National Dance Company Wales performs its first ever full length family dance show with a free family fun day and activities to do at home.
Legendary chorographer Lea Anderson MBE has been working with the talented dancers from National Dance Company Wales (NDCWales) to create their very first show especially for families, which will premiere in Cardiff this December.
Zoetrope by National Dance Company Wales will be a magical and imaginative escape for all ages. Inspired by the Victorian fun fair, circus and early animation, expect to see the small cast of uber-talented performers leap and cartwheel across the stage dressed as Chimps, lizards and skeletons and move through clever illusions made by light, sound and costumes.
The under one hour performance which runs 14 – 16 December at The Dance House, Wales Millennium Centre was made with families in mind who will be able experience just how magical live theatre can be. Renowned pioneering choreographer, Lea Anderson is celebrated for her ground-breaking work in making dance more accessible and inclusive for audiences, for which she was awarded an MBE in 2006. Lea’s inspiration for Zoetrope started during her residency at the Bill Douglas Film Museum where she became fascinated with pre-film animation devices such as Zoetropes – also known as ‘Wheels of Life’. To bring those ideas to the stage, Lea is working with designer Simon Vincenzi to create a cast of brilliant creatures from different periods in evolutionary history with costumes based on the black and white drawings used in zoetrope machines. The cast changes costume on stage, with outrageous outfits that represent the evolution of man all the way from the first cell, through to lizards and monkey masks to atom-inspired headdresses and eventually to long boney fingers and skeleton heads where that wheel of life ends, before beginning again.
Lea was the co-founder and artistic director of The Cholmondeleys and The Featherstonehaughs companies which were founded in the 1980s. Since then, she has toured extensively throughout the UK and overseas. The companies were renowned for their pioneering work in non-theatrical spaces and venues – as some parents and maybe some grandparents may have seen across Cardiff and the South Wales more than two decades ago.
“I don’t speak down to younger people, because they’re just like me. I always make work that I would like to see…… it’s got something in it for everybody… I’ve tried to make something that’s very open and a great deal of fun”
Zoetrope is not just a performance: for families on Saturday 16 December there’s also a free family fun day with activities taking place before the final performance at the Dance House, Wales Millennium Centre. The Zoetrope themed Family Fun Day is free to attend with tickets purchased for the show, where children can make their own Zoetrope, learn how to juggle, have a go at ribbon dancing and even learn a sequence of moves from the show, before enjoying the performance together.
Parents will also have access to fun and varied activity sheets about Zoetrope to make and do at home, whilst schools will be provided with specialised flexible lesson plans incorporating various subjects such as science and art, as well as dance, which is now a part of the National Curriculum for Welsh Schools.
“Zoetrope is the perfect family treat,” says Maris Lyons, Engagement Producer NDCWales. “Our offer extends beyond the show, with free family activity going on all afternoon at The Dance House. For families wanting to dance, we are offering a free family dance session where you will be able to learn some of the choreography from the show. This hour of dance fun is for all ages and fitness levels. We’re also offering audience members the chance to have a go at making their own Zoetrope too and so if you enjoy arts & crafts this is a great opportunity for you to make something and take it home for Christmas!”
Paul Kaynes, Chief Executive said, “Lea Anderson makes dance shows that are fun and accessible – and Zoetrope has all these hallmarks specifically for families and schools. It's so important to us that this experience is accessible and affordable for families right now in Wales, which is why we’ve created this free family fun day so that families can have a whole day out alongside a performance. We hope as many audiences come to see it here in Cardiff before it tours across the UK next year.
Zoetrope will be at the Dance House, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff 14-16 December Tickets are £12 and £6 for under 26s. There are Audio Described Performances on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 December.
National Dance Company Wales is supported by the Arts Council of Wales and Welsh Government.
Box Office Booking information can be found at ndcwales.co.uk