National Youth Dance Company in Berlin
On tour at Tanztreffen der Jugend
Follow National Youth Dance Company as they tour their latest show Gravity to Berlin, performing outside of the UK for the first time in the company’s history. Watch NYDC perform on stage at the Berliner Festspiele as part of Tanz Treffen der Jugend, a showcase and source of inspiration for the work of young dancers and choreographers in Germany.
This film captures the international connections that young people build through dance, and celebrates the passion and creativity of the dancers involved.
NYDC is made up of 33 talented dancers in England aged 16-19 and d/Deaf or disabled dancers aged 16-24. Gravity was created under Guest Artistic Directors, Boy Blue, the UK’s most celebrated hip hop dance company.
Credits
Director – Ben Williams
Producers – Christopher Haddow and Hannah Kirkpatrick
Composer – Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante
Gravity – NYDC
Guest Artistic Directors 2024/25 – Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy and Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante
Choreography – Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy
Composer – Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante
Lighting Design – Adam Carrée
Costume Design – Ryan Dawson Laight
Costume Design Associates – Jordan Goertz Edwards and Josh Cartmell
Rehearsal Directors – Nathaniel Impraim-Jones and Lara Rose McCabe
Producers – Christopher Haddow and Bia Oliveira
Production Manager – Mishi Bekesi
Sound Engineer – Yao Yin Yau
LX Programmer & Touring Relighter/Production Manager – Matthew Carnazza
Touring Sound Engineer – Mark Webber
NYDC Dancers 2024/25
James Airey, Yunus Ayhan, Sara Belal, Archie Bilsland, Monét Brooks, Kingsley Campbell-Golding, Megan Chaytor Wilson, Orson Crane, Luke Curran, Dylan Dennis, Dexter Duffy, Mimi Etete-Edge, Sheldon Golding, Kasra Hastings, Francis Henry, Florence Hodgson, India Hurley, Luke James, Jacob Lincoln, Lucca Masters, Zak Michael Smith, Thea Petrie, Blake Rainey, Dayang Safiya Isabella Abang Suhaili, Sonia Sansford, Iona Statham, Nya Stewart, Ada Trotman, Faye-Elise Walmsey, Hali Warsame, Ella Watson, Rowan Williams, Marshall Wilson.
NYDC Team
Guest Artistic Directors 2024-25 – Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy and Micheal ‘Mikey J’ Asante
Director of Learning & Engagement – Joce Giles
Head of NYDC – Hannah Kirkpatrick
Company Manager – Waddah Sinada and Becky Leslie
NYDC Coordinator – Brittany Roberts & Annie-Rose Grantham
NYDC/ Learning & Engagement Intern – Ratiba Ayadi & Mojisayo Robson
Creative Support Artist – Corinne Meredith (Head), Nya Bardouille, Maiya Leeke
Company Support – Jo Beattie (Head), Ruben Brown, Beth Emmerson, Grace Ford, George Frampton, John William Watson
Company Wellbeing – Anna Brodrick (physiotherapist), Dr Lucie Clements (dance psychologist)
Special thanks to:
Laura Warner, Sadler’s Wells Learning and Engagement Manager
Kathleen Murphy, Jo Stendell and all the team at Boy Blue
Bill Vince, Silke Arnold, Nick McDowell and the team at Arts Council England
All the dancers’ families and teachers for their ongoing support of NYDC
Tanztreffen der Jugend 2025 © Berliner Festspiele / Treffen junge Szene
Tanztreffen der Jugend
Susanne Chrudina – Director of Treffen junge Szene and Tanztreffen der Jugend
Daja Vogt – Programme and Dramaturgy
Juliane Spence – Head of Organisation
Renate Kligge, Daniela Gromer, Lena Lipps, Johannes Ambrosius, Vivien Dawit, Siera Sowe, Selma Steiner – Production
Victor Haberkorn –Technical Production Management
Jan Bruchwalski, Christian Godau, Jürgen Kramer, Jörn Gross – Video Crew of Berliner Festspiele
The Tanztreffen der Jugend is part of the Treffen junge Szene of the Berliner Festspiele and is funded as a national contest by the Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMBFSFJ).
Film Commissioned and Produced by Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage & Studio
Director of Digital Stage & Studio – Bia Oliveira
Senior Content Manager – Eithne Kane
Producers – Martina Ryholt
Video & Digital Specialist – Sarah Vaughan-Jones
Digital & Content Officer – Angharad Mainwaring
Junior Videographers – James Hedgecock, Pearl Salamon-White
Digital & Content Apprentice – Queensley Osemwengie
Marketing Consultant – Izzy Madgwick
In kind support from Lacoste
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National Youth Dance Company X Boy Blue – Gravity
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Transcript
NYDC in Berlin - Transcript
– NYDC, let’s go.
Flight attendant: …keep the seatbelt fastened whenever you’re seated.
Archie: I was definitely nervous about flying but it was really cool when we got above the clouds to see like down and there was just fluff underneath us.
Marshall: Germany’s cool. It is a cool place. On the coach on the way here I was like, it was kind of looking dull but then I realised the coach had a tint on the window. Every show’s important but I feel like this one has a different level of importance. I don’t think everyone has deeped yet that we are in Berlin performing, and this is the first time NYDC has been here, which means that we are the first people that are slowly making that change.
Dance Instructor: In this time that we’re together, I really want us to just enjoy this time. Make sense?
Company: Yeah!
Dance Instructor: We all good?
Company: Yeah!
Dance Instructor: Fabulous.
Iona: On coming here it’s been extremely welcoming and everyone’s just really passionate about dancing which is nice to see, yeah.
Host: …that there is an international counter across the borders also in this festival. So I’m very happy to introduce the National Youth Dance Company from England. [In German] Get up, get up, rise!
Iona: Being able to tour a piece from England all the way internationally to Europe is very unique and I think it’s good to show a wider audience what youths from England can do.
Orson: I’ve never been to Berlin before, I’ve never been to Germany before. So having that alone as an opportunity given to me from NYDC is a blessing. Me coming to this festival has really shown me that there’s people like me and people like us in Berlin.
Orson: …for me and probably for you guys as well, we would love to come back.
Orson: To talk about dance backgrounds to other people. It was nice to have that talk about, ‘Whoa, you have that, I have this.’ That’s very cool.
Talk show host: What gives me life and gives me purpose is when I see the young people doing what we were doing at that time.
Orson: Because no matter what people have got going through their lives I feel like having this festival and things like this happening it brings that community together.
[Cheering]
Dylan: Traveling here was an experience because to be honest I didn’t even think. I was gonna end up coming here. It was quite emotional flight for me,. I’ll be honest. I did like hide my emotions a bit. I didn’t want to obviously do too much but I think NYDC knows, I’m really grateful.
Dylan: Breathing the Berlin air, breathing the Germany air just literally opening my eyes to a different country knowing that I’m here to like be an artist, just be creative. I just feel like that’s such a beautiful thing and it’s not really a common thing as well. And that’s why it’s so special for me because I come from humble beginnings. So to be able to do something creative like this like that… that’s something that will stay forever, I believe.
[Music abruptly stops]
– Are we almost ready?
– Yeah!
– Make our parents proud. Put your hands in the middle.
– Hands in the middle. NYDC!