Press Release: Sadler’s Wells announces Boy Blue as next Guest Artistic Director for National Youth Dance Company in 2024/25

[Jan McNulty]

Thursday 7 March 2024   Sadler’s Wells announces Boy Blue as next Guest Artistic Director for National Youth Dance Company in 2024/25       Olivier Award-winning hip hop dance theatre company Boy Blue has been appointed as the next Guest Artistic Director ofNational Youth Dance Company (NYDC) for 2024/25. Boy Blue was founded in East London in 2001 by Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante and Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy and is a radical force that has defined the potential and power of hip hop dance theatre across the UK.  National Youth Dance Company, run by Sadler’s Wells is the country’s flagship company for young dancers. Since its inception 336 dancers have joined the company, working intensively with renowned dance artists as Guest Artistic Directors including Oona Doherty, Wayne McGregor, Alesandra Seutin, Russell Maliphant, Botis Seva, Sharon Eyal, Damien Jalet, Michael Keegan Dolan, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Akram Khan & Jasmin Vardimon.    Boy Blue’s dedication to creating world class dance productions is inextricable with their commitment to empowering young people to make space for themselves and tell their own stories. Thousands of young people have been educated at Boy Blue, with the aim of nurturing their ambition and raw talent. The spirit in which Boy Blue was formed came from the 3 E’s - ‘Education, Enlightenment and Entertainment’.   Emancipation of Expressionism forms part of the current GCSE dance syllabus, another way in which their work has helped to educate young people.     Boy Blue are known for their acclaimed productions including Olivier Award-winning Pied Piper and Blak Whyte Gray. They recently collaborated with director Danny Boyle, as part of the Creative Team of Free Your Mind, a reimagining of the classic sci-fi film The Matrix which opened as the inaugural show at Aviva Studios, Manchester last year. Sandy choreographed for part of the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony. Boy Blue are a Barbican Artistic Associate and this year return to the Barbican theatre with the world premiere of Cycles (30 Apr – 4 May) their first new show as a company since REDD in 2019. Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy of Boy Blue said, “I feel very honoured to be given this opportunity to continue to nurture young artists, by providing a space to support and mentor. Enabling me to share my knowledge, theories and application. This gives us a larger platform to bring our craft to the wider dance community.” Hannah Kirkpatrick, Head of National Youth Dance Company, said, “We are really excited that Boy Blue will be leading the company for the next year. Their experience as world leading hip hop dance theatre makers alongside their belief in supporting and nurturing the next generation of artists meant that they were a perfect fit for us. We can’t wait to start creating the piece and for the Boy Blue and NYDC worlds to collide!”   In April NYDC will begin its search for the next intake of young dancers to join the company and work with Boy Blue to create a new commission from autumn 2024 which will premiere in April 2025. To find these young dancers, NYDC Workshops will be taking place across England from April to July in the following cities: Salford, Leeds, Brighton, Birmingham, Medway, Derby, Newcastle, Wakefield, Falmouth, London and Ipswich. The final audition will be held in London at Sadler's Wells on Sunday 28th July 2024.    This year’s NYDC cohort premiere current Guest Artistic Director Oona Doherty’s new work Wall at Leeds Playhouse on Saturday 13 April and then embark on a nationwide tour with a performance at Sadler’s Wells Theatre on Saturday 13 July.   Sign up for the workshops on the NYDC website here: National Youth Dance Company » How to Join NYDC   NYDC workshops 2024  Date Town/City Venue 3 April  Salford Salford Uni  13 April  Leeds Leeds Playhouse 20 April  Brighton BHASVIC 18 May  Birmingham ACE Dance and music 29 May  Medway MidKent College 1 June  Derby Deda 22 June  Newcastle DanceCity  30 June  Wakefield  CAPA College  7 July  Falmouth AMATA 13 July  London  Sadler's Wells LBS 20 July  Ipswich Dance East     NYDC is jointly funded by Arts Council England from Lottery and Grant in Aid Resources, and the Department for Education    Barclays is the Associate Partner of National Youth Dance Company NOTES TO EDITORS Image credit: Rebecca Lupton   Listings information National Youth Dance Company, Wall Tour Dates 2023    Leeds  Leeds Playhouse  Saturday 13 April at 7:30 pm     Wakefield CAPA College Sunday 30 June at 7 pm  Falmouth AMATA Arts Centre, Falmouth University  Sunday 7 July at 7:30 pm    London  Sadler’s Wells Saturday 13 July at 7:30 pm    Ipswich DanceEast Saturday 20 July at 7:30 pm   London  Bold Tendencies  Thursday 25 July at 8 pm     Suffolk  Latitude Festival  Saturday 27 July   Leicester The Curve Monday 29 July at 7:30 pm   About NYDC   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.    NYDC is jointly funded by Arts Council England and the Department for Education. Since NYDC’s inception in 2012:      336 dancers have joined the company, working intensively with renowned dance artists including Guest Artistic Directors: Jasmin Vardimon (2012-13), Akram Khan (2013-14), Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (2014-15), Michael Keegan Dolan (2015-16), Damien Jalet (2016-17), Sharon Eyal (2017-18) Botis Seva (2018-19), Russell Maliphant (2019-20) and Alesandra Seutin (2020-2022). These 310 dancers come from over 80 different towns and cities in England.   