alesandra seutin

Image grid of NYDC dancers with heading 'NYDC 2020-21' in white.

National Youth Dance Company Goes Digital With New Cohort

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National Youth Dance Company (NYDC) has completed its second digital residency for the 2020-2021 cohort, led by Guest Artistic Director Alesandra Seutin.

The country’s flagship company for young dancers continues to work in innovative ways in response to the challenges posed by COVID-19. Virtual taster workshops, Q&As, live online workshops and digital sessions have all been developed to help further the company’s learning and training during the pandemic.

Meet National Youth Dance Company 2020-21 film.

Together with Alesandra Seutin and her team of artists from Vocab Dance, NYDC will work on two further residencies before embarking on a short UK tour this summer, including a performance at Sadler’s Wells on Saturday 24 July 2021. Work will continue digitally until government laws allow for the company to meet in person in the studio. Further details about the production and tour are to be announced.  

Introducing the new generation of dance

NYDC’s 2020-2021 cohort is made up of 29 dancers – of which 21 are new company members and eight are returning. New company dancers were recruited virtually in November 2020.

NYDC 2020-21 virtual auditions, captured at Sadler’s Wells.

NYDC’s current cohort includes dancers from over 20 different towns and cities from across the UK. This year, company members range from ages 16 to 18, which goes up to 24 for deaf or disabled dancers.

The company includes: Deborah Asidi from Nottingham, Charlotte Aspin from Bristol, Ella Atkinson from Stalybridge, Jesse Baggett-Lahav from Ipswich, Ashur Cali from Leeds, Keziah Campbell-Golding from London, Elvi Rose Christiansen Head from London, Rory Clarke from Winchester,  Kian Crowley from London, Maya Donne from Lewes, Phoebe Dowglass from Goring-by-sea, Skiye Edmond from London, Harry Fayers from Marlow, Maiya Leeke from Preston, Jasmine Massey from Stourbridge, Max Mulrenan from York, Jamaica Payne from Nottingham, Katie Smith from Wakefield, Amari Webb-Martin from London, Ciaran Wood from Frome and Genevieve Wright from Downham Market. They join the following dancers from the previous cohort: Sonny Connor-Bell from Birmingham, Karim Dime from London, Maia Faulkner from Brighton, Willow Fenner from London, Mia Grote from Totnes, Mirabelle Haddon from London, Chiara Moore from Warrington, and Eve Shorten from Oxford.  

A year like no other

Alesandra Seutin takes over from Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Russell Maliphant, who was the Guest Artistic Director for NYDC in 2019-20. As the UK went into lockdown in March 2020, Russell and the company discovered news ways of working together both online and socially distanced. In the summer 2020, NYDC became the first dancers to return to Sadler’s Wells since lockdown – performing a new dance work to an intimate audience of friends and family, to complete their year.

National Youth Dance Company ‘A year like no other’ 2020 film.

The current cohort of dancers were encouraged to journal about their experiences during their residencies.

NYDC dancer Skiye Edmond, said: “Before the December residency, I was so nervous because I knew that I was going to be working with a group of incredibly talented dancers so naturally, this overwhelmed me. However, as it went on, I was surprised at how connected we had all become despite being online, and how much we were able to learn from each other. I set a goal […] to allow myself to be inspired by others as oppose to developing imposters syndrome and this was definitely achieved.”

Alesandra Seutin, NYDC Guest Artistic Director 2020-21, said: “Regardless of the digital residencies with NYDC, I really feel that we have created a strong connection and been able to transcend the realm of our rectangle spaces. I cannot wait to meet my Company in the flesh!”

Hannah Kirkpatrick, NYDC General Manager, said: “This year is certainly bringing its challenges, but we made a decision early on that it would not stop us creating new work, we just have to adapt how this work can be created. I feel so proud of how the company have responded, how dedicated and motivated they are to working together and making this a success. It is a huge amount of work for Alesandra and her artistic team, planning and utilising the time on Zoom to make sure that when we can be in person we can hit the ground running. This past year has hit us all, but I think it has been particularly difficult for young people, creating a new work over lockdown is keeping us motivated and focused in a time when so much is out of our control.”

