Mid Wales dance performance puts art and legacy centre stage

Titled What Is It Truly?, the piece will be performed by young dancers from Jones Bach, the youth branch of Wales-based company Jones the Dance, at Oriel Davies Gallery in Newtown on Friday, July 31.

The performance is inspired by the celebrated art collection of Gwendoline and Margaret Davies, the Mid Wales sisters who assembled one of the UK’s most important collections of 20th-century art, including works by Renoir, Cézanne, Monet, and Van Gogh.

Gwyn Emberton, artistic director of Jones the Dance and choreographer of the piece, said: "This piece is about more than dance.

"It's about young people discovering what they're truly capable of – and about bringing contemporary dance to the communities where it's often been forgotten."

The performance marks the culmination of the Jones Bach Summer School, which offers young people aged seven to 17 from rural Mid Wales the chance to create and perform professional-quality contemporary dance.

Building on last year’s workshops at Gregynog Hall, this summer’s programme has been developed at Llandinam Hall, another venue deeply connected to the Davies family.

Mr Emberton, who grew up in Montgomery, founded Jones Bach with a commitment to providing young people in rural Wales with the same quality of creative opportunity and professional mentorship as their urban peers.

The programme is part of Jones the Dance’s wider youth initiatives, designed to serve young people across Mid and North Powys who have limited access to quality dance training.

Workshops are held regularly in and around Newtown, removing barriers by bringing creative opportunities directly to the community.

A parent of one of the participants said: "Jones Bach has been a huge support to our child.

"Within the classes she has grown so much in confidence."

Another parent said: "It was such a reasonable cost and meant she had a great activity for the whole week – and it was right here in Mid Wales."

The final performance, What Is It Truly?, reimagines the Davies collection through movement and contemporary dance, allowing the artworks to come alive on stage through the creativity and expression of young performers.

Audiences are invited to experience the collection in an entirely new way: embodied, energetic, and interpreted through the imagination of the next generation.

Tickets for What Is It Truly? are available online at www.jonesthedance.com/signup/p/what-is-it-truly.