RUSSIAN prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20th centuries, Anna Pavlova said about dance, “Dance is the purest expression of every emotion, earthly and spiritual.”
The National Dance Company Wales are set to present a triple bill of dance which draws inspiration from a variety of cultures, communities and folklore.
Caroline Finn who is the company’s artistic director hopes the audience who comes along to see the three dances will be moved ‘not just by the beauty of the dancers movement but by the emotion it evokes’.
The three dances will be Tundra which is a barren landscape where ultra-modern creativity blinks into life influenced by Russian folk dance and revolution.
Folk (by Caroline Finn) is a vintage fairy-tale, set in a fantastical world under the boughs of an upside down tree, darkly whimsical and enchanting.
Atalay is a watch tower from which far off lands can be seen from four point: a contagious dance influenced by the warmth of the Mediterranean.
On the NDC Wales website it states about Caroline: “Caroline has spent many years working as a Freelance Dancer and Choreographer for a number of international companies including; Tanz Luzerner Theater in Switzerand; Cross Connection Ballet in Denmark; Compagnie DIEM in France and Teatr Groteska in Poland.
“As a dancer she has performed with Ballett Theater Munich under the direction of Philip Taylor; Ballet Preljocaj; Compagnie Carolyn Carlson; Jochen Heckmann and Johanna Richter.
“Her acclaimed solo production, Bernadette has toured internationally to festivals in Germany, Poland, France and South Korea.”
Speaking about how she became interested in dance, she said: “I was very young when I started dancing at the age of three-years-old.
"It was when I was 11-years-old I wanted to make it a greater part of my life and my career.
"I asked my parents if I could go to full time dance school.
“I remember my first dance performance in a pantomime and from that moment I was hooked.
"I loved the adrenaline rush, being on stage.
“Later on in my career, I loved the discipline of dance, the technique, the physical activity, being part of a team and the smell of a theatre behind the curtain which is very peculiar something akin to hairspray.
“In a dance company you are part of a team, you have to be able to dance together and have that chemistry together.
As a dance you exist together, you live close together and their in physical contact when you dance.
“When I am putting together a dance group I need eight professional dancers and two apprentices. I do not want them to be similar, I want dancers with different body shapes.”
Caroline hopes when people watch these contemporary dances it transports them into another universe.
Explaining she said: “Dance/dancing gives you a sense of freedom, of self expression and a way of getting lost in a world like you can do when you listen to music or watch a film. It allows you to go into another universe.
"What is special about contemporary dance is there is no wrong interpretation.
“Two members of the audience, even if they are sitting next to each other can have totally different ideas about what they have seen.
“What I hope to do in my role is create a definite signature for the National Dance Company of Wales on a national and international stage of dance.
"I want to be able to break down the barriers of contemporary dance and make it accessible to everyone.
“I want to encourage people to come and watch contemporary dance, to watch a performance as I think they will be surprised.
"For me the pieces I work on and come up with are an open book for the dancers.
"I choreography large parts but there are other sections which give the dancer freedom and allows them to come up with the movement.
"I give them a path which allows them to create it themselves.
I will give them a word or tell them an emotion which they can use to create.
“They are contributing to the dance and while it does put extra pressure on them it does create a moment when I have to trust them and they have to trust me.”
For many people they are put off by contemporary dance, but Caroline hopes they will give contemporary dance a chance.
To convert the sceptics she said: “I think they would really be surprised by what they would see.”
The National Dance Company Wales is at the Brewhouse on February 22.
Tickets cost £13/£17. Buy tickets online at thebrewhouse.net or call the box office on 01823 283244.
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