A double bill of dynamic dance, performed by the National Dance Company Wales, is coming to the Lawrence Batley Theatre.
Frontiers will allow audiences to experience two different worlds; one reflecting on the world we live in today and the other looking towards the future.
National Dance Company Wales is known for its brilliantly crafted, life-affirming performances, which blend impressive choreography, stunning design and new music.
Frontiers is made up of two performances that mix awe-inspiring movement and meaningful stories.
The double bill features the premieres of AUGUST by the company’s artistic director Matthew William Robinson and Skinners by Melanie Lane – an Australian choreographer of European and Japanese heritage.
The performance will be at the Lawrence Batley Theatre on Tuesday November 12 2024 (7.30pm).
Matthew said: “There are moments in life where we find ourselves at the border between the known and the unknown.
“Frontiers captures the feeling of stepping forward into the unknown, the thrill, the fear and the sense of discovery.”
The first half of the double bill, a 30-minute piece called AUGUST, is a collaboration between Matthew William Robinson, the company dancers, composer Torben Sylvest and designers George Hampton Wale and Emma Jones.
AUGUST showcases the athletic prowess of Wales’ dancers and is set to clever music that incorporates sounds of machinery. The dancers are clothed in deconstructed suits that glow impressively under sunset inspired neon lighting.
“AUGUST is about the changes that fling us together and tear us apart,” said Matthew. “The work is like a poem, a series of highly physical images that evoke and invite meaning.
“It has been a joy to create with the dancers of the company. They will take your breath away this autumn.”
The second half of the event – Skinners by Melanie Lane – will transport audiences to a digital landscape that blurs the edges of reality.
Electronic music and lighting will flood the stage as dramatic costumes allow the dancers to glitch between two-dimensional pixelated avatars and human beings.
Matthew said: “Skinners tackles our evolving relationship with ourselves in a digitally augmented world. Melanie’s work is intricate and powerful, a thrill to experience.”
Alongside Frontiers, National Dance Company Wales will tour their popular schools and families show ‘Lea Anderson’s Zoetrope.’
Zoetrope is an hour-long show which is supported by lesson plans for teachers. Zoetrope is available with audio description at all venues.
This will come to the Lawrence Batley Theatre on November 13 (1pm).
To book for Frontiers or find out more about Zoetrope go to ndcwales.co.uk
Image credit: Elywel Photography, Design Hoffi
