National Youth
Dance Wales
Your Stage Awaits!
Registrations for National Youth Dance Wales 2026 auditions are now live!
In 2026, National Youth Dance Wales (NYDW) will bring together 20 exceptional young dancers from across Wales to create and premiere an electrifying new work performed on a national stage in Wales.
What makes 2026 exciting is the transformative, industry-level experience awaiting NYDW members. Throughout the programme, dancers will train intensively with leading practitioners, pushing their physical abilities, sharpening their artistic voices, and elevating their performance craft. Alongside this, dedicated well-being support will help members strengthen both their physical and mental resilience, ensuring they thrive in a fully holistic, professional environment.
This year’s company will work hand-in-hand with a guest choreographer and an outstanding creative team, including filmmakers, costume designers, and lighting designers to bring a brand-new piece to life. Not only will this work premiere live on stage, but dancers will also take part in creating a dance-on-film, shot on location across some of Wales’ most breathtaking landscapes, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and iconic heritage sites. Members will experience what it’s like to be part of a professional dance film production - from working on set to performing for camera.
By joining NYDW in 2026, dancers become part of Wales’ National youth dance company and immerse themselves in a supportive, ambitious community of talented young artists from across the nation.
A note from NYDW Producer
Jamie Jenkins
National Youth Dance Wales Producer
and Head of Dance
2026 Programme
NYDW members will collaborate with a guest choreographer and a team of exceptional dance tutors to create bold new work that showcases the power and potential of Wales’ young dancers. Through a vibrant blend of high-level technical training and imaginative creative exploration, dancers will build the skills needed for both stage and screen - while shaping, refining, and celebrating their own unique artistic voices.
Dates for the diary…
Apply by:
11 February 2026
Video submissions deadline: Friday 20th February 2026
Auditions:
14 - 21 February 2026
Results:
31 March 2026
Auditions:
Saturday 14 February: Swansea (AM) / Bridgend (PM)
Sunday 15 February: Cardiff (AM)
Monday 16 February: Newport (AM) / Abergavenny (PM)
Tuesday 17 February: Llandridnod Wells / Pwllheli (PM)
Wednesday 18 February: Llandudno (AM) / Mold (PM)
Thursday 19 February: Anglesey (AM)
Friday 20 February: Cardiff (AM) / Neath (PM)
Saturday 21 February: Tenby (PM)
Members Discovery Day: Friday 29 May 2026
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
Phase One: Monday 17th - Saturday 29th August 2026
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
Phase Two: Tuesday 27 - Friday 30 October 2026
University South Wales (Newport)
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£1,100
Your membership fee includes all tuition costs, accommodation, food and board, travel within the residency and social activities. Thanks to the generous support from our funders and supporters, National Youth Arts Wales subsidises a significant part of the costs of being a member of one of the national youth ensembles.
However, we aim to make sure that money is never a barrier to participation in any of our ensembles or projects. We understand that for some applicants any contribution may be out of reach, which is why we run a generous bursary scheme that supports where support is needed.
We consider each applicant’s household’s income, with the aim to offer help with some or all of the contribution. We also offer an instalment payment plan.
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Our Bursary Fund could help to cover some or all of the membership fees, so that no-one is deterred from applying for the NYAW Ensembles for financial reasons. If you have an annual household income of less than £70,000, you could be eligible for financial support. Visit NYAW BURSARY FUND for full information including how to claim help toward audition costs and membership fees.
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NYAW accepts applications from people who live/study full-time in Wales or were born in Wales.
We are looking for talented young dancers aged 16 – 22 years who live/study full-time in Wales or were born in Wales and who regularly engage in dance classes through their school/college, private dance school and/or with their local youth dance company at intermediate level or above.
For the 2026 residencies participants must be aged between 16 and 22 on 31 August 2026. This means that you may be able to audition aged 15, as long as you will be 16 by this date.
NYAW reserves the right to exclude anyone from taking part in its ensembles at its reasonable discretion, to be exercised by senior staff or trustees.
For any questions about our eligibility criteria, please email us at: nyaw@nyaw.org.uk.