New Artistic Director for the NYDC

The National Youth Dance Company, funded jointly by Arts Council England and the Department for Education, has announced its next Guest Artistic Director as Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Akram Khan. Award-winning dancer and choreographer Khan is arguably an increasingly household name for contemporary dance, with a recent highlight of his career being the creation of a section of the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony amongst many other choreographic works. He is one of the most celebrated and respected dance artists today, and has created a body of work that has contributed significantly to the cultural arts in the UK and abroad in just over a decade. His reputation has been built on the success of imaginative, highly accessible and relevant productions, which he is sure to translate to the NYDC. For the NYDC, huge success has been gleaned from its sold-out debut performance of (in between) by the company’s first guest artistic director Jasmin Vardimon, and has now started its search for the next round of 30 company members who will work with Khan for the next stage of the company’s evolution. Khan will create new work to be performed by the company in 2014, having previously communicated his enjoyment of working with young people who have passion and ambition, personified by the NYDC. The next round of NYDC members will be recruited from workshops taking place across England. The company, based at the UK’s leading dance house Sadler’s Wells, is seeking the brightest young dance talent from across England aged 16-18 who are passionate about dance, with experience in any dance style. Those chosen will have a chance to work with a range of inspirational teachers and choreographers to learn, create and perform original work, drawing on a number of dance techniques including contemporary, hip hop, ballet and south Asian dance.