Dance  Notes   Issue  4,  April  2013  

Why  does  Dublin  need  a  dance  festival?   4  Student  Symposium  2013,  Belfast   4  Nurturing  Irish  Dance   10  Cheap  Lecture/Cow  Piece  at  DDF   12  Developing  audiences  for  dance  in  Ireland   17  

Dublin  Dance  Festival  2012-­‐13    

 

I  am  delighted  to  present  the  fourth  issue  of  Dance  Research  Forum  Ireland's  Dance  Notes  –  the  only  publication  in  Ireland  that  gives  a  platform  for  artists  and  academics  to  share  current  research  and  writing  in  Dance.  

This  special  edition  focuses  on  Dublin  Dance  Festival,  and  takes  a  slightly  different  approach  than  previous  issues.  In  curating  this  publication,  I  worked  with  an  editorial  committee  that  included  Jenny  Roche  (Dancer  /  Academic)  and  Eleanor  Creighton  (Marketing  Manager,  Dublin  Dance  Festival),  to  bring  together  a  range  of  perspectives.  The  history  and  legacies  of  the  Festival  are  traced  through  these  contributions  –  from  direction,  facilitation  and  participation,  to  reflection  and  critique.  Within  these  writings  you  will  see  artists  engaging  with  other  artists  –  considering  their  work  in  relation  to  their  own  experiences.  I  would  like  to  thank  Jenny  and  Ellie,  all  at  Dublin  Dance  Festival,  Mats  Melin  (Dance  Notes  Editor),  and  all  those  who  contributed  to  this  Dance  Notes  issue.  

2013  sees  DRFI  celebrating  our  10th  anniversary.  We  will  be  marking  this  milestone  with  a  series  of  special  events  and  publications  throughout  2013.  The  first  of  these  events  was  a  very  successful,  celebratory  Student  Symposium,  held  at  Queens  University  Belfast  on  22nd  &  23rd  February  2013.  Further  information  on  this  event  can  be  found  in  this  issue.  

You  can  keep  up  to  date  with  this  and  other  activities  via  our  website  or  Facebook  Page.  I  look  forward  to  meeting  many  new  members  at  our  events  throughout  the  year.  

Sheila  Creevey,  Chairperson,  Dance  Research  Forum  Ireland  

Introduction  

 

 

Dance  Notes   Issue  4,  April  2013    

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Dance  Research  Forum  Ireland  is  a  non-­‐profit,  international,  inclusive  and  inter-­‐disciplinary  society  for  the  scholarship  of  dance,  in  all  its  manifestations,  in  Ireland  and  its  diaspora.  Your  support  as  a  member  allows  us  to  ensure  that  there  is  a  voice  for  dance  artists  and  scholars  on  the  international  academic  'stage'.  Our  activities  have  included  three  international  conferences,  as  well  as  seminars,  student  symposiums  and  the  publication  of  Proceedings  from  these  events.  The  National  Dance  Archive  of  Ireland  was  recently  established  by  DRFI,  in  partnership  with  University  of  Limerick  and  An  Chomhairle  Ealaíon  /  The  Arts  Council.  This  archive  will  host  a  broad  range  of  literature  and  artefacts  relating  to  dance  practice  and  scholarship  of  all  forms  and  traditions,  and  will  be  a  valuable  international  resource  for  scholars  of  dance.    

About  Dance  Research  Forum  Ireland  

For  further  information,  and  to  show  your  support  by  becoming  a  member  of  DRFI,  please  visit  our  website  www.danceresearchforumireland.org.    

A  reminder  to  all  that  Dance  Research  Forum  Ireland  membership  runs  from  1st  June  to  31st  May.  If  you  have  not  yet  renewed  your  membership  -­‐  or  if  you  would  like  to  support  DRFI  and  join  as  a  new  member  -­‐  you  can  do  so  on  our  website.  Membership  costs  just  €20  for  individuals,  €10  for  students  and  €50  for  institutions.  Your  support  enables  us  to  continue  to  promote  and  advocate  for  the  development  of  dance  research  and  scholarship  in  Ireland;  and  gives  you  access  to  discounts  and  exclusive  events.  Keep  up  to  date  with  DRFI  on  our  website  or  Facebook  page.  If  you  have  any  suggestions  for  events  -­‐  or  wish  to  host  an  event,  contact  chairperson@danceresearchforumireland.org.    

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DRFI  4th  International  Conference:  Connecting  Communities  Through  Dance  

The  4th  International  Conference  of  Dance  Research  Forum  Ireland  took  place  in  Derry/Londonderry  over  four  days  from  28th  June  to  1st  July  2012.  Presented  in  association  with  the  North  Atlantic  Fiddle  Convention  (NAFCo),  the  conference  was  hosted  by  the  University  of  Ulster,  Magee  Campus  who  provided  the  Foyle  Arts  Building  for  the  event.    

The  theme  of  the  conference  was  Connecting  Communities  Through  Dance,  which  drew  presenters  and  participants  from  across  Ireland,  the  United  Kingdom,  Spain,  the  United  States  and  Canada.  There  was  a  broad  range  of  presentations  on  a  range  of  topics,  including  'Building  Bridges',  'Dance  Education'  and  examining  the  shifting  and  evolving  communities  of  dance  across  the  world.  The  Keynote  Speech  was  given  by  Judy  Van  Zile,  Professor  Emerita  in  Dance  at  the  University  of  Hawaii,  in  the  beautiful  Great  Hall  at  the  University  of  Ulster.  Presentations  took  the  format  of  papers,  seminars  and  lecture  demonstrations,  and  were  enthusiastically  received.  The  proceedings  of  the  conference  will  be  published  early  2013.    

DRFI  were  delighted  to  be  collaborating  with  NAFCo,  which  brought  a  festival  experience  to  our  delegates.  There  were  recitals,  masterclasses,  ceilidh  and  gigs  for  all  tastes.  DRFI  contributed  to  the  dance  programming  for  the  festival,  which  was  hugely  popular  and  successful.  The  dance  performances  included  a  Mamuska  event,  providing  an  informal  platform  for  dance  artists  and  companies;  a  première  from  Breandan  de  Gallaí,  and  a  wonderful  performance  from  the  Liz  Roche  Company.  The  feedback  from  delegates  was  very  positive,  and  has  also  encouraged  a  broader  interest  in  the  activities  of  DRFI.    

Many  new  relationships  were  established,  and  existing  ones  reaffirmed.  DRFI  would  like  to  thank  the  Arts  Council  /  European  Cultural  Contact  

 

 

Dance  Notes    

Issue  4,  April  2013    

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Point;  NAFCo  and  the  University  of  Ulster  for  their  support  in  making  this  wonderful  event  happen.  

New  Board  Members  for  DRFI  

At  the  June  2012  AGM,  the  following  members  were  elected  to  the  board  of  DRFI:    

Jonathan  Skinner,  Queens  University  Belfast  Sophia  Preston,  University  of  Ulster  Emma  Meehan,  Coventry  University  Mary  Christensen,  Yale  University    Majella  Bartley  (Treasurer),  University  of  Limerick  

The  following  members  remain  on  the  board:  Sheila  Creevey  (Chairperson),  IT  Carlow  Breandan  de  Gallaí  (Vice-­‐Chairperson),  University  of  Limerick  Catherine  Foley,  University  of  Limerick  Carmel  McKenna,  Limerick  Institute  of  Technology  

I  would  like  to  thank  those  who  stepped  down,  all  of  whom  have  made  huge  contributions  to  the  development  of  DRFI  over  the  past  10  years:    

Orfhlaith  Ní  Bhriain  Mats  Melin  Sharon  Phelan  Catherine  Young  Sean  Shanagher  Colin  Quigley  Jenny  Roche  

 

Open  Call  for  Submissions:  Dance  Notes  

At  a  recent  meeting,  the  board  of  Dance  Research  Forum  Ireland  decided  to  initiate  an  ongoing  open  call  for  submissions  for  publication  in  Dance  Notes.  Articles  must  be  related  to  current  research  in  dance  or  movement  –  theory  or  practice.  Submissions  will  be  considered  by  the  editorial  committee  as  they  are  received.  Dance  Notes  is  an  online  publication  of  Dance  Research  Forum  Ireland.  It  provides  a  platform  for  artists  and  scholars  to  share  current  research  and  practice  in  dance  and  movement  related  areas.  All  contributors  will  be  required  to  be  members  in  good  standing  with  DRFI.  Information  on  membership  is  available  on  our  website.  

 DRFI  Student  Symposium  2013  

The  2013  DRFI  Student  Symposium  took  place  at  Queens  University  Belfast  on  22nd  and  23rd  February.  The  weekend  event  started  on  Friday  evening  with  a  fascinating  talk  from  Dr  Katie  Gough  entitled:  Haptic  Histories:  Joan  of  Arc,  Jim  Crow  and  the  “Irish  Question”.  This  talk  was  well  attended  with  some  very  interesting  discussions  arising.  

On  Saturday,  students  of  dance  from  Queens  University,  and  guests,  presented  research  and  practice  they  are  currently  undertaking.  A  broad  range  of  topics  and  dance  styles  were  addressed,  with  question  and  answer  sessions  providing  valuable  feedback  and  insight  for  the  students  from  the  audience  of  dance  academics.  

The  presentations  were  followed  by  a  new  addition  to  the  Symposium  forum  –  an  industry  round  table  discussion.  The  panel  included  Dr  Catherine  Foley,  Breandan  de  Gallaí,  and  Sheila  Creevey  (Chairperson,  DRFI).  The  forum  provided  an  opportunity  for  those  present  to  discuss  some  of  the  issues  surrounding  the  study  and  practice  of  dance  in  Ireland.  The  day  was  then  rounded  off  with  a  very  entertaining  workshop  on  The  Sionna  Set  Dance  with  Dr  Catherine  Foley.  

DRFI  would  like  to  thank  Queens  University  Belfast,  Dr  Jonathan  Skinner  and  Lauren  Guyer-­‐Douglas  for  hosting  and  organising  this  event.    

Call  for  Expressions  of  Interest:  Chairperson,  Dance  Research  Forum  Ireland  

In  keeping  with  the  Constitution  of  Dance  Research  Forum  Ireland,  the  current  Chairperson  Sheila  Creevey  will  step  down  at  the  Annual  General  Meeting  of  members  in  June  2013.  Expressions  of  interest  are  currently  being  sought  for  this  position.  In  order  to  assume  the  Chair  of  DRFI,  the  candidate  must  be  a  member  in  good  standing,  and  have  completed  at  least  one  year  as  a  member  of  the  board.  Requests  for  information,  and  expressions  of  interest  can  be  sent  to  Catherine  Foley  (Chair  Emerita,  Dance  Research  Forum  Ireland)  at  catherine.e.foley@ul.ie.  

