Eisteddfod giving hip hop dance a go

The summer cultural extravaganza has traditionally been home to the more gentle sounds of folk music, traditional dancing, opera and choral singing.

But this year, in a bid to appeal to a younger audience, organisers are giving the event near the Shropshire border a bit of a shake-up.

A new urban hip hop dance competition will be staged this year and will see street dancers join competitors from all over the world to perform on the same stage as artists as diverse as opera superstar Bryn Terfel and rock legends Status Quo.

The closing date for entries from urban dance groups is March 7.

Musical director Eilir Owen Griffiths said: "Last year's event was a fantastic success of which I am very proud but the last thing we can afford to do is rest on our laurels.If we are to maintain and improve our standards we must not be complacent. It is therefore always a good to look at what we do to see if there are any ways we can do things even better next year.

"It is vitally important that we remain true to the core traditions of the Eisteddfod and we will always keep the faith with our cultural heritage, after all that is our raison d'etre.

"By the same token we must also be aware that culture is a living, vibrant, evolving phenomenon and we must also attract and remain relevant to new audiences as well as continuing to provide a platform for more traditional music and dance.

"In recent years, the choral competitions have been enriched by the inclusion of barbershop and show choirs. It has been an extremely popular development.

"We are now introducing a similar experiment in the dance competitions at this year's Eisteddfod.

"At the suggestion of our dance judges, we will have a hip hop dance competition so that the contemporary urban dance tradition can be represented too.

"It is a highly popular and culturally important part of the dance scene so we think it makes sense to introduce a hip hop competition to assess how successful it is and whether is should be included in future festivals.

"We will of course be rigorous in ensuring that the Eisteddfod's high standards are maintained at all times so there will be preliminary rounds to decide who is worthy of competing on the main stage."

The curtain raiser for this year's Eisteddfod will mark the return of opera superstar Bryn Terfel to Llangollen.The acclaimed bass baritone will be playing the lead in a special English-language production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street featuring an all-Welsh cast.

Concerts by Caro Emerald and veteran British rockers Status Quo as well as a world premiere of a new work, Adiemus Colores, by top composer Karl Jenkins are all part of this year's lineup. See www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk