National Dance Company returns to local theatre

Following sell out performances across Europe this Spring, National Dance Company Wales returns to UK stages, including The Hafren, with a double bill of dynamic dance.

Frontiers will allow audiences to experience two different worlds; reflecting on of the world we live in today and looking towards the future.

National Dance Company Wales is known for its brilliantly crafted, life-affirming performances, which blend impressive choreography, stunning design and new music. 
‘Frontiers’ is made up of two performances that mix awe-inspiring movement and meaningful stories.  

The double bill features the premieres of ‘AUGUST’ by the company’s Artistic Director Matthew William Robinson and ‘Skinners’ by Melanie Lane – an Australian choreographer of European and Javanese heritage.

AUGUST will be one of three of Matthew’s last works for the company before he leaves to take the helm as Artistic Director of ŻfinMalta in January 2025. 

The first half of the double bill, a 30 minute piece called AUGUST, is a collaboration between Matthew William Robinson, the company dancers, composer Torben Sylvest and designers George Hampton Wale and Emma Jones. 

AUGUST showcases the athletic prowess of Wales’ dancers and is set to clever music that incorporates sounds of machinery. The dancers are clothed in deconstructed suits that glow impressively under sunset inspired neon lighting.

The second half of the event ‘Skinners’ by Melanie Lane will transport audiences to a digital landscape that blurs the edges of reality. Electronic music and lighting will flood the stage as dramatic costumes allow the dancers to glitch between two-dimensional pixelated avatars and human beings.

Artistic Director of NDCWales, Matthew Robinson said:

“Since 2021, I’ve had the honour of leading the company, collaborating with an extraordinary ensemble of artists and visionaries. Together, we have forged 14 new works, traversed Wales, and carried our work of Wales to audiences across the rest of the United Kingdom, Korea, Germany, France, Luxembourg, and Italy. I have loved being here in Wales working with the company and take all I have learnt and experienced with me. I am delighted that as one of my last productions, we will travel all over Wales with this tour, allowing me to traverse this incredible landscape one last time, for now.”

The tour is generously supported by Arts Council of Wales, Welsh Government and the Colwinston Charitable Trust.