GWYN EMBERTON

Gwyn Emberton, a multi award-winning choreographer and dancer from Wales, is the artistic director of Gwyn Emberton Dance, the company he officially formed in 2015 with Creative Producer Kate Perridge. In addition to his choreographic and directing work Gwyn also performs and collaborates with other dance and theatre artists from Wales, London and Europe.

Already in 2016, the company completed the creation and initial tour of ‘Shadow of a Quiet Society’. Made with six female dancers, it is a co-production with one of Wales’ major Arts Centres, Aberystwyth Arts Centre. Originally inspired by stories from Gwyn’s hometown of Montgomery some that date back 800 years it became a universal but surreal look at the dynamics of a community at odds with itself. It was considered a “standard-setter” for dance in Wales and will tour again from Autumn 2016. The work was supported by a reworking of the solo ‘Of the Earth, from where I came’ which was also selected by and performed at British Dance Edition 2016 held in Cardiff, Wales. This was followed by a tour of the solo across Europe as part of Dance Roads. 

Gwyn was commissioned by theatre company DeOscuro to create a duet for their multi-genre project ‘Triptych’ in 2015. Inspired by the testimonies of ex-service personnel who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Gwyn’s work was recognised at the 2016 Wales Theatre Awards with the Best Male Choreographer and Performer Award.

‘My People’, Gwyn’s first full-length work, received a nomination in the 2015 Wales Theatre Awards for Best Dance Production. The work for six performers, including Gwyn, is based on the collection of short stories of the same name, written by Wales’ most controversial author Caradoc Evans. It was considered a ‘soaring debut’, with a duet from the piece, ‘The Devil in Eden’, winning an award at Wales Dance Platform 2014. 

With renowned performer Eddie Ladd, Gwyn co-devised and performs ‘Caitlin’. Directed by Deborah Light, the work went on to win the Best Dance Production at the WTA 2015. ‘Caitlin’ will tour throughout 2016 including Battersea Arts Centre, London.

During autumn of 2014 Gwyn was part of artist-led and cross-border project iCoDaCo (International Contemporary Dance Collective) with artists from Sweden, Holland and Israel. The project saw Gwyn’s work performed in Sweden and Israel. Gwyn will be involved in the 2016 iCoDaCo working with artists from Finland, Scotland and Sweden.

Gwyn has received several other commissions; Dance Shorts which widely toured Wales; MurleyDance; The Urdang Academy and Cardiff Metropolitan University. He has also choreographed for and performed in many music videos and for TV. 

Gwyn has danced with many of the UK's major choreographers such as Akram Khan, Matthew Bourne, Jasmin Vardimon and with Scottish Dance Theatre, also spending three years working with Inbal Pinto in Tel Aviv, Israel. 

As rehearsal director, Gwyn has worked with Russell Maliphant and Sadhana Dance Companies and has taught at The Place, Greenwich Dance Agency, DanceWorks in London, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Middlesex University, Coventry University, The Urdang Academy and at many international summer schools and academies.

Gwyn is an associate artist of Aberystwyth Arts Centre and was Chapter's creative producer programme Coreo Cymru associate artist for 2015/16.