 

 

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WHY  DOES  DUBLIN  NEED  A  DANCE  FESTIVAL?    Val  Bourne,  Board  Member,  Dublin  Dance  Festival  

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That  very  question  was  raised  at  a  meeting  in  Dublin  in  1998.  

Catherine  Nunes  was  launching  her  campaign  to  start  a  dance  festival  in  Dublin  and  the  Irish  dance  community  had  been  invited  to  discuss  the  idea.  

In  the  course  of  a  spirited,  not  to  say  heated,  debate,  it  became  clear  that  not  everyone  was  in  favour  of  a  festival;  a  vocal  few  would  have  preferred  a  ballet  company.  Catherine  had  to  amass  a  very  solid  body  of  evidence  to  convince  the  Arts  Council  and  other  interested  parties  that  a  festival  would  bring  with  it  not  only  prestige  and  international  recognition  but  also  other  benefits.  

Chief  amongst  these,  for  Irish  artists  in  particular,  is  that  festivals  attract  overseas  promoters.  If  they  can  see  the  best  that  Ireland  has  to  offer,  in  the  context  of  international  work,  they  will  jump  at  the  opportunity.    And  they  have  done  just  that.  Over  the  last  ten  years  I  have  met  fellow  promoters  from  all  over  the  world,  in  Dublin  specifically  for  the  festival.  

Between  1978  and  2006,  I  directed  38  festivals,  mostly  in  London  but  also  in  Leicester,  Newcastle  and  Woking.  So,  it  could  be  said  that  I’m  profoundly  biased  in  favour  of  the  festival  genre.  On  the  other  hand,  I  do  have  first-­‐hand  experience  

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of  just  how  effective  and  successful  festivals  can  be  in  developing  an  educated  audience  with  a  genuine  appreciation  of  contemporary  dance  in  all  its  diversity  and  an  appetite  to  see  more  of  it.  

I  think  that  the  Dublin  Dance  Festival,  launched  in  2002,  proves  my  point  entirely.  Thanks  to  the  visionary  Catherine  Nunes  and  her  worthy  successors,  Laurie  Uprichard  and  now  Julia  Carruthers,  the  festival  is  very  firmly  established  as  fixed  date  on  the  international  dance  calendar.  Long  may  it  continue  to  thrive!  

Yuval  Pick  –  ©  L  Philippe  

 

 

Dance  Notes    

Issue  4,  April  2013    

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‘How  long  it  takes  to  get  things  done’  is  among  the  lessons  Catherine  Nunes  has  learned  from  her  experience  as  founding  director  of  International  Dance  Festival  Ireland  –  precursor  to  the  Dublin  Dance  Festival.    She  began  the  process  that  led  to  the  founding  of  the  dance  festival  in  1996  when  on  moving  back  to  Ireland  she  recognised  an  opportunity  to  increase  the  profile  and  impact  of  dance  in  the  Irish  imagination.    From  working  at  Dance  Umbrella  in  London  and  from  setting  up  a  satellite  Dance  Umbrella  in  Newcastle,  she’d  gained  the  knowledge,  contacts  and  nous  to  undertake  the  venture.    But  she  was  also  prompted  by  what  she  saw  was  a  need.    The  word  that  she  uses  again  and  again  in  relation  to  her  aspirations  for  dance  is  ‘confidence’  because  at  that  time  she  felt  that  there  wasn’t  much  of  it  to  be  found  in  the  dance  community  in  Ireland  and  she  understood  just  how  effective  a  festival  could  be  in  boosting  confidence  on  every  level.      

The  first  proposal  for  a  festival  that  arose  from  a  feasability  study  she  had  submitted  to  the  Arts  Council  met  with  the  response  that  ‘Ireland  was  too  small,  not  ready  for  a  festival,  that  people  wouldn’t  get  it’.    This  set  in  motion  the  complex  process  of  establishing  a  Steering  Committee,  chaired  by  Fiach  MacConghnail,  and  of  entering  into  ongoing  dialogue  with  members  of  both  the  Arts  Council  and  its  executive.  Finally,  at  the  end  of  1999,  shortly  after  a  formal  presentation  to  Council  members,  including  Patrick  Sutton  and  Dermot  McLoughlin  (later  to  become  Chairman  of  the  festival)  a  breakthrough  occurred  and  the  Steering  Committee  was  invited  to  submit  a  funding  application.  In  early  2000,  having  established  an  informal  partnership  with  the  Arts  Council,  funding  for  3  biennial  festivals  was  agreed.    

Nunes  acknowledges  that  the  Irish  dance  community  weren’t  entirely  welcoming  of  festival  at  the  outset:  ‘Irish  dance  artists  who  were  struggling  to  maintain  their  work  already  feared  that  the  festival  

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would  detract  from  their  funding  so  we  had  to  make  clear  that  the  it  was  being  funded  from  an  entirely  different  pot.    We  also  wanted  to  show  that  the  festival  could  be  of  benefit  to  the  Irish  dance  community  as  ROSC  had  been  in  development  of  Irish  contemporary  art’.      

The  title  of  the  festival  -­‐  International  Dance  Festival  Ireland  -­‐  led  some  to  believe  that  Irish  work  might  not  have  an  important  place  in  the  programme  but  Nunes  is  clear  that  ‘from  the  outset  it  was  about  Irish  and  International  artists’  and  the  3  programmes  under  her  direction  bear  that  out  featuring  work  by  IMDT,  Coiscéim,  Daghdha,  Mary  Nunan,  Cindy  Cummings,  DTI,  Rex  Levitates,  Jenny  Roche  and  Seosamh  Ó  Neachtain.    

The  title  was  never  going  to  please  everybody  but  we  wanted  something  that  was  not  apologising  for  itself,  that  was  not  just  about  Dublin  but  about  the  whole  country.    We  were  convinced  from  Day  One  that  quality  would  be  the  yardstick  for  deciding  who  was  included  and  that  it  was  the  only  way  to  gain  the  trust  of  a  new  public  for  dance.    In  practice  that  meant  a  few  ground  rules:  we  would  not  present  work  that  had  already  been  seen  in  Ireland,  this  applied  to  both  Irish  and  international  work.  With  regard  to  Irish  artists,  we  wanted  to  present  them  in  different  ways,  to  support  them  in  trying  something  new  and  to  make  meaningful  connections  for  them.  A  good  example  of  this  can  be  seen  not  only  in  the  opportunity  offered  to  Liz  Roche  to  become  an  Associate  Artist  of  the  festival  but  also  to  nurture  and  facilitate  a  working  relationship  with  her  chosen  mentor,  Rosemary  Butcher.  In  those  early  days  the  festival  could  not  be  all  things  to  all  people.    The  programming  decisions  were  made  according  to  what  the  greatest  need  was  perceived  to  be  and  as  the  APDI  platform  for  young  emerging  artists  already  existed  the  festival  

Director’s  Interview  Fearghus  Ó  Conchúir  

 

 

 

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turned  its  sights  elsewhere.  A  major  priority  at  the  time  was  to  make  a  very  visible,  confident,  high  quality  statement  about  dance  that  would  infiltrate  the  public  imagination.  For  the  Irish  work  we  did  present,  we  endeavoured  to  treat  it  as  equal  to  incoming  international  work  and  often  allowed  for  additional  ‘get-­‐in’  time  so  that  it  could  be  presented  to  the  best  advantage.    We  also  hoped  that  Irish  work  would  benefit  from  being  seen  by  the  new  audiences  that  a  festival  could  generate,  and  for  those  dance  artists  we  didn’t  programme,  we  offered  a  range  of  diverse  activities  such  as  masterclasses,  cheap  tickets,  possibilities  for  exchange  and  meetings  with  international  artists  that  we  hoped  would  create  a  melting  pot  of  ideas  that  would  broaden  the  palette  of  what  was  possible  creatively  in  Ireland.  

Though  Nunes  is  clear  about  the  place  of  Irish  work  in  the  festival  and  the  positive  impact  that  international  programming  could  have  on  dance  in  Ireland,  she  was  also  very  determined  to  transform  Irish  audiences,  a  transformation  that  would  ultimately  allow  dance  in  Ireland  to  flourish  on  every  level:    

Irish  theatre  audiences  are  attached  to  narrative  and  much  dance  asks  them  to  let  go  of  narrative  and  that  linear  approach  to  live  performance.    This  was  a  major  hurdle  to  overcome  but  I  felt  there  was  a  thirst  for  something  different,  something  that  dance  could  provide.    That  was  why  we  programmed  Merce  Cunningham  as  the  headline  show  of  the  first  festival  on  the  stage  at  the  Abbey.    I  was  hoping  the  quality  of  the  work  would  speak  for  itself  even  if  people  were  bamboozled  by  the  lack  of  story.    And  when  Merce  came  on  stage  at  the  end  of  the  performance  to  receive  a  standing  ovation  that  was  the  most  historic  moment  for  me.    It  proved  that  Irish  audiences  were  as  receptive  and  open  as  I  had  suspected.    

The  initial  funding  agreement  with  the  Arts  Council  was  for  three  biennial  festivals  but  before  

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the  third  festival  in  2006  it  was  clear  that  the  project  had  been  a  success  and  that  an  appetite  and  audience  for  it  existed.    The  biennial  festival  had  already  begun  to  programme  events  in  the  interim  years  and  so  it  made  sense  for  it  to  become  an  annual  event.    Once  a  new  annual  model  had  been  agreed  and  she  felt  that  the  Festival  had  a  firm  foothold  in  Irish  cultural  life,  Nunes  stepped  down:    ‘I  felt  that  the  pioneering  work  required  to  envision  and  realise  a  new  venture  had  been  completed.  It  was  the  end  of  a  chapter  and  the  festival,  although  still  in  its  infancy,  had,  in  some  respects,  come  of  age.  It  felt  like  an  appropriate  time  to  embrace  new  challenges  and  I  left  in  the  hope  that  the  founding  vision  and  ethos  of  the  festival  would  be  caretaken  and  sustained.’  

For  the  new  director,  Laurie  Uprichard,  the  transition  to  an  annual  festival  was  not  without  challenges:    ‘From  a  programmatic  and  marketing  standpoint,  I  think  [being  annual]  gave  the  Festival  greater  visibility  both  at  home  and  abroad.    It  became  more  familiar  to  people  –  both  artists  and  audiences.    The  financial  impact  was  less  positive.      My  biggest  challenge  was  how  to  sustain  an  annual  festival  when  the  funding  did  not  increase  significantly  enough  to  cover  annual  year-­‐round  professional  staffing’  

Uprichard  came  to  the  festival  having  been  Executive  Director  of  Danspace  Project  in  New  York  for  15  years.  Her  New  York  experience  was  evident  in  elements  of  her  programming.    US  artists  such  Eiko  and  Koma,  Yvonne  Rainer,  Vicky  Shick,  Risa  Jaroslow  and  Tere  O’Connor  made  a  strong  showing  in  her  festivals.    In  2008  she  presented  Betontanc’s  Wrestling  Dostoevski  in  the  SS  Michael  and  John  space,  knowing  it  had  worked  well  in  the  very  similar  environment  of  Danspace’s  home,  St  Mark’s  Church.    The  transatlantic  connection  worked  in  reverse  when  David  Zambrano’s  Soul  Project,  which  she  presented  in  SS  Michael  and  John,  subsequently  travelled  to  St  Mark’s  Church.  

