It’s been a great year Welsh dance, and our writers have had a difficult time picking highlights, but here is our list of the top 5 dance productions in Wales of 2019.
Wired to the Moon – Ballet Cymru
“Early on, all but one of the dancers sit on their boxes like kids in a schoolroom. Only there is no joking around or playing – only total, unsupervised uniformity and disconnection from those around them. Each box is its own planet.”
Divided We Stand – Ballet Cymru
“The movement of the male dancers is at times subtle, but is also antagonistic and confining. It is an obvious power struggle between female and male as well as between mind and body. Almost paradoxically, there seem to be moments of tenderness in this section where both members of the pairs mirror each other, acting almost symbiotically.”
Codi – NDCWales
“Swansea’s Anthony Matsena has choreographed an emotional piece about Welsh people who come together to tackle isolation and depression during troubled times. It’s an energetic and uplifting dance about the strength of communities.”
Liminality – 4Pi
“Wales’ Kim Noble, suitably intense, and sometimes eye-wateringly contortional, offers a powerful central performance, and an important one in an atmosphere that could easily become overwhelming. Her partnership with India’s Manas Sharma is a winding exploration of contemporary dance and traditional Indian forms such as Kathak and Bharatanatyam, as well as wonderful splashes of Kalaripayattu, India’s oldest martial art.”
Reveller’s Mass – NDCWales
“Anyone who has followed Caroline Finn’s works with NDCWales over the last few years might also identify it as a summation of her work to date, a defining point of an artistic journey – from Folk to Green House, and even with the resurrection of Bernadette last year – we have the work of an artist who has now found a way to discuss the things she wants to discuss in the way she wants to discuss them.”
