Y Nyth

‘‘Its the best team to be a part of’

Impelo works to make Powys a great place to nurture dance careers at all stages via the professional opportunities we offer through our programme, productions and projects and by providing CPD and networking opportunities for dancers through Y Nyth.

Thanks to Foyle Funding and Impelo over the last 2 years, the Y Nyth network has been able to support Powys based freelance dancers with;

7 digital residencies

• 3 dance associates

• HATCH; A 2 week programme for 6 dancers to come together and collaborate

• Paid CPD training for over 10 different dancers in Powys

• 23 Freelancer Friday sessions with over 100 attendances

• 2 paid Y Nyth days to network and support dancers

• 2 successful project applications for emerging artists and collectives - Prosiect Epynt and Glanio

In Powys, one of the UK’s most sparsely populated regions, we are used to issues in recruitment and dance is no different - quite naturally dancers mostly progress their careers in London, Cardiff or other major cities. We began to wonder if we could change this? Could we re-frame dancers' views of the rural situation just as we have changed broader perceptions of us - as a rurally-based arts organisation that has created some of the most exciting dance in Wales? As an organisation who likes to challenge traditional notions of dance, participatory arts and ideas that the city is the only place to originate compelling artistic work, we became curious about how and what it takes to devise and nurture bold artistic dance voices in the rural context.

For more info and to sign-up, visit the Y Nyth opportunities page.

Residencies

Digital Residency

With the impact of the pandemic on freelancers’ practice and incomes, Foyle Foundation allowed us to re-allocate some of the funding for traditional residencies to digital and we supported 7 dancers to explore areas of artistic interest. These included a filmed exploration of dance and mental health, exploring the role of play in dance, connecting families on the cancer journey through dance, creating a new work in response to the firebreak together with a former student, a collaborative project exploring social media, and developing professional confidence for early career stage dancers.

Hatch

Through funding from Foyle Foundation, we were delighted to offer 6 collaborative incubation residencies, pairing up Impelo dance associates with recent graduates, or people considering returning to dance, over 2 weeks.
In the summer of 2021, we opened our studio doors to six dancers at various stages in their career with the objective of giving them time to nurture their practice and get creative. The Hatchees took daily classes together and received workshops and advice from 4 guest Artists on topics such as marketing yourself, defining your practice and making work for specific audiences. 

Hatch was a response to the changes in the dance sector post-pandemic and an opportunity to support our existing dance practitioners and bring fresh creative energy to Powys to evolve dancers’ practice through a collaborative process. 

Epynt

Developed by Impelo Dance Associate and Hatch participant, Bethan Cooper, Prosiect Epynt is a co-devised creative response to the impact of the Epynt Clearance of 1940, exploring themes of Welsh language, displacement and its intergenerational impact. There will be a collaborative production process with Welsh speaking communities,  young people and professional dancers to develop and perform a dance piece and digital legacy.

Find out more about Prosiect Epynt

Glanio

Y Nyth members Marla King and Clara Rust, together with Fin Jordão (writer, creative biologist and educator on human ecology) form the Glanio collective. Glanio is a collaborative project between the Glanio collective and Impelo that aims to change/challenge current models of practice and respond creatively to the climate emergency whilst improving health and wellbeing by spending time in green spaces and connecting in community. 

Find out more about Glanio