In  smaller  details  also,  Uprichard  drew  on  

 

 

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her  American  experience.    She  brought  the  practice  of  giving  out  free  programmes  that  included  the  biographies  of  all  collaborators  and  performers:  ‘I  consider  it  part  of  the  educational  activities  of  a  presenter  to  make  sure  the  audience  understands  how  many  hands  went  into  the  creation  of  a  work  and  what  went  into  the  training  of  the  choreographer,  dancers,  composer,  etc.’  She  also  made  sure  there  was  food  as  well  as  drink  at  post  show  receptions:  ‘I  wanted  the  artists  to  stay  to  meet  the  public  and,  you  know,  dancers  are  hungry  after  shows.’      

For  how  she  thought  about  integrating  Irish  and  international  work  in  the  programme,  Laurie  drew  on  the  US  model  of  On  the  Boards  in  Seattle:  ‘Their  ability  to  seamlessly  incorporate  Seattle  and  Northwest  U.S.  artists  into  a  programme  that  also  included  the  best  of  international  experimental  dance  was  legendary  and  I  tried  to  replicate  their  approach  in  Dublin.    In  general,  they  provided  opportunities  to  local  and  regional  artists  through  an  annual  “Northwest  New  Works”  program  and  through  a  shared  programme  called  “12  Minutes  Max.”    These  series  were  an  inherent  part  of  a  coherent  annual  season  and  were  given  equal  attention  and  promotion  as  the  visiting  artists.    When  I  came  to  Dublin,  it  was  really  important  to  me  that  the  Irish  artists  be  considered  an  equal  part  of  the  mix  (not  just  in  numbers  but  in  artistic  quality  as  well)  and  it  was  also  crucial  that  international  artists  and  Irish  artists  meet  each  other  and  see  each  other’s  work.’  

Re-­‐Presenting  Ireland  is  now  a  fixture  of  the  Dance  Festival  programme.    It  provides  a  studio-­‐based  showcase  in  DanceHouse  for  Irish  dance  artists  selected  from  an  open  call  to  present  their  work  to  festival  audiences  and  crucially  to  the  international  programmers  and  promoters  who  come  to  visit  the  festival.    

Re-­‐Presenting  Ireland  grew  out  of  a  town  hall  meeting  at  DanceHouse  that  was  held  in  November  2007,  a  few  months  after  I  arrived.    I  

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wanted  to  hear  what  the  community  needed  from  the  Festival.    Coming  from  the  Arts  Presenters  model  [APAP  in  New  York]  of  everyone  showcasing  their  work  when  they  know  that  presenters  are  in  town,  it  seemed  that  this  would  be  a  good  way  and  a  manageable  way,  thanks  to  Culture  Ireland,  to  get  the  greatest  impact  for  Irish  choreographers.    It  also  added  to  the  uniqueness  of  DDF  within  the  festival  context.    I  really  wanted  international  programmers  to  come  to  Dublin  and  there  is  a  lot  of  competition  out  there  for  those  presenters’  travel  and  time  budgets!    Adding  that  particular  programme  strand  was  very  attractive  to  international  guests.  

My  expectations  for  any  immediate  outcomes  were  quite  low  as  I  know  how  long  it  can  take  for  artists  to  establish  relationships  with  programmers  and  I  tried  hard  to  convey  those  expectations  to  the  funders  and  artists.    Therefore,  I  was  very  pleasantly  surprised  when  there  were  several  invitations  after  the  first  year.    I  think  Re-­‐Presenting  Ireland  has  been  quite  successful  at  making  introductions  between  Irish  choreographers  and  the  international  programmers  that  resulted  in  engagements  abroad  for  the  artists.    It  also  gives  the  visiting  artists  a  chance  to  see  Irish  work,  which  I  think  is  extremely  important.  

Uprichard’s  successor,  Julia  Carruthers,  knows  first  hand  the  impact  of  the  Re-­‐Presenting  Ireland  programme,  having  come  to  the  festival  in  2008  as  Head  of  Dance  &  Performance  at  the  Southbank  Centre  in  London.    She  was  looking  for  Irish  work  to  include  in  an  EU-­‐funded  showcase  at  the  Southbank  and  selected  Liz  Roche  from  the  Re-­‐Presenting  Ireland  showing.  

I  do  see  [the  showcase]  as  a  great  entry  point  for  artists,  as  it’s  open  application    -­‐  and  I  hope  the  outcome  of  this  year’s  selection  wasn’t  necessarily  predictable.  It  puts  all  that  Irish  work  in  the  Festival  and  in  an  international  context,  as  part  of  what’s  going  on,  and  it  reaches  a  great  audience  that  way.  To  those  that  have  reservations  about  it  

 

 

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as  a  showcase,  I  say  from  experience  that  promoters  know  what  they  are  looking  at.  If  something  is  good  and  interests  them,  they  don’t  necessarily  need  it  all  packaged  up  in  a  full-­‐on  theatrical  environment  –  they’ll  spot  it.  Promoters  generally  know  what  will  suit  their  venue  and  their  audiences.  Fortunately  they  don’t  all  choose  the  same  stuff.  

Arriving  as  Director,  Carruthers  understood  that  the  DDF  had  become  an  important  platform  for  Irish  choreography  but  was  initially  apprehensive  about  how  she  might  programme  it  alongside  international  work:    

I  have  been  pleasantly  surprised  by  the  quality  of  what’s  going  on.  And  how  many  good  dancers  there  are  working  here.  One  of  Laurie’s  handover  notes,  which  I  particularly  warmed  to,  was  her  saying  enthusiastically  that  the  brilliant  thing  in  Ireland  is  that  there’s  always  something  or  somebody  new  coming  up,  it’s  not  static  or  stuck.  

However,  alongside  that  optimism  of  evolution  and  emergence  Carruthers  does  ‘worry  about  how  Irish  choreographers  resource  what  they  want  to  do  and  plan  sufficiently  ahead.      I’d  love  to  have  a  proper  commissioning  pot  –  perhaps  even  for  a  new  music  score,  or  an  expensive  design  collaborator.’  

What  comes  across  strongly  in  Carruthers’s  programming  is  a  commitment  to  engaging  audiences  and  an  embrace  of  fun:    

I’ve  opted  for  quite  a  bit  of  comedy,  I’ve  avoided  self-­‐indulgent  conceptual  dance,  bad  acting  and  bad  dancer-­‐authored  text!  I’ve  gone  for  dancing,  not  talking,  not  that  showing-­‐old-­‐slides-­‐of-­‐ME-­‐when-­‐I-­‐was-­‐a-­‐child  thing.    There’s  enough  hot  theatre  and  performance  in  Dublin  already,  and  I  feel  DDF  has  a  responsibility  to  supply  dancing,  choreography,  bodies  in  motion.  Except  then  there’s  Jonathan  Burrows  &  Matteo  Fargion.  

I  know  I’ve  picked  up  things  that  I  hope  an  

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audience  here  can  engage  with  such  as  the  endearing  work  of  Luca  Silvestrini  in  Grafton  Street  which  is  so  funny  and  silly,  Alexander  Andriyashkin  from  Russia  who  asks  the  audience  what  they  think,  and  the  fabulous  lighting  designs  and  high  profile  choreographers  involved  in  the  Aakash  Odedra  evening.      If  we  can’t  afford  to  present  Sidi  Larbi  Cherkaoui,  Akram  Khan  and  Russell  Maliphant  then  at  least  I  can  show  audiences  new  work  by  them.  

Carruthers  draws  on  her  time  at  the  Southbank  in  London  where  an  experienced  Learning  and  Participation  team  supplemented  programming  decisions  and  devised  special  projects  like  bringing  Akram  Khan  and  Hanif  Kureishi  for  the  Ballroom  Floor  foyer  area  in  the  Royal  Festival  Hall,    to  ensure  engagement  with  a  wide  and  diverse  audience.  She  intends  for  the  festival  to  be  a  catalyst  in  raising  awareness  of  multiculturalism  in  Ireland  and  wants,  ideally  and  probably  longer  term,    to  add  similar  learning  and  participation  expertise  to  the  DDF  staff  team.    She  is  also  aware  of  the  balance  to  be  struck  between  investing  resources  in  the  infrastructure  of  the  organisation  and  investing  in  the  artistic  programme.      

I  want  the  DDF  to  offer  lots  more  fun  for  all  ages,  to  be  something  that  involves  people  who  aren’t  necessarily  arty  or  intellectual,    something  for  the  non-­‐academic  teenagers  floundering  in  conventional  education  contexts,  something  for  those  that  feel  the  arts  aren’t  for  them.  I  want  it  to  include  and  inspire.  

As  she  prepares  for  the  2013  festival,  Carruthers  can  congratulate  herself  and  her  team:  for  the  accessible  fun  the  2012  festival  provided  in  work  such  as  Silvestrini’s  Invisible  Dances;  for  the  pedigree  of  headline  work  such  as  that  of  Trisha  Brown;  for  the  healthy  showing  of  new  work  by  Irish  artists  such  as  Liz  Roche  and  Junk  Ensemble;  and  for  the  serious  and  topical  impact  of  Brokentalkers  The  Blue  Boy.  How  Carruthers  widens  the  festival  audience  in  the  years  to  come,  how  she  reaches  those  people  that  feel  that  dance  isn't  for  them,  will  

 

 

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be  a  challenge  -­‐  particularly  in  an  era  of  contracting  resources.  But  thanks  to  its  three  directors  the  Dance  Festival  has  become  an  anticipated  event  in  the  cultural  calendar  and  having  secured  a  breakthrough  front  page  photo  of  the  Irish  Times  last  year,  it  is  an  event  that  cannot  be  ignored  by  a  wider  public  for  much  longer.    

