National Youth Dance Company (NYDC), England’s flagship company for young dancers run by Sadler’s Wells, will embark on a national tour with brand-new work Memory Keepers by Guest Artistic Directors Sadé and Kristina Alleyne Co-Artistic Directors of the award-winning Alleyne Dance, the Alleynes have created the new work with NYDC during four residencies around the country. With music by Giuliano Modarelli, lighting design by Salvatore Scollo and costume design by Ryan Dawson Laight.
Their national tour kicks off with the world premiere at DanceEast, Ipswich on Saturday 11 April, before touring the country to Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London, Leeds Playhouse in Leeds, AMATA Falmouth in Cornwall, Sadler’s Wells East in London, and The Belgrade Theatre in Coventry during the summer. The London premiere of the work will be at Sadler’s Wells Theatre on Saturday 30 May. In July, NYDC will also perform at Sadler’s Wells East as part of the second edition of YFX Youth Festival, an annual festival which celebrates and showcases the exceptional range of youth work across the country.
Kristina and Sadé Alleyne said, “Working with NYDC has been both motivating and deeply exciting. These young movers are the future, and we have loved challenging them physically, mentally, and emotionally. Witnessing such a wide range of styles and interests come together through storytelling has been truly inspiring. Alleyne Dance’s style is fast-paced, dynamic, athletic, rhythmical, and lyrical. To achieve this level of physicality, rehearsals always begin with our morning ritual of training, articulating the hands, connecting to the breath, exploring depth in movement, and clarifying intention.
We work collaboratively with the dancers so that Memory Keepers feels rooted in their voices and lived experiences; a piece that genuinely belongs to them. The musical score is being created by Alleyne Dance long-time collaborator, Giuliano Modarelli, who is also working closely with the young movers to shape the sound alongside them. We are incredibly excited for Memory Keepers to be seen across the nation, for the next generation stories to be heard, and for audiences to experience the physicality, honesty, and rawness of the work.”
Founded in 2014 by sisters Kristina and Sadé Alleyne, Alleyne Dance strives for high quality and excellence in their three main objectives of Performance, Participation and Development. Alleyne Dance is a unique and powerful company that blends Caribbean, hip hop and kathak, within a contemporary dance context. The choreographic language focuses on rhythms and textures with movement that is athletic, fast paced and dynamic, with infusions of lyrical and fluid motion.
England’s flagship company for young dancers is run by Sadler’s Wells is supported by Barclays
For more information on NYDC and the tour of Memory Keepers, check out their website.
Images (c) Camilla Greenwell