Find out more about NYDC here.

National Youth Dance Company is supported using public funding by Department for Education and Arts Council England.

Barclays is the Associate Partner of the National Youth Dance Company.

National Youth Dance Company announces Guest Artistic Directors for 2019 – 2021

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Our resident National Youth Dance Company (NYDC), home to some of the country’s brightest young dance talent, has appointed its next two Guest Artistic Directors: Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Russell Maliphant in 2019-20 and acclaimed choreographer Alesandra Seutin in 2020-21.

The company will begin creating a new commission with Russell Maliphant in autumn 2019. He takes over from current Guest Artistic Director, the Olivier award-winning dance artist Botis Seva whose work for NYDC, MADHEAD, premiered at DanceEast in Ipswich on 20 April. MADHEAD tours to six further venues across England this summer, closing at Sadler’s Wells on 19 July.

Now in its eighth year, NYDC has established a reputation for innovative, challenging and influential work, producing open-minded and curious dancers. The company brings together the brightest talent from across England, immersing the members fully in the process of creating, performing and touring new work, giving them a unique insight into the dance profession.

National Youth Dance Company 2018-19

Russell Maliphant, NYDC Guest Artistic Director 2019/20, said: “I am very happy to be working as the next Guest Artistic Director for National Youth Dance Company. NYDC provides great opportunities for young dancers to develop in to world class performers – I have seen this in action over the years and have personally worked with some of that talent in my own company.  I’m looking forward to starting this season with another new generation of dancers here in the UK.”

Alesandra Seutin, NYDC Guest Artistic Director 2020/21, said: “I am very excited and honoured to work with National Youth Dance Company as Guest Artistic Director in 2020/21. I look forward to breaking boundaries with the dancers of the future, and having the opportunity to be part of this beautiful process is amazing. With the support of Sadler’s Wells, I hope to continue growing as a leader and a maker collaborating with NYDC to keep its reputation for innovative, challenging and influential work, producing open-minded and curious dancers.”

About the new Guest Artistic Directors

Russell Maliphant established his own dance company in 1996 as the framework to create productions and work with his own ensemble of dancers. Since then, he has received two Olivier awards, three South Bank Show awards and four Critics’ Circle National Dance awards. He became an Associate Artist of Sadler’s Wells in 2005.

Russell’s work has been performed by renowned dance artists including Sylvie Guillem, BalletBoyz, Munich Ballet and English National Ballet, for whom his piece Second Breath was part of the critically celebrated programme Lest We Forget. Two graduates of NYDC, Edd Arnold and Folu Odimayo, make up part of the Russell Maliphant Dance Company and can be seen performing in Silent Lines at Sadler’s Wells, on 18 & 19 October.

  • Russell Maliphant’s Silent Lines (c) Julian Broad

Performer, choreographer and teacher Alesandra Seutin grew up in Brussels and lives in London. She studied dance internationally and continued her training at the École des Sables in Senegal as a student of Germaine Acogny. She is now a worldwide ambassador of the Acogny technique and teaches at École des Sables and globally. In 2007, she founded Vocab Dance Company, and has progressively built an international reputation for creating thought provoking and visually striking performances. 

Alesandra presented Boy Breaking Glass as part of Sadler’s Wells’ 20th anniversary commission, Reckonings, in October 2018 alongside works from Sadler’s Wells New Wave Associate Julie Cunningham and current NYDC Guest Artistic Director Botis Seva.

  • Alesandra Seutin’s Boy Breaking Glass (c) Johan Persson

NYDC has begun its search for the next intake of 30 young dancers to join the company, with NYDC Experience Workshops taking place across England until 8 July.

The organisation has been granted further support for the two years ahead from the Department for Education and Arts Council England, to continue nurturing the country’s young dance talent and to build on the dance artists of the future.

For full NYDC tour dates and tickets for MADHEAD, click here.

