Meet National Dance Company Wales’ Creative Associates

NDCWales are pleased to announce George H Wale and Phoebe Davies as Creative Associates 2026-2028. Chosen by open call, the two Creative Associates are supported by National Dance Company Wales for a two-year programme of paid development to expand their practice in other artforms into dance.

The programme includes creative development for Welsh and Wales-based artists through mentorship, studio-based research and a new commission with the company’s professional dancers. The Creative Associates programme is one of several ways that the National Company fosters opportunities for cross-artform collaboration and Welsh dance sector support.

Meet the Artists

• George H. Wale

George H. Wale’s practice spans sculpture, live performance and costume design. Based in Abergavenny, George creates their own work as well as collaborating with a number of independent artists on live performance and sculptural work, previously presenting work at National Museum Cardiff, g39, Chapter Arts Centre and Green Man Festival among others. Alongside their visual arts practice, they are a costume designer specialising in contemporary dance and have worked with companies such as National Dance Company Wales, National Youth Dance Wales and Ekleido. George has previously taken part in NDCWales’ Laboratori programme which connected visual artists to contemporary dance as a new artform. As a Creative Associate, George will experiment with bringing together their costume, sculpture and movement practices.

“I’m really interested in delving further into thinking about choreographic practices and how they intersect with the other fields I am working within- sculpture and textiles/clothing. Becoming a Creative Associate with NDCWales and working with the amazing dancers and team of the company is the perfect opportunity for me to progress and elevate my career,” explains George.

• Phoebe Davies

Phoebe Davies is an artist & filmmaker based in South Wales. Her practice spans performance to camera, immersive installation, spatial sound and print. She has presented work nationally and internationally, including working with Site Gallery (Sheffield), Somerset House Studios (London), The Wellcome Collection (London), Aesthetica Film Festival (UK) and Portland Institute of Contemporary Art (USA). Alongside her solo practice, she has a long-term collaboration with performer and choreographer Nandi Bhebhe. As Bhebhe&Davies they direct performance spanning stage and screen. As a Creative Associate, Phoebe will draw on her background in social practice to explore choreographic approaches to examine mass communal gatherings in rural landscapes, exploring partying and fighting as embodied expressions of belonging, social tension, and emotional release.

“I am delighted to be working with NDCWales over the next two years. This opportunity comes at a critical time in my career, providing me the time and resources to expand and scale my practice. I am eager to get started and immerse myself, learning alongside and collaborating with the company’s dancers and team,” says Phoebe.

NDCWales’ Artistic Director Bakani Pick-Up is excited to be working with George and Phoebe. “Both artists have distinctive practices that align with our ambition to continue to imagine how dance can creatively connect with other disciplines. Creative Associates will work closely with the company, across the two years, sharing their approach and developing new ideas. This is an opportunity for us to support two exceptional Welsh artists whilst also learning from their research and creative processes, which will help us evolve how we work as a repertory company. The work Phoebe and George will develop will have a life beyond NDCWales and feed the sector across a wide range of disciplines and different spaces, which is exciting. We can’t wait to see what we can create together.”

Support for Artists NDCWales also support local artists through research commissions and offering space, support and advice in kind. Artist Research Commissions allow artists paid space and time with the dancers of National Dance Company Wales to research ideas without any pressure to create a performance – the first of these for 2026 was awarded to Wales-based artist Billy Maxwell Taylor. The Dance House also often becomes a Cardiff Hub for companies such as Jones the Dance, Welsh Ballroom Community and Humans Move. This work with Welsh artists follows on from successes of previous development programmes including ‘Artistic Associates’ and ‘Laboratori’, which supported the development of dance artists in Wales and cross-artform collaborations. The Creative Associate Programme marks a significant cash investment of £10,000 as well as £15,000 in in-kind support. Alongside a further £10,000 of in-kind space made available to the dance sector in Wales, NDCWales is cementing its commitment to investing in the future of Dance makers in Wales. Both the Creative Associate and ARC (Artist Research Commission) programmes form a larger network of support for dance artists in Wales that National Dance Company Wales have been developing for several years. Previous Artistic Associates (now Creative Associates) include June Campbell-Davies and Osian Meilir – both of whom went on to create performance work for the Company. In 2024 - 2025, the National Company worked with 95 freelance collaborators and artists across Wales and shared well over 1000 hours of studio space with 56 dance practitioners and companies in-kind and opened the doors of their daily company class to 615 dancers.

Images: Emily Almodovar & Lydia Garden