Fearghus  Ó  Conchúir  -­‐  Independent  Choreographer  and  Dance  Artist  

Fearghus  Ó  Conchúir  is  an  independent  choreographer  and  dance  artist.  Brought  up  in  the  Ring  Gaeltacht,  he  completed  degrees  in  English  and  European  Literature  at  Magdalen  College  Oxford,  before  training  at  London  Contemporary  Dance  School.    Fearghus’s  work  investigates  the  relationship  between  individuals  and  determining  social  and  political  structures.  He  involves  audiences  and  performers  in  multi-­‐layered  encounters  with  

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our  sense  of  place,  identity  and  history.    His  film  and  live  performances,  seen  in  Europe,  the  US  and  China,  are  affecting,  thought-­‐provoking  and  deeply  resonant  with  audiences.  Recent  work  includes  Tabernacle,  addressing  the  impact  of  religion  on  the  body  and  Starlight,  a  promenade  performance  about  charisma.  In  2013,  he  will  premiere  Cure,  a  piece  about  what  it  takes  to  recover.  Fearghus  is  also  Independent  Dance  Curator  at  the  Firkin  Crane,  Cork.  Fearghus  was  the  first  Ireland  Fellow  on  the  Clore  Leadership  Programme  and  continues  to  contribute  to  the  programme  as  a  facilitator  and  speaker.  He  has  been  a  Board  member  of  Project  Arts  Centre,  Dance  Ireland,  Create  and  Dance  Digital  and  is  part  of  Project  Catalyst,  the  Associate  Artist  Initiative  of  Project  Arts  Centre.  www.fearghus.net  

CCNR  Yuval  Pick  -­‐  Score.  Photo:  Laurent  Philippe  

 

 

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The  relationship  between  junk  ensemble  and  Dublin  Dance  Festival  has  stemmed  over  some  years  and  continues  to  develop  with  each  new  venture.  Our  relationship  first  began  in  2003  when  Dublin  Dance  Festival  was  the  International  Dance  Festival  and  we  performed  in  a  feedback  session.  Presented  in  Project  Cube  and  providing  an  opportunity  for  Irish  dance  artists  to  show  their  work  in  an  informal  basis,  this  was  a  10  minute  presentation  followed  by  a  feedback  session  with  the  audience  who  attended.    

We  performed  in  another  feedback  session  in  2006  and  by  the  time  2009  rolled  around  it  had  developed  into  Re-­‐Presenting  Ireland,  a  series  of  studio  showings  presented  at  Dance  House  attended  by  a  large  amount  of  international  presenters  with  full  technical  support  provided.  In  2009  we  performed  extracts  from  the  site-­‐specific  piece  Drinking  Dust,  which  had  just  begun  an  international  tour,  at  Re-­‐Presenting  Ireland.  

We  found  from  the  beginning  that  DDF  was  supportive  and  enthusiastic  of  our  work,  whether  in  a  studio  presentation  basis  or  larger  scale  main  festival  presentation,  as  with  Five  Ways  to  Drown  (opened  the  Dublin  Dance  Festival  2010)  and  The  Falling  Song,  which  recently  premiered  at  Dublin  Dance  Festival  2012.  DDF  consistently  encouraged  us  to  take  the  risks  we  inclined  towards,  without  hindering  or  questioning  our  creative  process.  We  found  this  particularly  helpful  and  complementary  to  our  work  as  it  brought  an  organic  integrity  and  excitement  to  the  process.    

From  Re-­‐Presenting  Ireland  to  two  main  festival  premieres,  our  relationship  with  DDF  is  a  growing  one.  Without  DDF,  The  Falling  Song  and  Five  Ways  to  Drown  would  not  have  had  the  opportunity  to  be  viewed  by  a  larger  audience  of  international  presenters,  promoters,  programmers  and  practitioners.  The  dialogue  we  have  with  DDF  is  

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distinctly  important  for  us  to  bounce  ideas  off  each  other  and  to  help  form  further  collaborations.  

junk  ensemble  was  established  by  Megan  Kennedy  and  Jessica  Kennedy  with  a  commitment  to  creating  works  of  brave  and  imaginative  dance  theatre.  Winners  of  Best  Production  Award  2011,  Culture  Ireland  Touring  Award  in  2008,  Excellence  and  Innovation  Award  in  2007  and  listed  as  a  Sunday  Times  Highlight  in  2011,  junk  ensemble’s  work  has  toured  nationally  and  internationally.  Their  productions  are  often  created  in  collaboration  with  artists  from  other  disciplines  to  produce  a  rich  mix  of  visual  and  performance  styles  that  seeks  to  challenge  the  traditional  audience  performer  relationship.  This  approach  has  led  to  productions  being  created  in  non-­‐traditional  or  found  spaces  as  well  as  more  conventional  theatre  spaces.  junk  ensemble  have  recently  completed  a  residence  and  a  commissioned  work  at  The  Tate,  London  in  February  2012.  They  were  Artists  in  Residence  for  Fingal  County  Council  2010/11  and  Artistic  Directors  of  Drogheda  Youth  Dance  in  2007.  Productions  include  The  Falling  Song  (Dublin  Dance  Festival  2012)  Sometimes  we  break  (Tate  Britain  2012),  Bird  with  boy  (Dublin  Fringe  Festival  2011),  Pygmalian  Revisited  (Áix-­‐en-­‐Provence  commission  2010),  Five  Ways  to  Drown  (Opened  Dublin  Dance  Festival  2010/Arts  Council  Touring  Grant  2012),  Drinking  Dust  (2008),  and  The  Rain  Party  (2007).  junk  ensemble  are  part  of  Project  Catalyst,  an  initiative  of  Project  Arts  Centre.  www.junkensemble.com  

Jessica  Kennedy  trained  in  the  U.S.A.,  Dublin  and  London,  completing  her  degree  in  Dance  and  English  Lit  at  Middlesex  University,  London.  She  has  worked  with  various  companies  in  the  U.K.,  Romania,  Holland,  Edinburgh  and  Belgium.  In  Ireland  she  has  worked  with  Blast  Theory,  Brokentalkers,  Myriad  Dance,  eX  Ensemble  and  in  

Nurturing  Irish  Dance:  DDF  &  Junk  Ensemble  Megan  Kennedy  and  Jessica  Kennedy  

 

 

 

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productions  with  The  Abbey  Theatre,  The  Ark  and  The  Pavilion  Theatre.  She  has  choreographed  and  performed  in  the  films  Wonder  House  (JDIFF  2012),  Her  Mother’s  Daughters  (Winner  Best  Actress  for  cast  Capalbio  Festival  Italy  2011/RTÉ  Dance  on  the  Box  2010)  and  Two  Hundred  Feet  (2009)  and  also  performs  in  the  band,  You  can  call  me  Frances.  Jessica  was  awarded  Best  Female  Performer  for  Dublin  Fringe  Festival  2006.  She  is  the  Dancer  in  Residence  at  RUA  RED,  Tallaght,  recently  completing  the  film  Motion  Sickness  (Dublin  Dance  Festival  premiere  2012).  

Megan  Kennedy  trained  at  Alvin  Ailey  Dance  Center  in  New  York  City  and  received  a  B.A.  Honours  from  Queen  Margaret  University  in  Edinburgh.  Megan  has  performed  with  Retina  Dance  Company  (UK),  

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Storytelling  Unplugged  (Romania),  Firefly  Productions  (Belgium)  and  in  Ireland,  CoisCéim  Dance  Theatre  (Faun,  As  You  Are),  Brokentalkers  (The  Blue  Boy,  On  This  One  Night),  The  Abbey  Theatre  (Romeo  and  Juliet),  Bedrock  Productions  (Pale  Angel),  Blast  Theory,  and  for  The  Pavilion  and  The  Ark.  For  film:  Wonder  House  (Jameson  Film  Festival  2012),  Her  Mother’s  Daughters  (Dance  on  Camera  Festival  NYC/RTÉ  Dance  on  the  Box),  Siblings  (Fergus  Byrne).  Other  choreography  includes  Tchaikovsky’s  Queen  of  Spades  Opera  (Edinburgh  Festival  Theatre),  Caucasian  Chalk  Circle  (Samuel  Beckett  Theatre),  and  eX  Choral  Ensemble  (IRL).  Megan  is  Secretary  to  the  Board  of  Dance  Ireland.  

Junk  Ensemble-­‐The  Falling  Song.  Photo  credit  Fionn  McCann  

 

 

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Incidental,  coincidental,  intentional  

At  a  public  interview  in  the  Peacock  Theatre,  choreographer  Jonathan  Burrows  comments  that  the  safety  announcement  at  the  start  of  the  show  is  usually  a  bone  of  contention  at  theatres.  Incidental  items  like  this  come  to  the  forefront  in  Burrows’  work  where  minute  details  alter  the  perceptions  of  the  audience  and  therefore  impact  the  reception  of  his  finely  tuned  work.  Attempting  to  avoid  an  outpouring  of  empathy  for  a  gauche  stage  manager  forced  into  presenting  the  pre-­‐show  announcement,  and  also  the  cold  silence  that  descends  during  voice-­‐overs,  he  intended  to  rush  onstage  before  the  end  of  the  recorded  safety  instructions.  But  the  collective  characteristic  of  each  audience  hit  both  Fargion  and  Burrows,  as  they  noticed  the  Dublin  audience  ignoring  the  announcement  and  continuing  to  chat.  Laughing  at  this,  they  ran  out  as  the  audience  continued  to  chatter,  catching  them  unawares  to  prevent  them  falling  into  a  hushed  silence  as  the  lights  dimmed.  

Subtle  moments  like  this  pervade  the  live  presentation  of  Burrows’  and  Fargion’s  work,  with  both  choreographer  and  composer  sharing  roles  of  dancer  and  musician  in  both  pieces.  During  Cheap  Lecture,  Burrows  reads  from  a  score  of  words  and  actions  on  reams  of  paper  in  his  hands,  dropping  them  to  the  ground  as  the  performance  unfolds.  On  the  narrow  Peacock  Theatre  stage,  a  few  leaves  of  paper  drift  off  the  edge  towards  the  front  row  audience  and  Burrows  glances  down  for  a  moment  as  his  eye  is  caught  by  the  movement  of  the  paper.  During  the  festival  performance,  Fargion  giggles  to  himself,  seemingly  arrested  by  a  particular  moment  of  insanity  in  the  hilarious  Cow  Piece  and  the  audience  respond  by  howling  even  more  hysterically  at  Fargion’s  attempt  to  muffle  his  

Jonathan  Burrows  and  Matteo  Fargion  Cheap  Lecture/Cow  Piece  at  Dublin  Dance  Festival  

By  Emma  Meehan  

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laughter.  A  disobedient  plastic  cow,  a  row  of  which  are  central  to  the  performance  of  Cow  Piece,  stubbornly  does  not  fall  off  a  table  on  cue,  so  Fargion  simply  flicks  it  off  with  a  dismissive  brush  of  his  fingers.  These  moments  are  noticeable  because  both  performers  follow  the  rigorous  structure  of  each  piece  at  the  same  time  as  responding  to  live  moment,  often  mirroring  how  the  audience  react  to  what  is  happening.    

