"We meet once a week in order to train and over a year this training process becomes merged into the creative process of making new performance work.
The training is focused on physical techniques that enable people with vastly different physical and intellectual capabilities to discover common ground, to explore and develop strength, to challenge the self physically yet safely and develop confidence as individuals and in the commitment of the group to each other, in a context of equality and creativity.
For some, to learn how to engage creatively with others is a very new experience, for others to learn how to lean on another is a revelation, (literally and metaphorically) and to accept responsibility for others is part of this experience.
Emphasis is on respect for individual needs whilst highlighting the communal nature of the work.
In making new pieces, the themes are drawn from the social and cultural experiences. Living in rural Ceredigion the beauty of the area is offset by the often invisible struggles of isolation, very low incomes, and cultural and linguistic differences.
The work we make at the moment is crafted by an individual artist who is supported and given complete trust by the other participants, not only through their performance but through discussion and sharing of experiences in this particular time and place.
Cyrff Ystwyth is by name a dance group, but in practice has always taken the concepts of dance, performance, choreography and rehearsal far out of the usual definitions.
The group has existed since 1987 and has shown its devised work consistently during this period.
Cyrff Ystwyth is one of the groups under the Dawns Dyfed umbrella. Dawns Dyfed is the Community Dance Organisation for the 3 counties of the west of Wales.
The group has in the past been invited to perform in collaboration with the innovative and controversial Welsh theatre company Brith Gof, as well as contribute to community dance programmes around Wales.
It has over the years fostered a committed audience and brought a new edge to what it might be to dance, to be a dancer, to be a performer.
Audiences are very often seeing disabled performers for the first time and this we know brings about new understandings of disablity and the field of performance.
This is perhaps the most obvious facet of our work, but we also know that it is an equally important statement to make when people with no disability and with no prior performance training are seen to be making high quality work for the general public.
We know that audiences respond emotionally as they see themselves and recognize their own creative potential in these events and understand that art is not solely the domain of 'the professional'.
As ordinary people in ordinary bodies we make challenging and highly polished physical performance dealing with themes common to all of us in rural Ceredigion.
We are site specific, and we are community specific."
Article written by Margaret Ames of Dawns Dyfed.
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Annabelle Moakes - Capel Seion
As a member of Cyrff Ystwyth, I would like to say that on many occasions I have been stunned at the depths to which some of the ideas that Adrian Jones, as our choreographer, has incorporated within 'Y Nos', every movement has a deep meaning that is not always instantly obvious and then as you become more involved in the work, every emotion and feeling becomes startlingly clear. It has been a fulfilling yet gruelling experience for us all. We are now looking forward to starting on the next exciting piece with Eddie Wadsworth.
Fri Oct 26 08:26:26 2007
Margaret from Trefenter
We have begun work on a new show with a new choreogrpaher. Eddie Wadsworth from Penparcau Aberystwyth is developing his first performance with us. The working title is 'Brighton Beach' Newcomers are welcome, both disabled people and non disabled people. No previous experience is necessary, just committment and energy. We meet in the Aberystwyth Arts centre - upstairs, on Wednesday evenings between 6.00 and 7.30.
Thu Oct 18 10:59:26 2007
Gudrun Jones, Llanbedr Pont Steffan
If I can help it, I never miss an opportunity to see Cyrff Ystwyth perform. The company never fails to produce work that is engaging, challenging, powerfully moving and unique in its aesthetic beauty. As I sat and watched 'Y Nos' I was transported into a place that on the one hand I think I know well, that is what it is to live in rural Ceredigion. But Choreographer Adrian Jones and Artistic Director Margaret Ames took their audience to another level of understanding of the experience of life and death, living and loss and the range of experiences in between. The skill and committment demponstrated by the company to the ideas behind the choreography made this one of the best pieces of dance I have seen.
Fri Oct 5 08:49:45 2007
Margaret Ames, Trefenter
In response to Jo's comment, I am grateful for her reminding me that in the questions I have about the relevance of dance in the context of minorities in crisis (linguistic, economic, cultural etc), we can and do use this medium to somehow get to the core of these largely invisible experiences - painful and joyful indeed. I am always amazed at these performers' courage and committment, and the skill they bring to each moment. Standing outside as the director I am often witness to exchanges both verbal and physical that are extraordinary in their direct beauty.
Thu Oct 4 13:49:19 2007
Jo Strong
I have been a part of this company for a year. I have been involved in very many physical pursuits during my lifetime but the work we do in Cyrff Ystwyth is more than movement, more than dance, more than poetry - it is the essence of emotion - exposed. Painful and joyful by turns. Always pure.
Fri Sep 28 08:23:01 2007
Catherine Young - Llanilar
'Y Nos' was performed over two nights and I saw both performances.Looking at it from a choreographic point of view, I discovered something very interesting. The piece was like poetry. Where you would find in a poem every word has a strong relevance to its context, in 'Y Nos' every detailed movment no matter how small, had a strong relevance. This craftmanship astounded me. This company is developing a very interesting way of working. All too often we watch a dance performance and we are merely watching a moving body and what that body can do physically and artistically. There is so much more to this company. To be able to communicate with your audience at such a strong emotive level takes great skill. This company has that skill.
Sun Sep 23 09:56:36 2007
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