Autumn 2025 Newsletter
Dear Jones the Dance family and friends,
So the new school year has really started… For us this is really exciting as we have lots of lovely things already happening and some more coming up during the autumn and into 2026 that we are delighted to share with you.
iCoDaCo - Denmark residency and new faces
The Wales Collective of Jo, Anna and Gwyn went to Bora, Bora in Aarhus, Denmark for one of the residency weeks. They joined the Danish Collective, meeting the artists as well as being introduced to the local dance scene there. The residency was supported by the International Opportunities Fund from Arts Council of Wales, and received unexpected support from The Performing Arts Platform, Aarhus with space.
New Collective members
Deborah Light joined the collective in Cardiff in September and Angharad Harrop will join us in Llandudno in October.
Read about them here.
iCoDaCo next Open Studios - Llandudno in October
The Open Studio sessions with the iCoDaCo artists are an opportunity for local movers, dancers and makers, to share in and experience some of the work of the collective. Each week has a different focus and the next iCoDaCo Open Studios are in Llandudno (at Providero).
Wednesday 22nd October – 10:00 to 11:30, plus tea and chat after - Movement / Material generation
Wednesday 29th October - 10:00 to 11:30, plus tea and chat after - Time
Sign up coming soon.
Our new show for Spring 2026
We are in early-ish stages of preparing for our new production
I Remember Myself , atgorff.
The creative team is now all in place with Sion Trefor returning to create the music and Lois Prys returning to work on design and costumes.
Eddie Ladd and Anna Seymour join Gwyn, alongside new dancer Dan Ozeri who was selected in a recent audition in Cardiff.
This will be our first collaboration and production with art galleries.
You will be able to catch the work at Oriel Davies in Newtown (who is partnering on the project), Mostyn in Llandudno and Glyn Vivian in Swansea during May 2026.
You can read more about the project here.
Jones the Dance’s Young Company
This summer was packed with creativity for our young company with three summer schools in Mid, North, and South Wales, with some exciting things coming up this autumn for all of the groups.
In South Wales, our Quiet Beats group began work on their first ever live dance piece, which they got to perform for family and friends at the end of the week. They made the work with dance officer Amber and dancer Ben Randall.
Quiet Beats South also performed their new work at our anniversary event in September, and their first ever time performing and they were fantastic.
Coming up…
You will be able to catch them at Deaf Gathering at Chapter in November, and at the LAUNCH platform run by National Dance Company Wales, where they will perform alongside youth dance groups from across the country.
During the Spring we launched our first pilot workshops and summer school for Quiet Beats in Wrexham. Eli and dancer Raffi Julien led the week with young aspiring dancers from across north Wales joining.
Coming up…
We are delighted to share that we’ve secured funding from the National Lottery Community Fund to expand Quiet Beats in Wrexham for the next year. More news to come soon.
Meanwhile, Jones Bach created a beautiful new piece at Gregynog Hall, originally the home of Gwendoline and Margaret Davies. The work was inspired by the sisters’ renowned art collection they gave to Wales. It was choreographed by our Artistic Director, Gwyn and Eli, with the young dancers.
Coming up with Jones Bach…
We have a few monthly workshops coming up this Autumn and Winter at Hafan yr Afon, supported by Powys Church fund. Please spread the word to any young folks who love to dance and be creative, who live in mid Wales or across the border as we would love to see them!
Sunday 26th October
Sunday 16th November
Sunday 18th January
7-11 years 12-2pm - £5 per session & 12-16 years 2:30-5pm £6 per session
(If you have two kids in different age groups please let us know as we can always find ways to accommodate both so you don’t have to make multiple trips.)
These workshops are supported by Powys Welsh Church Act fund through Community Foundation Wales. This means we are able to offer bursaries to cover the fee and also contribute towards travel.
Recent funding announcements
We would like to say a huge thank you to the various trusts and foundations which have supported us this year:
Ashley Family Foundation and Arts Council of Wales for I Remember Myself, at gorff
Post Code Lottery Community Trust to support our ongoing work and support our projects this year
Gwendoline and Margaret Davies for Jones Bach Summer School 2025
National Lottery Community for Quiet Beats (North)
Garrick Charitable Trust and Arts Council of Wales / Wales Arts International for iCoDaCo
Powys Welsh Church Act Fund for Jones Bach for the next three years
Oh, we are celebrating 10 years
It’s been 10 years since Gwyn and Kate sat in Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff and decided to set up Gwyn Emberton Dance (which became Jones the Dance in 2021). We held a small event at Chapter to say thank you to all the dancers, creative teams, trustees, supporters and participants for joining us on this crazy dance journey.
See the pics below.
And finally, in other news
You can listen to Artistic Director, Gwyn, talk about Jones the Dance and dance in Wales on the Radio Wales Arts Show, you can listen here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002jct4 - from 16 mins 50 seconds.
Thanks for reading and joining us,
Gwyn, Kate, Kama, Eli and Amber