Burrows  notes  that  during  rehearsals,  the  pair  create  ‘principles’  for  each  show  such  as  ‘there  are  no  mistakes’,  ‘how  the  audience  sit  is  how  we  should  sit’  and  ‘how  we  feel  is  how  we  perform’  that  inform  the  presentation  of  each  piece,  and  in  many  ways  these  principles  become  the  live  content  of  the  show.  However,  these  live  moments  have  to  be  dealt  with  carefully  and  Burrows  suggest  that  it  is  an  ongoing  negotiation  between  sticking  to  the  meticulously  thought-­‐out  scores  of  the  pieces  and  reacting  to  the  live  moments  of  circumstance  on  a  particular  night.  At  a  performance  in  the  UK,  they  recall  laughing  near  the  start  of  a  performance  and  colleague  Adrian  Heathfield  (Goldsmiths  University,  UK)  suggested  that  the  work  suffered  as  a  result.  The  laughter  came  too  soon  and  alienated  the  audience,  appearing  like  an  ‘in-­‐joke’  rather  than  an  unfolding  relationship  with  the  audience.  This  is  the  fine  line  that  the  pair  tread,  drawing  up  what  they  consider  a  ‘contract’  with  the  audience  for  how  the  work  will  procede  and  what  will  be  expected,  at  the  same  time  as  inviting  the  risky  aspects  of  live  performance  to  refresh  each  show.  

Cheap  Lecture  and  Cow  Piece  are  part  of  a  series  of  pieces  developed  by  Fargion  and  Burrows  since  2002  that  appear  to  play  out  on  stage  the  nature  of  performance  practice,  collaboration,  performer-­‐audience  relationships,  and  the  issues  of  

 

 

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combining  the  media  of  movement,  words  and  music.  Burrows’  book  called  A  Choreographer’s  Handbook  reflects  this  approach  to  performance,  for  example  featuring  section  from  Cheap  Lecture,  counterpointed  by  quotations  from  artists  around  the  world.  The  book  covers  thematic  topics  such  as  ‘Collaboration’,  ‘Material’  and  ‘Mentoring’  in  playful  ways,  making  bold  statements  but  also  cheekily  suggesting  that  the  opposite  may  also  be  true.  It  is  a  thought-­‐provoking  read,  but  also  a  useful  manual  on  approaching  performance  for  teachers,  students  and  practitioners,  that  attempts  to  go  beneath  the  layers  of  performing  and  making  performance  works.  It  ranges  from  intriguing  quotations  from  practitioners  (such  as  Less  Wilson  on  virtuosity:  ‘from  the  outside  it’s  virtuosic,  but  from  their  perspective  it’s  how  they’re  seeing  the  world’)  to  practical  exercises  (such  as  ‘Try  making  six  movements  and  putting  them  in  the  right  order’).  

Another  principle  of  the  work  and  a  recurring  comment  in  the  Cheap  Lecture  is  that  everything  is  stolen.  The  impossibility  of  originality  is  made  apparent  at  the  same  time  as  noting  that  the  old  and  familiar  may  be  repeated  but  is  framed  differently  through  the  eyes  of  the  artist.  During  Cheap  Lecture,  Burrows  notes  that  while  everything  is  stolen,  he  would  love  to  make  a  piece  like  Pina  Bausch,  but  an  artist  makes  what  he  can  make  not  what  he  wants  to  make.  After  the  opening  performance  at  the  Peacock,  Burrows  made  a  short  speech  stating  that  he  had  feared  Irish  choreographer  John  Scott  attending  the  performance,  with  whom  he  had  an  ongoing  friendship.  Burrows  revealed  that  he  had  performed  Cheap  Lecture  and  Cow  Piece  around  the  world,  having  stolen  ideas  from  Scott  and  arrived  in  Dublin  to  find  him  in  the  front  row  of  the  performance.  But  as  Burrows  states  in  the  

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Choreographer’s  Handbook  ‘Stealing  is  useful  so  long  as  you  know  you’re  stealing...Usually  when  you  steal  something  consciously  it  looks  nothing  like  the  thing  you’ve  stolen’.  Again,  the  artist  makes  what  he  can  make  not  what  he  wants  to  make.  Although  the  Cow  Piece  raises  hysterical  laughter  like  Scott’s  solo  work,  the  work  is  clearly  very  much  a  collaboration  between  Fargion  and  Burrows,  work  that  only  they  can  make.  

Emma  Meehan  is  a  research  assistant  at  Coventry  University’s  Centre  for  Dance  Research.  She  received  her  B.A.  and  Ph.D.  from  the  Drama  Department,  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  where  she  taught  part-­‐time  on  the  B.A  and  M.A.  programmes.  Funding  and  awards  include:  postgraduate  studentships  from  Trinity  College,  Artist  in  the  Community  Scheme  Award  and  Travel  and  Training  Award  from  the  Arts  Council  of  Ireland,  amongst  others.  Articles  include:  ‘Visuality,  Discipline  and  Somatic  Practices:  The  Maya  Lila  Performances  of  Joan  Davis’,  in  The  Journal  of  Dance  and  Somatic  Practices,  Intellect  Press,  Vol.  2,  No.  2,  2010.  She  is  a  member  of  the  Corporeal  Knowing  Network  of  researchers  in  the  UK  and  Ireland  exploring  somatic  practices  in  performance,  and  she  is  also  on  the  board  of  Dance  Research  Forum  Ireland.  

Cheap  Lecture.  Photo  credit:  Herman  Sergeloos  

 

 

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Vicky  Shick  is  no  stranger  to  Irish  dance  audiences,  gracing  us  with  her  choreography  in  the  Dublin  Dance  Festival  2010  when  she  performed  her  duet  Repair  with  Jodi  Melnick.  Vicky  is  a  renowned  New  York  based  dancer,  choreographer  and  teacher  who  creates  and  performs  beautifully  articulate  and  detailed  movement.    

She  was  the  perfect  person  to  turn  to  when  seeking  insight  into  the  work  of  Trisha  Brown  [TB]  particularly  because  she  was  part  of  the  original  cast  in  the  seminal  piece  Set  and  Re-­‐Set  which  for  me  was  the  jewel  in  the  programme  of  TB’s  works  presented  at  the  Abbey  in  May  2012  by  the  Dublin  Dance  Festival.  I  spoke  with  Vicky  the  evening  after  I  saw  the  work  and  she  was  able  to  give  me  an  account  of  the  ways  in  which  TB  worked  at  that  period  in  time.  She  spoke  about  when  she  first  joined  the  company  and  how  she  started  learning  pieces  from  the  repertoire.  There  was  work  with  Trisha  as  well  but,  the  passing  on  of  actual  roles  came  directly  from  the  dancer  who  had  previously  done  it.  

At  first,  I  learned  my  parts  from  the  original  dancers;  learning  verbatim  somebody  else's  role.  Then,  I  was  involved  with  making  three  pieces  with  TB.  For  the  first  two  pieces,  she  made  the  movement  phrases  alone  and  would  teach  it  to  us  meticulously  with  much  detail,  much  repetition,  and  a  lot  of  patience.    These  works—Son  of  Gone  Fishing  and  Set  and  Re-­‐Set—  then  entailed  improvising  with  her  material.  The  Set  and  Re-­‐Set  improvisation  in  a  way  was  more  playful  (we  already  had  the  information  and  experience  from  Son  of  Gone  Fishing),  so  we  also  had  more  freedom  and  thus  more  risk.  For  Lateral  Pass  she  worked  quite  a  bit  one  on  one  -­‐  she  would  be  the  outside  eye,  giving  us  verbal  instructions—we  would  try  

Artists  in  Conversation:  Jenny  Roche  (IRL)  and  Vicky  Shick  (USA)  

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to  embody  her  words  and  she  would  choreograph,  directing  us  towards  what  her  eye  and  intuition  wanted  to  see.  

Vicky  went  on  to  explain  the  particular  approach  taken  for  Set  and  Re-­‐Set  and  the  improvisations  the  dancers  worked  with:  

When  we  improvised  for  Set  and  Re-­‐set  she  gave  us  five  critical  guidelines;  be  simple,  act  on  instinct,  stay  close  to  the  edge,  play  with  visibility  and  invisibility  and  line  up.  There  is  a  wonderful  earlier  piece  called  Line  Up  where  the  instruction  was  to  basically  do  just  that.    These  five  instructions  shaped  our  explorations  of  the  movement.  Trisha  also  wanted  the  basic  structure  of  the  dance  to  go  along  the  perimeter  of  the  space  and  then  there  were  solos,  duets  and  trios  that  were  launched  into  the  centre.  So  again,  the  basic  structure  of  the  dance  was  using  these  five  principles  and  going  along  the  perimeter  of  the  space.  

I  asked  Vicky  whether  the  dancers  improvised  in  performance  as  well  or  whether  the  material  was  set  at  a  certain  point.  She  explained:  

We  worked  in  small  increments  building  short  sections,  when  we  all  felt  good  about  our  improvisation,  we  would    memorize  what  we  had  made.  Being  able  to  respond  and  react  in  the  moment  with  physical  clarity  and  a  full  vivid  imagination  was  very  challenging  to  me.  I  was  not  experienced  as  an  improviser  nor  as  a  contact-­‐dancer,  skills  that  were  very  useful  in  this  process.  Several  others  were  quite  fluent  in  these  areas,  so,  I  felt  the  pressure  of  wanting  to  match  their  wit,  fearlessness,  abandon  and  imagination.    Trisha  was  not  at  all  critical  of  any  of  us  in  

 

 

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Issue  4,  April  2013    

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the  process,  but  one  was  aware  of  wanting  to  feed  her  passion  and  excitement  and  appetite  for  good,  solid,  and  surprising  rambunctiousness.    

Vicky  explained  how  Set  and  Re-­‐Set  is  continually  adapted  for  different  dance  companies  and  academies  worldwide:    

It's  a  very  popular  piece  that's  set  on  other  companies  and  dance  schools.  I'm  actually  going  to  Amsterdam  to  work  on  it  soon  and  they  will  make  their  own  version.  It's  called  Set  and  Re-­‐Set  Re-­‐Set.  Each  company  or  school  learns  the  original  material  and  then  creates  their  own  memorized  improvisations  and,  that  becomes  their  version  of  the  piece.    

