NDCWales Presents
Why Are People Clapping!?
by Ed Myhill
Why Are People Clapping!? by Ed Myhill is set to composer Steve Reich’s Clapping Music and uses rhythm as a driving force. The dancers use lively movement and clapping to create a soundtrack for the fun and dynamic dance.
Why Are People Clapping!? was made in 2018 and has since toured across Wales and become a fan favourite. Over lockdown it became one of the first dance pieces in the country to be re-created specifically for-zoom, which you can still see here, and was even used as inspiration for this beautiful dance film by our Dance for Parkinson’s class members
Ed’s sense of humour is clear in this dance as well as his appreciation for the music of life – rhythm can be found in a tennis match, footsteps in an empty street and in the beat of our own hearts – and dance can be inspired by that passion for living, from tapping your toes right up to the way our eyes scrunch up when we smile.
Length: 13 Minutes
Number of Dancers: 5
Set and Costume Designer: Elin Steele
Lighting Designer 2018: Jose Tevar
Lighting design 2021: Katy Morison
Sound Design: Benjamin Smith
Music: The Tennis by Max Peltier, The Drone by Benjamin Smith, Clapping Music by Steve Reich by arrangement with Universal Edition A.G. Wien.
Ed Myhill
Ed Myhill
Originally from London, Ed grew up in Leeds and trained at Hammond Secondary School in Chester, followed by three years at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. He joined NDCWales as an apprentice in Autumn 2015 and am now a full time dancer with the Company. Ed has toured extensively across the UK and abroad including works from Alexander Ekman, Roy Assaf and Marcos Morau.
"Slapping, clapping, rollicking dance"
- Get the Chance
“a classic NDCWales piece, having wonderful group dynamic and humour.
- South Wales Argus
“This fun, frivolous, and sometimes very funny piece had me enthralled”
- Buzz Magazine
"With the music performed live by the dancers, this piece explores the simple sound of a clap and how it can be used to create a colourful and energetic soundscape and environment for dance. The dancers communicate through the sounds they make live with their own hands, creating a raw openness on stage. This is a light-hearted yet strongly driven piece of dance and music."
- Ed Myhill, Choreographer
