National Dance Company Wales appoints Dance Ambassadors to Wales programme.

National Dance Company Wales is working with venues and community partners in three regions of Wales to introduce people to dance as participants and audiences.

Through support from the Foyle Foundation, NDCWales in partnership with Taliesin Arts Centre (Swansea); Pontio (Bangor); Dawns i Bawb (North West Wales) and Theatr Clwyd (North East Wales) has appointed three ‘Dance Ambassadors’ to help attract new audiences and participants for dance in those regions for next year, delivering participation activity and raising the profile of dance to audiences.

NDCWales piloted this model of working last year in England when it received a similar grant from Arts Council of England to work with 4 venues who wanted to develop engagement with Young people and adults. A programme of workshops, ‘curtain raiser’ performances in the venues prior to the Company’s performances and talks attracted people young and old, to watch dance, to try dance for themselves and learn about dance.

National Dance Company Wales makes innovative work with and for all kinds of people in all kinds of places, helping to model how we could be individually and collectively. The company presents its work in different formats and contexts across Wales and around the world, commissioning primarily choreographers who haven’t yet been commissioned in the UK.

NDCWales is committed to inspiring audiences and to making opportunities for all kinds of people to engage in dance in all kinds of different ways.  

Dance Workshop

 

The Dance Ambassadors are Luke Ganz (Swansea); Angharad Harrop (Bangor and North West) and Angharad Jones for North East Wales.

Swansea’s Dance Ambassador Luke Ganz is from Port Talbot and is a teacher, choreographer and dancer who has worked with Hofesh Shechter, Hannah Bruce & Co, Errol White, Dog Kennel Hill, Maya Levy, Yael Flexer, Ben Wright, Joe Moran, Stacey Spence (Trisha Brown Company) and Charlotte Darbyshire. Luke currently co-directs the County Youth Dance Company in Swansea as well as lecturing and teaching at Bridgend College, and has taught across South Wales at various colleges and schools.

Mold’s Dance Ambassador Angharad Jones has been based in North Wales as a freelance dance artist over the past five years and has recently joined Theatr Clwyd’s acclaimed Creative Engagement team as Dance Associate. Angharad is committed to delivering dance activities to people of all ages and abilities and has worked in a variety of settings within the community as a dance practitioner. Angharad also regularly works with North Wales based dance companies Little Light Dance and Digital Theatre and Vertical Dance Kate Lawrence as a performer and dance practitioner. 

The Dance Ambassador for North West Wales, Angharad Harrop has worked as an independent artist as a performer, creator and teacher. She also worked with local community dance groups including Dawns i Bawb and with different groups across rural communities in north Wales.  She is also a lecturer in Dance at The University of Chester. She has been a teacher at Edge Hill University, Ormskirk and De Montfort University, Leicester. Angharad’s role as Pontio “dance buddy” has enabled her to develop her dance on film work, engage with local communities through the centre’s dance projects and more recently put dance centre stage at CONSALL Neuroscience Conference held at Pontio.

Dance Ambassador Sarah Rogers, Shrewsbury

 

NDCWales’ Artistic Director, Fearghus Ó’Conchúir
“We’re delighted to welcome to the NDCWales team these talented Dance Ambassadors. They will be a key part of how we work with our partner venues to develop the potential of audiences and participants in the three regions.  We hope with them to inspire and ignite in more people a passion for dance and an awareness of its value to individuals and communities.”

The Dance Ambassadors will be delivering workshops and activities in their local communities connected to the performance of NDCWales’ Awakening Tour in March and April 2019. For further information about the tour please visit ndcwales.co.uk/awakening