Having  experienced  the  breadth  of  Vicky's  movement  vocabulary,  I  was  very  interested  in  knowing  how  she  felt  she  had  been  influenced  as  a  dancer/  choreographer  through  her  time  working  with  TB,          

Working  with  TB,  one  cannot  avoid  being  interested  in  detail  and  clarity  and  movement.  I  feel  that  my  eye  was  developed  through  her  work,  seeing  her  movement  and  watching  her  dance.  Her  movement  is  unbelievably  complex—a  lot  of  simultaneity  of  action  -­‐  difficult  co-­‐ordinations—and,  there  is  a  purposeful,  straightforward  simplicity  in  the  delivery.  No  big  introductions  or  preparations,  but  there  is  definitely  dynamic  change.  There  is  no  punching  of  the  movement  but,  rather  an  aesthetic  of  restraint  that  we  were  nurtured  on—an  attitude  of  the  body,  an  attitude  of  posture,  which  was  more  relaxed,  clear  and  understated  with  no  play-­‐acting.  The  purity  of  the  movement  was  the  focus  with  no  neon  underlining  for  emphasis.  Though,  I  am  more  interested  in  hints  of  narrative  and  drama  than  Trisha,  I  am  most  definitely  attached  to  an  unadorned  aesthetic  and  to  

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the  architecture  and  clarity  inherent  in  the  body.  I  try  to  approach    movement  as  task—process  it  physically  step  by  step,  like  following  Lego  instructions,  stripping  away  all  attitude  and  unnecessary  punctuation,  unless  that  is  what  I  or  another  choreographer  is  very  consciously  looking  for  in  that  moment.  I  also  see  how  important  it  is  to  ground  a  work  in  structure.  Trisha  created  “geniously”  imaginative  and  complex  structures,  which  were  inseparable  from  the  pieces;  everything  was  working  and  unfolding  together.  

I  was  also  very  interested  in  how  Vicky  felt  that  TB’s  movement  influenced  dance  in  general  and  more  specifically  the  work  that  subsequently  emerged  from  the  New  York  dance  scene.    

Well,  I  believe  that  Trisha  totally  re-­‐shaped  our  mode  of  moving  and  initiated  what  then  became  a  trend  of  voluptuous  slippery  movement  on  this  new  relaxed  and  naturally  aligned  body.  She  altered  the  attitude  of  the  body  and  towards  the  body.  Of  course,  it  wasn’t  her  alone  and  so,  there  were  fewer  rigid  spines  and  puffed  out  chests,  movements  were  more  nuanced,  and  there  was  no  coined  vocabulary  for  these  complexities.    Seeing  dance  after  dance  so  very  influenced  by  her  style  almost  felt  like  a  series  of  forgeries  had  been  made.        

Finally,  Vicky  described  the  joy  of  working  with  TB  and  learning  directly  from  her  body  in  the  studio.  

The  very  rigorous  work  of  learning  movement  from  her  body  was  a  glorious  experience.  Once  you  got  into  the  company,  Trisha  was  extremely  trusting  and  generous.  She  would  demonstrate  something  a  thousand  times.  She  was  utterly  patient  in  passing  on  the  movement.  This  exchange  in  the  studio  was  crucial  and  the  crux  of  everything  that  happened  then.  I  feel  very  lucky  to  have  been  in  the  company  when  TB  

 

 

Dance  Notes   Issue  4,  April  2013    

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was  dancing  a  lot.  She  made  the  movement  mostly  on  her  body,  and  on  her,  it  was  the  most  nuanced,  quirky  and  complex;  so  it  was  a  great  pleasure,  thrill  and  challenge  to  see  that  and  to  try  to  grasp  it  from  her.  Dancing  next  to  her,  you  could  feel  her  body  like  a  warm  engine;  her  spirit  was  infectious,  and  yet,  it  all  was  so  uncatchable,  unknowable.  She  kept  us  laughing.  One  action  initiating  the  next,  sequencing,  surprisingly,  through  the  body.  She  was  always  looking  for  a  ride  from  the  movement.    

Jenny  Roche  is  a  dance  artist  who  has  performed  extensively  in  Ireland  and  in  the  international  arena  with  a  wide-­‐range  of  companies  and  choreographers  including:  Michael  Keegan-­‐Dolan  (Ire),  Janet  Smith  (UK),  Rosemary  Butcher  (UK),  Jodi  Melnick  (NYC),  John  Jasperse  (NYC),  Yoshiko  Chuma  (NYC)  and  in  work  by  Dominique  Bagouet,  re-­‐staged  by  Les  Carnets  Bagouet  (France).  She  was  a  founder  member  of  Fabulous  Beast  Dance  Theatre  and  in  1999  she  co-­‐founded  Rex  Levitates  Dance  Company  

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(recently  renamed  Liz  Roche  Company)  with  Liz  Roche,  co-­‐directing  and  performing  regularly  with  the  company  until  2007.  With  Rex  Levitates  she  has  toured  to  the  Meet  in  Beijing  Festival  (2005),  the  South  Bank  Centre,  London  (2008)  and  the  Baryshnikov  Arts  Centre,  New  York  (2010,  2011).    In  2009  she  completed  a  practice-­‐based  PhD  in  Dance  at  Roehampton  University,  London  for  which  she  produced  and  danced  an  evening  of  solo  works  for  the  Dublin  Dance  Festival  (2008).  From  2007-­‐2011,  she  was  Dance  Adviser  to  the  Arts  Council.  She  was  based  at  University  of  Limerick,  where  she  coordinated  the  dance  programme  for  the  BA  in  Voice  and  Dance,  from  2010  until  taking  up  a  post  as  lecturer  at  Queensland  University  of  Technology,  Brisbane  in  early  2013.  Her  research  interests  include  the  exploration  of  the  dancer’s  creative  process  within  choreographic  practice  through  phenomenological  and  somatic  methodologies.  Her  article  Embodying  Multiplicity:  the  independent  contemporary  dancer’s  moving  identity  (2011)  was  published  in  the  journal  Research  in  Dance  Education.  

Trish

a  Brow

n  Da

nce  Co

mpany  -­‐  Set  a

nd  Reset.  Pho

to  Credit:  

Julieta  Cervantes  

 

 

Dance  Notes    

Issue  4,  April  2013    

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An  appetite  for  dance?    Developing  audiences  for  dance  in  Ireland.    

Eleanor  Creighton,  Marketing  &  PR  Manager  for  Dublin  Dance  Festival  with  Annette  Nugent,  Marketing  Consultant  

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When  Dublin  Dance  Festival  started  as  International  Dance  Festival  Ireland  in  2002,  it  wasn’t  guaranteed  that  audiences  would  come  flocking.  The  founding  team,  with  Catherine  Nunes  at  the  helm,  had  strong  instincts  backed  up  by  thorough  research  and  the  unprecedented  support  of  the  Arts  Council  that  if  they  invited  the  companies,  the  audiences  would  come.  So  began  the  largest  scale  effort  yet  at  engaging  Irish  people  in  the  world  of  contemporary  dance.    

In  a  country  with  a  world-­‐renowned  literary  tradition  wrought  in  story,  drama,  song  and  poetry;  dance  –  as  a  contemporary  art  form  all  of  its  own  –  was  something  other.  There  are  myriad  reasons  for  this,  which  we  won’t  explore  here.  Suffice  it  to  say,  in  2002,  Dublin  was  not  on  the  touring  map  of  most  major  contemporary  dance  companies.  

The  first  Festival  set  about  changing  that  and  it  did  so  boldly,  introducing  Irish  audiences  to  Merce  Cunningham  Dance  Company  among  others,  and  renewing  the  Abbey  Theatre’s  connections  with  dance  in  the  process.  Each  Festival  that  has  followed  has  built  on  that  foundation,  encouraging  people  to  discover  dance  from  many  avenues.    

A  conscious  decision  was  made  to  position  the  Festival  at  the  table  with  other  key  national  cultural  events.  In  order  for  audiences  for  dance  to  grow,  we  have  to  ensure  that  dance  is  seen  as  part  of  the  national  cultural  menu.  A  big  leap  forward  in  this  regard  came  in  2008,  when  the  Festival  became  an  annual  event  and  adopted  the  current  name  Dublin  Dance  Festival.  The  profile  of  the  Festival  has  grown  hugely  since  that  transition,  locally,  nationally  and  internationally.  

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But  who  comes  to  see  dance?  We’ve  found  that  our  audiences  have  a  slight  female  skew  –  about  67%  (not  as  high  as  some  might  think),  they’re  mostly  aged  between  25-­‐44  years,  are  primarily  Dublin  based  (but  with  a  growing  proportion  of  regional  visitors),  and  they  tend  to  attend  other  cultural  events  like  theatre,  film  and  music.  At  DDF,  we  invest  a  lot  of  time  and  energy  into  finding  out  about  the  people  who  engage  with  us  and  researching  their  demographics,  attitudes  and  media  habits.  We  conduct  extensive  market  research,  we  meticulously  track  traffic  to  our  website  and  social  media  channels,  and  we  analyse  our  box  office  data  thoroughly.    

The  long  term  challenge  for  the  Festival  is  to  extend  our  reach  beyond  the  pool  of  culturally  active  consumers  that  engage  with  the  arts  on  a  regular  basis.  We  have  yet  to  dent  the  broader  population  of  those  who  rarely  participate  in  cultural  events  and  have  little  insight  into  the  awareness  levels  that  this  group  has,  both  about  Dublin  Dance  Festival  and  about  contemporary  dance  in  general.  All  of  us  who  are  involved  in  producing,  presenting,  promoting  and  attending  dance  have  a  role  to  play  in  building  engagement  beyond  our  current  base.  We  can  all  contribute  by  exploring  how  we  think  about  our  audiences,  by  finding  out  who  they  are  and  communicating  with  them  in  a  way  that  is  meaningful.  To  someone  who’s  never  been  to  a  performance  before,  the  language  and  images  we  use  have  a  major  impact  on  first  impressions  of  what  dance  might  be  –  and  whether  it’s  for  them  or  not.  

A  major  portion  of  the  job  of  audience  development  for  dance  depends  on  how  often  

 

 

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people  can  encounter  dance.  At  a  venue  like  Project  Arts  Centre,  the  Festival  brings  with  it  a  chance  to  capitalise  on  a  feast  of  excellent  quality  work.  In  addition  to  frequency,  there  are  also  the  many  myths  around  contemporary  dance.  We’ve  all  heard  these  easy  excuses  –  dance  is  exclusive,  too  abstract,  inaccessible,  and  so  forth.  Yes,  some  dance  is  abstract,  but  most  dance  has  several  open  doors  or  windows  to  enable  a  willing  audience  member  to  gain  entry.  What  we  find  with  the  Festival  is  that  if  you  can  get  someone  over  the  hurdle  of  “all  dance  is  difficult  to  understand”,  and  get  them  into  a  show,  they  will  most  likely  leave  with  a  positive  feeling  (and  chances  are  they’ll  have  asked  a  really  interesting  question  at  the  post-­‐show  talk).  If  we  can  pique  curiosity,  we’re  half  way  there.  