Sadler’s Wells marks 20th anniversary with a double celebration

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In October 1998, after two intense years of construction, the new Sadler’s Wells theatre opened its doors to the public. The milestone was marked with two opening events. One, a traditional gala opening and performance by Rambert, took place on Tuesday 13 October. The other, in keeping with Lilian Baylis’ legacy of using theatre as a means for social outreach, was a free public opening for the local community, which took place the previous Saturday 10 October. As a nod to the past, but with our eyes fixed firmly on the future, our 20th anniversary celebrations this month reflected these two separate openings.

On Sunday 7 October, we opened our doors to our local communities for Sadler’s Wells’ first Fun Palace, as part of Fun Palaces 2018.  The campaign promotes the central role of community at the heart of culture with a weekend of action each October, where arts, science and community organisations across the country are called on to facilitate community-led activities.

For the Sadler’s Wells Fun Palace, we invited local community organisations to lead a variety of activities throughout the day; the resulting programme had a strong emphasis on skills, learning and creativity. Workshops throughout the day were grouped into three main categories – dance, crafts, and mindfulness, with a requisite dance floor on the ground floor. With something happening on each of our foyers, visitors were encouraged to wander throughout the building, drop in and out of various activities or simply sit down to watch, chat and relax. By the end of the day, visitors had a chance to learn Tudor dance, Bollywood and flamenco moves, practice yoga, take part in a drawing class and decorate a paper footprint to be displayed on the wall of the Mezzanine level as part of a collective artwork titled Dancing on the Ceiling.

“I particularly loved the silent disco – 100% certified fun! It is wonderful that Sadler’s Wells reaches out to people in the community with such days, particularly this 20-year celebration.” – Wendy Williams, Holloway Neighbourhood Group.

Four days later, on 11 October, we celebrated again with the world premiere of Reckonings, a mixed bill we commissioned to three bold choreographic voices: Julie Cunningham, Alesandra Seutin and Botis Seva. The dance makers each took different conceptual starting points to create an evening that at its core asked questions about identity and the state of contemporary society. Cunningham’s work interrogated traditional gender binaries; Seutin fused African styles with urban dance language to comment on how we perceive brown bodies; and Seva – inspired by Sally Brampton’s memoir about depression – looked introspectively at his own trials as an artist, using a hip-hop dance vocabulary and representations of violence to question our assumptions about black men and street dance.

“The revised, rejuvenated old Wells theatre took on a new life, ‘purpose-built for dance’, twenty years to the day (feels like yesterday), and has gone from strength to strength since taking dance to realms beyond one’s imagining. Long may it continue to dare and innovate.” – Vera Liber, British Theatre Guide.

Sadler’s Wells’ Artistic Director and Chief Executive Alistair Spalding joined the three choreographers and their dancers on stage after the curtain call to give a brief speech, congratulating the artists for creating and bringing to life an amazing performance. He also thanked the exceptional artists we work closely with at Sadler’s Wells: our Associate Artists, Resident and Associate companies, New Wave Associates, Young Associates, National Youth Dance Company members and alumni, as well as all the international dance artists and companies we support and collaborate with. He acknowledged the great contribution of two formative figures in Sadler’s Wells’ history, who were both in the audience that evening: Ian Albery, former Chief Executive of Sadler’s Wells, who led the campaign to transform the theatre into a building purpose-built for dance; and Roger Spence, Project Director, who managed the construction project.

Finally, he ended with a heartfelt thank you to our fantastic audiences for accompanying the theatre on its journey in the last two decades. This was followed by a confetti drop, showering the audience in golden ticket stubs embossed with the night’s date and the names of the production and choreographers.

https://twitter.com/Sadlers_Wells/status/1050497157583826944

As part of our digital campaign to mark our anniversary, we took to Twitter to ask people about their favourite Sadler’s Wells memories of the last 20 years. We received some wonderful responses from artists, performers, patrons and guests, which we compiled in this Twitter Moment. Among those who told us about their favourite memory was Florence Welch, musician and lead vocalist of Florence and the Machine.

Thank you to everyone who came to our Fun Palace and to the opening of Reckonings – to all the artists, audiences, communities and supporters who have been part of the Sadler’s Wells journey these past 20 years. Here’s to many more!

Header image: Ian Gavan.