This year’s line-up of the National Youth Dance Company performs In – Nocentes, a new creation Guest Artistic Director Michael Keegan-Dolan, an Associate Artist of Sadler’s Wells, on Thursday 7 April at Sadler’s Wells, followed by a national tour in June and July.
Set to Max Richter’s re-composition of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons performed live by Southbank Sinfonia, this new commission is a ritualistic piece with which Keegan-Dolan celebrates the natural and instinctive way in which young people can move and behave.
Founder and artistic director of Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre, Keegan-Dolan's productions Giselle, The Bull and The Rite of Spring were all nominated for Olivier Awards and The Bull won the UK Critics' Circle Award for Best Modern Choreography in 2008. He has worked on productions for English National Opera, La Monnaie, Royal Opera House and National Theatre.
This year’s 41 young dancers include 30 new members, selected through NYDC Experience Workshops held all over the country, and 11 dancers returning from last year. The dancers are mentored during three intensive residencies through the year in order to create, rehearse and develop the new piece.