New director leaves National Dance Company Wales

Posted on February 11, 2015

National Dance Company Wales has announced that Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, appointed director in November 2014, will not take up his post.

National Dance Company Wales has a troubled recent history. Former director Ann Sholem stepped down in 2013. In 2014, an independent report by Arts Council Wales concluded that the company was “facing a crisis in its governance and its management”. Company chairman Andrew Davies, who was overseeing the appointment of a new board, has now announced that Sansano will not be directing the company.

“I regret to announce that due to immovable work commitments Gustavo Ramírez Sansano will be unable to take up the position of artistic director at National Dance Company Wales,” Davies said in a statement. “Having made extensive attempts to overcome prior freelance contracts and commitments, NDCWales and Gustavo are now in full agreement that it will not be possible for him to begin work to a time-frame that is suitable for the needs of the company.  We have therefore reached a mutual decision that Gustavo will withdraw from the role and a new recruitment process for the position will commence immediately. The board and company chief executive Paul Kaynes are working closely together to manage this process and move NDCWales into this new phase of its development. I would like to take this opportunity to wish Gustavo all the best for his future projects.”

Picture: Gustavo Ramírez Sansano. Photograph courtesy of National Dance Company Wales

Zoe Anderson

Zoë was born in Edinburgh, and saw her first dance performances at the Festival there. She is the dance critic of The Independent, and has also written for The Independent on Sunday, The Scotsman and Dancing Times. In 2002, she received her doctorate from the University of York for a thesis on “Nationhood and epic romance: Ariosto, Sidney, Spenser”. She is the author of The Royal Ballet: 75 Years and The Ballet Lover’s Companion.