The National Dance Company opening doors for young dancers
London: As concern grows that young people are being priced out of creative opportunities, the National Youth Dance Company (NYDC) is putting performers from non-traditional backgrounds onto major UK stages.
Run by London’s Sadler’s Wells, the programme brings together dancers aged 16 to 24 from across England, recruiting from a wide range of backgrounds and dance styles rather than only from formal training routes.
The latest cohort features 32 dancers from 25 towns, cities and villages, from Blackpool to Brighton and Colchester to Exmouth. After opening its new production Memory Keepers earlier this year, the company continues its July run with performances in Falmouth, Sadler’s Wells East and Coventry.
The initiative comes amid wider worries about access to the arts. New research for London’s Roundhouse found 87% of 18- to 30-year-olds believe they have fewer chances than previous generations to connect, build confidence and be creative outside school or work. The Roundhouse and the Centre for Young Lives have now launched the Young Creatives Commission, a national inquiry into widening access to arts and creative careers.
NYDC head Hannah Kirkpatrick said representation is central to the programme, now in its 14th cohort.
“We want young people to come and watch the company and see themselves represented,” she said. “It’s the country’s national youth dance company so it is important that young people from all different backgrounds, from different areas of the country, from different dance styles and disabled and non-disabled dancers are there.”
Since it was founded, NYDC has worked with more than 12,000 young people. Its 10-year report found 9 in 10 members went on to further training or work in dance or performing arts, and 24% came from the 30% most deprived postcodes nationally.
“NYDC has helped me not only perform on one of the world’s most renowned stages but also network and befriend lots of like-minded creatives across the nation,” said Michael Omoruyi, 18, from Blackpool. “Cohorts become families filled with passion and love for our art and for each other.”
