NDCWales’ One Another tour is an inspiring triple bill featuring works by Caroline Finn, Andrea Costanzo Martini and Anthony Matsena.
National Dance Company Wales’ (NDCWales) One Another tour features dance pieces by three exciting voices in dance. The works by Caroline Finn, Andrea Costanzo Martini and Anthony Matsena will be presented to audiences across Wales and England until the middle of May.
‘Ludo’ (Caroline Finn)
The One Another tour’s first piece, ‘Ludo’, was created by Caroline Finn. Born in England, Finn attended the Arts Educational School in Tring and Julliard School, New York. She worked as a dancer with Ballet Theatre Munich, Ballet Preljocaj ad Compagnie Carolyn Carlson and has choreographed for a number of companies worldwide including the National Ballet of Chile, Bayerisches Junior Ballet München, Ballettheater München, Tanz Luzerner Theater and VERVE. Finn’s previous work with NDCWales as Artistic Director from 2015 to 2017 saw her win the title of Best Female Artist (for her work ‘Folk’). Caroline has also collaborated with Welsh National Opera and Drottningholm Palace Theatre, Stockholm.
‘Ludo’ encapsulates Finn’s darkly funny and high-energy dance signature recognisable in her previous works ‘Folk’, ‘The Green House’, ‘Animatorium’, ‘Bernadette’ and ‘Revellers’ Mass’. Her new piece focuses on the importance of play, rediscovering the spontaneous delights of childhood and the thrill of mind games.
‘‘Ludo’ invites audiences into a nostalgic universe where the characters’ only goal is play,’ said Finn. ‘We touch on manipulative adult mind and power games, we revisit the more spontaneous, fantastical, imaginary play and we dive into the animalistic physicality of playground games and sports.’
‘Wild Thoughts’ (Andrea Costanzo Martini)
Andrea Costanzo Martini was born and raised in Italy where he received his first education in contemporary dance and ballet. He has performed with many renowned companies, all over the world. Since 2013 Martini has been creating and performing his own award-winning works, focusing on solo and duets, but more recently collaborating with companies such as Balletto di Roma and Balletto Teatro di Torino. A former Aerowaves artist, Martini’s research in dance focuses on extreme physicality and theatricality, exploring the power balance between dancers and spectators. Filled with humour and supported by a wide range of skills, Martini’s work questions and plays with the expectations of the dance medium.
NDCWales’ One Another tour will feature the world premiere of Martini’s ‘Wild Thoughts’; people can expect fearless, thrilling dance full of playful wit that calls our bodies back to movement, pleasure, and joy.
‘‘Wild Thoughts’ is a riotous celebration of knees, arms, legs, glands, tongues, limbs and their untamed physical knowledge. What deeply touches me in this process is to see the urgent passion these performers have for movement and their generosity to share on stage the intimate and unique relationship they have with their bodies,’ said Martini.
‘Codi’ (Anthony Matsena)
The final piece, ‘Codi’, was created by Zimbabwe-born choreographer, performer and director Anthony Matsena. Raised in Wales, Matsena works between the mediums of dance, theatre, music and poetry and his creations are often politically charged, hoping to make sense of his experience of being brought up in an Afrocentric house and having Eurocentric schooling. He has built a love and curiosity for telling stories that express themes of culture, race, change and belonging.
Matsena co-founded Matsena Productions (formerly Matsena Performance Theatre) with brother Kel in 2017 as a reaction to the lack of representation they were seeing in schools, on stage and on screen. His recent commissions include Sadler’s Wells, BBC, NDCWales, Jasmin Vardimon 2, Messums Wiltshire, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and CAPA College. Matsena is also an associate artist with Messums Wiltshire and sits on the board as a trustee for National Youth Arts Wales, chairing the Diversity and Inclusion Board for National Youth Dance Wales.
Following its premiere in 2019 as part of the NDCWales’ Roots tour, ‘Codi’ is an inspirational story about the strength in communities banding together to tackle the hardships of life through troubled times.
‘‘Codi’ means to ‘rise up’ in an emotional and spiritual way,’ Matsena explained. ‘Throughout the creative process I’ve been working to understand my relationship to Wales. I started looking back at coal mining communities, personal stories and documentations of what it was like in that era and how it felt to work in the coal mines. History is hugely important to discuss but if you choose to draw on it, I feel it’s important to try and comment on the present and future too. It’s about creating work that honours the history of it all and somewhat reimagines it too.’
‘With playful wit and inspiring physicality, the NDCWales dancers will capture your imagination. I hope this programme will inspire, delight, and offer us all the space we need to think and dream,’ commented Matthew Robinson, Artistic Director of NDCWales.
NDCWales’ One Another tour will run until the 16th of May 2022. As well as shows during the evening, the tour will also feature Discover Dance events at select venues. These interactive events will take place during the daytime and will give families and schools the opportunity to learn some moves from the professional dancers and to watch a section of Finn’s creation, ‘Ludo’.
The tour is visiting ten venues across Wales and England; there will also be a chance to watch digital versions of the works online.
For more information and to view the full list of tour dates, visit the NDCWales website.
