NDC WALES: KIN
The latest tour from National Dance Company Wales features pieces inspired by history, politics and even rugby. Artistic Director Fearghus Ó Conchúir reveals the ideas behind them.
Kin brings together works that examine different versions of community, combining poetry, sport and identity. Lunatic, by Nigel Charnock (who grew up in Wales), is a riotous romp through time with a mixture of 1950s and 1990s pop culture and music. Alexandra Waierstall’s 2067: Time And Time And Time elegantly moves between history, time and destiny. Rygbi: Yma / Here, a new piece by Artistic Director Fearghus Ó Conchúir, celebrates Wales’ national sport, bursting with the pride and passion of players and fans. It shows how we all can come together, even with rivals on the field. Ó Conchúir reveals how it came about.
“It was important that we understood the game because of the dancers,” he says. “They come from Wales but also across the world, so they wouldn’t necessarily know the game themselves. We immersed them in rugby, both by watching games, by looking at photographs but also by going to games, meeting rugby players and working with them. The great thing about good dancers is they absorb all of these influences and transform it in their bodies.”
With 2067, is that an abstract dance? “In dance, it’s different from an abstract painting or sculpture because it’s always human beings that are in front of you … [The dance] is beautiful. It’s quite meditative and brings us into a very different state of something like Rygbi, which has high energy, effort and physicality. This middle piece is like a beautiful still pool that we cleanse ourselves in for a moment.”
The third piece on the tour, Nigel Charnock’s Lunatic, deals with themes of nationality, gender and class. “Charnock was extraordinary and way ahead of his time, making work through the 1990s and 2000s until he died in 2012. He was part of a movement that was living through Thatcher’s Britain – a repressive social situation but also a period of possibility where people fought for rights whether they were related to gender, sexuality, or class. In the 2000s, we thought those battles were won. It was very important to me to bring back Nigel’s work because he foresaw that progress isn’t linear. You have to put that energy back in to fight the battles for rights again.” RHONDA LEE REALI
Sherman Theatre, Cardiff (Fri 20 + Sat 21 Mar); Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon (Fri 27); Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea (Thurs 2 Apr); The Riverfront, Newport (Wed 8 Apr). Tickets: £14-£23. Info: www.ndcwales.co.uk