated Lotus Flower video for Radiohead. This year, for the Royal Ballet, McGregor choreographed Carbon Life, and Machinafor Metamorphosis: Titian 2012. He also directed a new Max Richter chamber opera, Sum, commissioned by ROH2, which premiered in May. In July, he created a large-scale public dance work, Big Dance Trafalgar Square, in celebration of the London 2012 Olympics. Upcoming commissions for 2013 include a new work for San Francisco Ballet and a new Rite of Spring for the Bolshoi Ballet.

McGregor's work has earned him three Critics' Circle Awards, two Time Out Awards, a South Bank Show Award and two Olivier's. In January 2011 McGregor was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for Services to Dance.

Anna Kenrick 
Anna trained at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Leeds and then worked with the Education Team at The Place, London. Her next role was Dance Artist for Anjali Dance company, working on a number of choreographic projects before joining Ludus Dance Company in 2002 as both a dancer and teacher. She performed in the tours of Perfecting Eugene, Trapped and Zygote as well as working with choreographers Rosie Kay, Filip Van Huffel and Hannah Gillgren. She joined YDance in 2007 as Project Director for the successful Free To Dance project and appointed Artistic Director of the company in 2011. Outside of YDance Anna is a visiting assessor for Higher Dance and sits on the dance qualifications design team for the Scottish Qualifications Authority. Recently she choreographed a piece for the Scottish Ballet Youth Collective 3 as part of The Gladfly Project.

Kerry Nicholls
Kerry Nicholls has taught, choreographed, mentored and performed extensively for numerous dance companies and institutions throughout Europe and worldwide; her experience spans a diverse, dance practice spectrum.

Regularly teaching for Wayne McGregor | Random Dance, DV8 and Michael Clark companies to name a few, she is widely regarded as one of Britain’s leading contemporary technique teachers; she receives many invitations to teach internationally at Ballet Preljocaj (France),  Escuela de Danza (Cuba) and the Beijing Dance Academy (China).

k|n|d|c (kerry nicholls dance company) was founded in 1999 as a vehicle to promote her own choreographic research. Since its inception, Kerry has created numerous works for the company as well as receiving independent commissions from organisations and companies within Europe, China and the USA, and has directed various projects at venues such as the National Theatre and the Royal Festival Hall.

She was appointed Co-Director of Creative Learning for Wayne McGregor | Random Dance in 2007, in addition to becoming the artistic advisor for the English National Ballet School in 2008. 

Currently, Kerry is an external assessor for both the English National Ballet School and the Royal Ballet School, is a regular choreographic mentor for the Royal Opera House, English National Ballet, Dance UK, Rambert and Youth Dance England, and is artistic advisor at The BRIT school. 

Groupe Grenade - Josette Baïz
Josette Baïz studied contemporary dance with Odile Duboc. In the early 1980s, she was a dancer for Jean-Claude Gallotta and won 1st prize for the 14th Concours International de Chorégraphie de Bagnolet, as well as the Audience ChoiceAward and the French Ministry of Culture Award. Shortly after, she founded her first company. 

She created the Groupe Grenade in 1992 gathering more than thirty young dancers after a year-long residency in a school in Marseille. In 1998, Josette chose to preserve the cultural mix in the work undertaken with the Groupe Grenade, while keeping a profoundly contemporary perspective, creating the Compagnie Grenade from dancers aged over 18. 

Today, Grenade is a choreographic ensemble with approximately sixty dancers divided between the Groupe Grenade and the Compagnie Grenade. The Groupe Grenade comprises around fifty children and teenagers from 7 to 18 years old, the Compagnie Grenade comprises around a dozen professional adults.From the age of 7 they travel the national and international stages performing in pieces running approximately one hour.

In recent years, Grenade has also opened up to other forms of contemporary dance; the youngest have danced, in particular, pieces by Jérome Bel, Angelin, Preljocaj, Wayne McGregor, Lucinda Childs and Hofesh Shechter.

National Youth Dance Company of Scotland 
YDance (Scottish Youth Dance) created the National Youth Dance Company of Scotland (NYDCS) in Scotland 2011 following the success of the annual four week intensive dance training programme Project Y.  NYDCS is YDance’s flagship contemporary dance company for exceptional young dancers aged 16 – 21 in Scotland.  The Company meet once a month to work with Anna Kenrick (YDance Artistic Director) and other dance professionals to explore, create and rehearse.  There is a focus on developing creative and performance skills culminating in a new work choreographed by Anna Kenrick that is performed at festivals and events.  Performances in 2015 include YDance Routes Destinations, Apex Rising at Sadler’s Wells and Belfast Youth Dance Festival. 

Applications for the 2015/2016 National Youth Dance Company of Scotland will open on Monday 3 August 2015.

National Youth Dance Wales (NYDW)
NYDW provides some of Wales’ most-talented young dancers with first-class training and performance opportunities.   It draws on the energy and excitement of young peoples’ enthusiasm for dance and dancing, and channels it into a creative, contemporary force that celebrates the very best youth dance in Wales today. 

Founded in 2000, NYDW has worked with some of the UK’s finest, award-winning choreographers, including founding Artistic Director, Wayne McGregor, plus Henri Oguike, Errol White, Theo Clinkard and Odette Hughes.  Kerry Nicholls was appointed NYDW Artistic Director in 2015.

NYDW auditions young dancers (16 – 21 years) annually; applications open in February, with auditions being held in April/May each year.

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