We  are  lucky  to  have  a  very  loyal  core  audience.  To  grow  beyond  our  roots  in  the  dance  community,  we  continually  have  to  find  ways  of  making  dance  relevant  and  of  bringing  audiences  on  a  journey  with  us.  The  quality  and  diversity  of  the  programme  is  the  key  way  of  connecting  with  new  people  and  inviting  them  to  discover  dance.  “Gateway  drugs”  are  a  necessary  delight  –  shows  that  offer  audiences  a  guaranteed  great  night  out.  Each  year  we  also  work  collaboratively  with  partners  in  other  art  forms  and  disciplines  on  projects  that  tap  into  new  audiences.  Post-­‐show  discussions  remain  a  key  way  for  people  to  learn  more  and  respond  to  the  work  they’ve  seen.    

We  have  explored  several  ways  of  engaging  audiences  and  broadening  our  reach  among  the  general  public  –  from  headphone  discos  to  dancercise  classes,  film  screenings  and  outdoor  performances  to  symposia.  Much  of  the  success  of  audience  development  activities  depends  tapping  into  a  sense  of  what  people  want,  and  on  finding  good  partnerships.  This  year,  outdoor  performances  on  city  streets  brought  DDF  into  contact  with  large  numbers  of  new  audiences  and  delighted  people  who  would  never  ordinarily  come  to  performances  in  traditional  venues.    

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  Of  vital  importance  to  broadening  our  reach  are  the  advertising  and  profile-­‐raising  partnerships  we  have  developed  with  radio,  print,  online  and  TV  partners.  We  work  hard  at  these  to  amplify  recognition  for  the  Festival  and  dance  as  an  art  form  at  a  national  level.  Online,  we  create  opportunities  to  learn  more  about  the  work  of  artists  in  the  Festival,  and  enable  audiences  to  interact  with  us.  We  use  our  research  to  focus  our  limited  resources  to  maximise  visibility  in  the  key  weeks  that  dance  takes  centre  stage  in  Dublin  and  work  closely  with  venue  partners  to  nurture  connections  with  their  regular  audiences.  

We  are  continually  learning  how  to  talk  and  write  about  dance  in  a  way  that  includes  and  enthuses,  rather  than  baffles  and  turns-­‐off.  And  we  can’t  stress  enough  the  importance  of  research  –  learning  as  much  as  we  can  about  who  our  audiences  are  is  the  most  reliable  way  of  encouraging  new  audience  members  to  get  involved.  Our  research  helps  us  to  build  relationships  with  those  who  come  back  year  after  year.  There  is  a  hunger  for  dance  among  Irish  audiences,  but  there’s  a  long  way  to  go  yet  until  all  appetites  will  be  satisfied.  

 

Eleanor  Creighton  is  Marketing  &  PR  Manager  for  Dublin  Dance  Festival.  Eleanor  joined  DDF  in  January  2009.  Having  trained  full-­‐time  at  The  College  of  Dance,  Monkstown  for  one  year  she  went  on  to  receive  a  BA  in  Dance  Studies  with  Psychology  from  Roehampton  University  in  London.  On  her  return  to  Dublin,  Eleanor  worked  for  Traidlinks,  a  Development  NGO,  and  on  a  freelance  basis  for  Croi  Glan  Integrated  Dance  Company.  In  addition  to  managing  the  Festival’s  marketing  campaigns  since  2009,  Eleanor  has  also  worked  on  a  freelance  basis  with  independent  choreographer  Fearghus  Ó  Conchúir.  

Annette  Nugent  is  a  marketing  and  communications  consultant  who  works  with  Dublin  Dance  Festival.  Annette  helps  her  clients  

 

 

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communicate  in  black  and  white.  She  works  with  cultural  organisations  and  creative  providers  to  amplify  their  impact  on  their  audiences.  An  experienced  communicator,  she's  all  about  the  big  picture  and  adding  strategic  value.  The  bottom  line  is  creative,  engaging  campaigns  that  your  audiences  see  and  hear,  loud  and  clear.  

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CCNR  Yuval  Pick_Score.  Photo  credit_Laurent  Philippe  

 

 

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Visioning  dance  in  Ireland:  Julia  Carruthers  and  new  directions  

By  Sheila  Creevey  

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Taking  place  over  two  weeks  in  May  each  year,    Dublin  Dance  Festival  is  an  internationally  significant  festival  brings  artists,  companies  and  audiences  from  across  the  world  to  Dublin,  in  order  to  experience  emerging  and  established  dance  trends.  Here,  there  is  a  place  for  the  known  and  the  unknown;  to  trace  the  lineage  of  artistic  development  of  the  form,  and  to  consider  retrospectively  the  development  of  dance  in  Ireland,  Europe  and  beyond.    

2012  saw  a  shift  in  vision  for  Dublin  Dance  Festival,  as  new  director  Julia  Carruthers  took  to  the  helm.  With  a  depth  of  knowledge  and  experience  on  the  international  stage  (including  work  with  Southbank  Centre,  Akram  Khan  Company  and  Dance  Umbrella),  in  her  first  festival  as  Director,  Carruthers  firmly  planted  Irish  dance  practice  in  it's  greater  European  context  –  developing  new  relationships  and  cementing  links  with  artists  and  companies  who  already  have  some  connection  with  Ireland.    

Carruthers  was  appointed  in  April  2011,  just  in  time  to  attend  Laurie  Uprichard's  final  festival  as  Director.  She  says  of  this  experience:  

“The  recruitment  process  was  rather  extended,  partly  because  they  had  a  really  good  range  of  candidates,  but  I  didn't  know  I  had  the  job  until  late  April.  Then  I  came  to  the  2011  festival,  ...and  that  was  very,  very  useful.  To  come  and  soak  up  the  thing,  to  talk  to  people,  to  see  what  worked,  what  I  thought.  There  was  clearly  an  element  that  was,  quite  rightly,  Laurie's  [Uprichard]  personal  taste,  that  wouldn't  necessarily  be  what  I  would  decide  to  have.  The  one  introductory  remark  was  that  I  really  had  to  hit  the  ground  running.”  

With  only  three  and  a  half  months  to  get  the  programme  together,  her  vast  experience  in  programming  and  producing  dance  and  

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performance  work  would  play  a  key  role  in  the  programming  of  DDF  2012.  The  short  time-­‐scale  saw  Carruthers  drawing  on  her  strong  network,  and  calling  on  old  friends  and  colleagues,  including  Fiach  MacConghail,  Director  of  The  Abbey:    

“I'm  old  friends  with  Fiach  MacConghail,  from  when  he  ran  Project  Arts  Centre  and  programmed  Jonathan  Burrows.  So  we  used  to  meet  in  London  sometimes,  and  we  really  hit  it  off...    

So  all  my  old  contacts  were  instantly  mobilised,  with  me  ringing  Fiach  and  saying..  “Listen  I  need  some  dates  in  your  schedule..  and  you  are  going  to  give  me  some!”  Which  of  course  he  did.    

...  So  I  got  my  week  sorted  at  the  Abbey.  Then  I  managed  to  pin  down  Trisha  Brown.”  

This  approach  really  stood  to  Julia  Carruthers.  With  what  at  first  glance  seemed  a  far  reaching  programme,  2012  saw  a  festival  that  also  acknowledged  the  close  ties  that  Ireland  has  with  the  UK  and  Europe.  Links  with  DanceXchange  in  Birmingham  connected  Dublin  Dance  Festival  with  Aracaladanza  and  Luca  Silvestrini.  The  Aerowaves  network,  of  which  Carruthers  is  the  Irish  representative,  provided  an  ideal  opportunity  to  identify  new  and  emerging  artists  to  programme;  resulting  in  Howool  Baek  and  Alexander  Andriyashkin  being  programmed  in  the  2012  festival.    Even  though  there  was  no  overall  theme  for  2012,  Carruthers  says  that  “the  overall  principle  was  'We've  got  to  open  this  up  a  bit'...  I  thought:  we've  got  to  open  up  the  doors  and  windows.  We've  got  to  get  onto  the  streets.”  And  with  friends  like  Jonathan  Burrows  eager  to  support  too,  the  “opening  up”  of  Dublin  Dance  Festival  proved  a  great  success.  What  seemed  to  emerge  from  the  eclectic  mix  of  artists  and  companies  was  a  subtle  motif,  addressing  identity,  cultural  connection,  and  

 

 

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expression.    

One  of  the  main  issues  faced  by  Dublin  Dance  Festival  is  the  lack  of  appropriate  spaces  for  dance  productions.  With  the  festival  dependent  on  box  office  income,  a  balance  between  vision  and  reality  can  be  difficult  to  achieve.  The  Project  Arts  Centre  has  become  a  hub  for  the  Festival  over  the  past  few  years,  and  although  flexible,  the  performance  spaces  are  small,  with  limited  capacity  for  audiences.  With  such  intimate  spaces,  it  is  difficult  to  programme  large  scale  dance  productions.  In  2012,  The  Abbey  Theatre  and  the  Samuel  Beckett  Theatre  at  Trinity  College  provided  more  room  to  move,  but  were  still  limited  in  terms  of  audience  numbers.  Speaking  in  advance  of  the  festival,  Julia  was  worried:  

“I  got  Trisha  Brown  in  position,  and  had  to  check  the  technical...  Because  Reset  is  all  about  the  backdrop  and  the  back  projections.  So  what  happens  is  that  you  have  to  leave  her  two  rows  free  and  your  box  office  goes  down.  ...  If  you're  dance  people  only  doing  two  or  three  nights,  how  on  earth  are  you  to  make  it  work  economically  –  the  figures  look  preposterous.  And  I  may  say  the  same  for  Project.  Their  stage  is  not  ten  metres  deep,  and  you  only  have  two  hundred  seats  max.  How  can  I  make  any  money  on  two  hundred  seats  –  even  with  an  extended  run?”  

Irish  audiences  are  known  for  their  late  booking  habits,  and  all  worked  out  in  the  end  with  many  shows  playing  to  sold  out  houses.  However,  this  does  raise  questions  for  future  festivals.  Alongside  the  partnerships  with  venues,  it  is  essential  that  Dublin  Dance  Festival  continue  to  develop  strong  relationships  with  funders,  sponsors  and  patrons  so  that  it  can  survive.  The  main  funders  of  the  festival  are  the  Arts  Council  and  Dublin  City  Council.  Other  supporters  include  media  and  cultural  partners.  The  embassies  also  play  a  key  role;  promoting  and  securing  support  for  international  acts  coming  to  Ireland.  

