Development of Contemporary Dance in Wales

This account consists of a number of collections related to the development of professional contemporary dance in Wales. This is the first time that contemporary dance in Wales has been catalogued and the collection recognises the outstanding contribution and achievements of many dance artists and creatives working in Wales from the early 1970s up until 2013. All original materials from these collections are now held by the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth.

The account's materials have been produced by Karen Pimbley with research support from Helen Bader and Mingen Li. Thanks also to Roy Campbell-Moore, Gruffydd Jones, Eleni Price, RWCMD and Ann Sholem.

Collection 1: (Book 1 / Book 2 / Book 3): The birth of a national dance company for Wales 1983-2013. Compiled by Ann Sholem and digitised by Karen Pimbley and Roy Campbell-Moore, the collection documents the establishment of Diversions Dance Company and its development to become National Dance Company Wales. Arranged over three volumes, comprising press cuttings, leaflets and photographs.

Collection 2: A catalogue of the main repertoire of Diversions Dance Company (from inception in 1983 to becoming National Dance Company Wales in 2009). Researched and curated by Karen Pimbley.

Collection 3: An oral history project that captures the perspectives of a range of professional dance artists working in Wales from the 1970s to the 2000s, via video interviews with Karen Pimbley*.

Collection 4: Performance videos from dance artists and dance companies based and/or working in Wales*.

Collection 5: A series of live performance and production photographs by Roy Campbell-Moore from 2000 to 2019, catalogued into 3 sets:
Set 1 Diversions/National Dance Company Wales Main Company and Apprentice Company 2002-2013
Set 2 Diversions/National Dance Company Wales Associates & Summer Schools 2004-2012
Set 3 Wales & international dance-artists, companies and projects 2004-2019

*Additional collections will follow over the coming year (2024) - an e-book mapping the development of professional contemporary dance in Wales, videos of performances from companies and artists based in Wales and further oral history interviews.

Whilst every attempt has been made to credit individual contributions and to fulfil our copyright obligations when producing materials for the collection, if there are any errors or omissions, we will always seek to rectify them as soon as they are brought to our attention.

For all enquiries, please contact Karen Pimbley. [email protected]