National Dance Company Wales are at Theatr Clwyd in May (10-11) with three new pieces under the title One Another, aiming to reconnect audiences with theatres following the pandemic.
Ludo, by Caroline Finn, is a high-energy dance about the importance of play, about which Finn says: “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…
"Watching Ludo you're inspired to think about what role play had in your childhoods and perhaps how that’s changed as you’ve moved into adulthood. Have you found a way to hold on to 'play' as you've grown up?!”
Codi, by Anthony Matsena, is about the strength in communities banding together to tackle the hardships of life through troubled times, built on the foundations of Welsh mining stories and told through dance, song, poetry and theatre.
Matsena said: “Codi means to ‘rise up’ in an emotional and spiritual way. Throughout the creative process I’ve been working to understand my relationship to Wales. I started looking back at coal mining communities and personal stories and how it felt to work in the mines. It’s about creating work that honours the history of it all and somewhat reimagines it too.”
The final piece is Wild Thoughts by Andrea Costanzo Martini. Working in the UK for the first time, Martini said: “In this piece I am exploring the playground of the human body. 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 passion these performers have for movement and their generosity to share on stage the intimate and unique relationship they have with their bodies.”