Over 7000 young people have worked with the company NYDC has reached an audience of over 50,000 people     NYDC has featured in 94 performances, visiting 26 different venues across the UK, including some leading theatres in the country    About Sadler’s Wells      Sadler's Wells is a world-leading dance organisation. We strive to make and share dance that inspires us all. Our acclaimed year-round programme spans dance of every kind, from contemporary to flamenco, Bollywood to ballet, salsa to street dance and tango to tap.    We commission, produce and present more dance than any other organisation in the world. Since 2005, we have helped to bring more than 200 new dance works to the stage, embracing both the popular and the unknown. Our acclaimed productions tour the world. Since 2005 we’ve produced 64 new full-length works and performed to audiences of more than two million, touring to 51 countries.    Each year, over half a million people visit our three London theatres - Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Lilian Baylis Studio and Peacock Theatre. Millions more attend our touring productions nationally and internationally or explore our digital platforms, including Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage.   Sadler’s Wells East   In 2024 we’re opening a fourth London venue in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Sadler’s Wells East will house a 550-seat mid-scale theatre, as well as facilities for the new Rose Choreographic School and the hip hop theatre training centre, Academy Breakin’ Convention.   Sadler’s Wells East joins the rich cultural heritage of Stratford, opening in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as part of the East Bank development alongside the BBC, UAL’s London College of Fashion, UCL and the V&A. Sadler’s Wells East will support artist development and training, and the creation of new work. It will build the infrastructure for dance and make it accessible to more people. Sadler’s Wells East will house a flexible theatre presenting a wide variety of dance performances. Community will be at the heart of Sadler’s Wells East with a large open foyer that can be used by everyone as a meeting or performance space. There will also be dance studios and world-class dance facilities for dancemakers to train, create and rehearse productions.  Supporting artists  Supporting artists is at the heart of our work. We have associate artists and companies, which nurture some of the most exciting talent working in dance today. We host the National Youth Dance Company, which draws together some of the brightest young dancers from across the country. Sadler’s Wells Breakin' Convention runs professional development programmes to champion and develop the world’s best hip hop artists, as well as producing, programming and touring groundbreaking hip hop performances.    Learning and community links  Around 30,000 people take part in our learning and engagement programmes every year. We support schools local to our theatres in Islington and Stratford, designing experiences for children and young people to watch, explore and critically engage with the arts. We also run Company of Elders, a resident performance company of dancers aged over 60 who rehearse with renowned artists to make new work for public performances locally, nationally and internationally.    Sadler’s Wells is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.    www.sadlerswells.com    Stay up to date with everything Sadler’s Wells on social media     Facebook: @SadlersWells     Twitter: @Sadlers_Wells     Instagram: @sadlers_wells     YouTube: Sadler’s Wells Theatre    About Boy Blue  Boy Blue was founded in East London in 2001 by Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante and Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy. Boy Blue is a radical force that has defined the potential and power of hip hop dance theatre across the UK.   The spirit in which Boy Blue was formed came from the 3 E’s - ‘Education, Enlightenment and Entertainment’ and the company’s achievements and accolades are as far reaching as the community it has fostered and the hip hop culture it has elevated. For many, Boy Blue is also a family, with many UK-based hip hop dancers having called it home during their careers.   Boy Blue’s dedication to creating world class dance productions is inextricable with their commitment to empowering young people to make space for themselves and tell their own stories. Thousands of young people have been educated at Boy Blue, with the aim of nurturing their ambition and raw talent and harnessing it into craft, enabling transformative access and opportunities, both professionally and personally.   In 2024 Boy Blue return to Barbican Theatre with the world premiere of Cycles (30 Apr – 4 May) their first new show as a company since the astonishing REDD in 2019. Led by choreographer Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy and composer Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante, the cast of nine powerful dancers explore the rhythms and tenacity of our natural world in perpetual motion.   Boy Blue are Artistic Associates of Barbican, London and part of the Arts Council, England’s National Portfolio. Boy Blue: Cycles Tue 30 Apr – Sat 4 May 2024 World premiere, Barbican co-commission  Barbican Theatre barbican.org.uk/cycles @boyblueent  https://www.boyblue.co.uk/