Over 20 young dancers from across Scotland and Wales will benefit from a series of online masterclasses throughout 2021 – meeting together through technology despite living hundreds of miles apart.
With face-to-face dance training significantly reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, National Youth Dance Company of Scotland and National Youth Dance Wales will join together to form The Celtic Collective, an exciting new digital masterclass platform featuring some of the UK’s most talented dance artists, choreographers and artistic directors. It’s the first time that both dance companies have collaborated in this way.
Masterclasses will be led by eminent dance artists and choreographers including Liam Riddick, Botis Seva and YDance Artistic Director Anna Kenrick. The young dancers, aged 16-22, will also have the opportunity to learn from dance companies including Ballet Cymru, and Scottish Dance Theatre.
Both National Youth Dance Company of Scotland and National Youth Dance Wales are the flagship contemporary dance companies for young people in their countries. Each year, talented young dancers audition for a place, and a chance to work with prestigious choreographers.
Farrah Fawcett, member of the National Youth Dance Company of Scotland, said:
“I’m thrilled that we have this online programme with National Youth Dance Wales, as connecting with like-minded dancers is exactly what we need to inspire us and create energy. It’s also fantastic to get the opportunity to work with new choreographers – you just learn so much about their process and this kind of experience is invaluable to our development as dancers.”
Jamie Jenkins, Producer of National Youth Dance Wales, said:
“We’re delighted to provide a space for these young dancers to connect, collaborate and share skills as part of this collective, and to provide a platform to hear from some of the UK’s most exciting choreographers and dance companies.”
Anna Kenrick, Artistic Director of YDance (Scottish Youth Dance), said:
“YDance is thrilled to be collaborating with National Youth Dance Wales on this innovative and engaging programme for our dancers. This is a very challenging time for young people so it’s very important we create opportunities where they can come together, share and feel connected through a high-quality dance experience.”
The masterclasses start on Sunday 31st January and will continue monthly. They will be exclusively available to NYDW and NYDCS members.