With  such  a  broad  impact,  both  in  terms  of  

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cultural  engagement  and  international  appeal,  it  is  surprising  that  there  is  little  or  no  support  from  tourism  sources,  such  as  Fáilte  Ireland.  Dublin  Dance  Festival  still  flies  somewhat  under  the  radar  in  terms  of  mainstream  events.  However,  it  is  building  momentum.  Perhaps  2013  will  see  appropriate  acknowledgement  for  dance  as  a  pillar  of  cultural  engagement  in  Ireland.  At  the  time  of  publication  of  this  article,  the  full  programme  has  not  yet  been  announced.  However,  it  has  been  confirmed  that  the  2013  festival  will  see  the  association  with  The  Abbey  Theatre  developed,  with  the  announcement  of  a  Stravinsky  Evening  from  Tero  Sarrinen  Company  (Finland)  –  a  company  that  Carruthers  programmed  at  Southbank  Centre.  The  Abbey  will  also  host  a  1980's  'Euro-­‐crash'  revival  from  Ultima  Vez  (Belgium):  “What  the  body  does  not  remember”.  Therefore,  it  seems  that  our  European  connections  are  receiving  further  acknowledgement  this  year.    

And  what  of  Irish  dance?  The  prominence  of  place  of  Irish  artists  and  companies  in  the  2012  festival  is  testament  to  the  developing  confidence  in  the  sector.  Re-­‐Presenting  Ireland  is  a  central  platform  for  showcasing  indigenous  work.  Dublin  Dance  Festival  have  worked  with  Culture  Ireland  in  bringing  programmers  and  bookers  to  Ireland,  to  encourage  more  opportunities  for  touring  Irish  dance  abroad.  The  success  of  this  platform  has  seen  many  artists  and  companies  being  booked  for  other  festivals.  Carruthers'  vision  goes  beyond  this  single  platform  however.  Taking  a  collaborative  approach  to  booking  artists  and  companies  can  reduce  costs  –  something  Carruthers  is  keen  to  explore,  saying:  “There  are  other  festivals  in  the  UK  that  we  could  and  should  be  connecting  with”.  But  these  connections  work  both  ways  –  providing  further  opportunities  for  Irish  companies  to  engage  with  dance  in  the  UK  and  Europe.  In  what  is  sure  to  have  an  impact  on  the  professionalisation  of  dance  management  in  Ireland,    Carruthers  is  keen  to  showcase  and  support  artists  by  drawing  on  her  vast  experience  and  networks  across  many  borders.  2013  and  beyond  will  surely  see  more  Irish  

 

 

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companies  stepping  confidently  into  more  international  programmes.  It  could  be  said  that,  in  appointing  Julia  Carruthers,  Dublin  Dance  Festival  has  given  Irish  dance  a  new  edge  –  and  a  new  direction.    

Sheila  Creevey  is  a  dance  artist,  arts  manager  and  consultant.  She  has  a  BA  (Hons)  in  Dance  Studies  and  Music  from  University  of  Surrey  (Roehampton),  

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an  MA  in  Contemporary  Dance  Performance  from  the  University  of  Limerick;  and  is  currently  studying  for  an  MBA  in  Professional  Arts  Management  at  IT  Carlow  –  Wexford.  Sheila's  dance  practice  and  research  focuses  on  youth  arts,  learning  and  participation.  As  an  independent  consultant,  she  also  works  with  arts  organisations  in  research,  strategic  management  and  communications.  Sheila  is  Chairperson  of  Dance  Research  Forum  Ireland.  

Liz  Roche_Body  and  Forgetting.  Photo  credit:  Fionn  McCann  

 

 

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Reflection  on  Dublin  Dance  Festival  2012  By  Rachel  Donnelly  

 

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The  Dublin  Dance  Festival  is  significant  as  a  platform  for  dance  in  Ireland,  giving  Irish  audiences  access  to  performances  from  around  the  world.  But  just  as  significantly,  it  provides  an  opportunity  for  Irish  companies,  choreographers  and  dancers  to  perform  their  own  work  on  their  own  soil,  and  alongside  names  that  carry  some  clout  internationally.  DDF  2012  was  a  case  in  point,  featuring  contributions  from  the  USA,  Latvia,  Russia,  India,  Italy,  Spain,  France,  Norway,  Germany  and  South  Korea,  and  showcasing  work  from  such  internationally  well-­‐known  names  as  Trisha  Brown  Dance  Company,  Aakash  Odedra  and  Luca  Silvestrini.  

The  Irish  contribution  to  DDF  2012  was  by  turns  quietly  assured,  exuberantly  theatrical  and  curiously  explorative.  Liz  Roche  Company  (formerly  Rex  Levitates)  premiered  a  new  work,  Body  and  Forgetting,  a  piece  that  included  elements  of  film  developed  by  Irish  documentary-­‐maker  Alan  Gilsenan.  This  work  was  notable  for  its  deft  integration  of  recorded  performance  into  the  live  piece,  showing  how  powerful  a  tool  film  can  be  when  used  in  harmony  with  dance  rather  than,  as  sometimes  happen,  a  gimmicky  addendum.    

The  piece  is  an  examination  of  the  workings  of  memory  and  the  effect  re-­‐visiting  our  past  has  on  our  present.  A  film  projection  of  a  desolate  corridor  (calling  to  mind  an  asylum)  loomed  behind  four  dancers,  an  extension  to  the  stage  that  housed  recorded  ghosts  of  the  live  performers.  Body  and  Forgetting  is  full  of  fragments;  physical  objects  and  tropes  of  movement  that  are  both  echoes  of  memory  and  touchstones  of  comfort.  Whilst  the  recorded  performers  danced  in  the  ghostly  corridor,  the  ones  on  stage  struggled  to  catch  up  with  their  past  selves,  pointing  perhaps  to  the  discomfort  that  can  sometimes  arise  when  our  present  notions  of  self  are  set  against  our  

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memories  of  past  actions.  

Sharply  contrasting  in  tone,  but  equally  well-­‐rounded  and  fully-­‐developed,  the  irrepressible  junk  ensemble’s  Falling  Song  also  displayed  a  keen  awareness  of  the  potential  for  integrating  non-­‐dance  elements  into  a  performance.  This  was  a  brilliant  example  of  fully-­‐rounded  theatre  that  included  features  beyond  pure  dance  (song,  spoken  word,  props)  that  didn’t  undermine  or  overwhelm  the  choreography  but  rather  framed  it  beautifully.  

The  wonder  of  Falling  Song  was  how  it  managed  to  be  so  many  things  at  once:  tender,  irreverent,  poignant,  insightful  and  slapstick.  As  a  spectacle,  it  was  impressive  by  virtue  of  its  brave  athleticism,  with  four  male  dancers  engaging  in  kamikaze  acrobatic  displays  throughout,  toppling  face-­‐forward  onto  mattresses  from  towering  ladders  and  pole-­‐vaulting  across  the  stage  with  reckless  abandon.  This  was  trademark  innovative  work  from  junk,  a  young  Irish  company  who  are  consistently  imaginative  in  their  creation  of  what  are  often  site-­‐specific  pieces.  

Alongside  these  longer-­‐established  makers  of  dance,  some  newer  voices  in  Irish  choreography  made  themselves  heard,  with  notable  contributions  from  Philip  Connaughton,  Liv  O’Donoghue  and  Aoife  McAtamney.  These  artists  all  gave  us  a  taste  of  pieces  that  were  different  in  theme  but  linked  through  a  particular  ‘headless’  quality  in  the  choreography.  This  is  dance  where  the  performers  themselves  seem  to  be  spectators  of  the  work  they  are  presenting,  inhabiting  the  movement  with  detachment,  giving  the  audience  the  impression  that  they  are  discovering  the  work  at  the  same  time  as  we  are.  

McAtamney’s  Softer  Swells  sang  in  the  pared-­‐down  setting  of  Studio  4  of  DanceHouse  on  Foley  Street.  The  dancer  carved  the  limpid  space  around  her  with  

 

 

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rounded  limbs  in  a  sequence  of  movements  that  took  her  around  the  studio,  her  head  seeming  to  follow  after  her  body  rather  than  leading  it.  

Connaughton’s  Embody,  an  excerpt  from  a  study  in  attempting  to  understand  the  perspective  of  others  by  inhabiting  their  movement,  similarly  displayed  this  quality  of  headlessness.  Connaughton  has  a  very  particular  brand  of  movement,  his  body  constantly  vibrating  at  a  low  frequency,  his  facial  expression  seeming  to  suggest  he’s  waiting  for  his  limbs  to  prompt  the  next  gesture  in  him.  With  both  Connaughton  and  McAtamney  there  is  the  feeling  that  the  performer  is  trying  to  out  some  bubbling  idea  inside  themselves,  though  they’re  not  sure  what  it  is.  Although  not  fully  realised  at  the  time  of  performing,  their  work  contained  inklings  of  untapped  wells  of  physical  expression.  

Liv  O’Donoghue’s  Prompted  Breathless  showed  strains  of  this  same  tendency  of  involuntary  excavation.  A  piece  for  four  dancers  in  contrast  to  McAtamney’s  and  Connaughton’s  solos,  the  performers  here  uncovered  the  impetus  to  express  

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in  one  another.  At  moments,  all  four  prompt  each  other  into  the  same  sequence  of  movements  in  domino  unison,  creating  a  series  of  visual  echoes,  whilst  elsewhere  in  the  piece  one  dancer  watches  another  carefully  before  falling  into  an  emulation  of  the  movement  they’re  witnessing.  

Details  of  the  Irish  contribution  to  this  year’s  festival  have  not  yet  been  released,  but  renowned  Belgian  company  Ultima  Vez  are  set  to  present  their  Bessie-­‐award  winning  work  What  the  Body  Does  Not  Remember  on  the  Abbey  Stage,  while  Tero  Saarinen  Company  from  Finland  will  mark  the  100th  anniversary  of  the  premiere  of  Ballet  Russe’s  Rite  of  Spring  with  Stravinsky  Evening.  Although  it’s  always  enjoyable  to  see  such  well-­‐regarded  work  from  established  artists  on  the  Irish  dance  stage,  the  part  of  DDF  2013  I’ll  be  looking  forward  to  with  most  interest  is  the  newer  and  lesser-­‐known  work  from  emerging  voices  where,  with  any  luck,  you  get  to  witness  the  raw  edges  of  new  movement  being  born.    

Rachel  Donnelly  is  a  freelance  writer  living  in  Dublin  who  has  written  on  dance  for  Metro  Herald,  Totally  

Dublin,  Irish  Theatre  Magazine,  and  The  Skinny,  amongst  other  publications.  She  was  the  official  blogger  for  Dublin  Dance  Festival  2012.  

Below:    Ultima  Vez  -­‐  What  the  Body  Does  Not  Remember.  Photo  by  Matthias  Zšlle  

 

 

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Dublin Dance Festival 2013

May 14–26 in venues across Dublin

www.dublindancefestival.ie

IT’S TIME FOR DUBLIN’S ANNUAL DANCE ADVENTURE!

Dublin Dance Festival is delighted to announce a vibrant programme featuring some of the world’s most important choreographers and landmark contemporary dance works, alongside brick throwing, a pyjama party and a BMX bike! The festival, launched Wednesday 6th March by Jimmy Deenihan T.D. Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, will feature artists hailing from as far afield as Australia and as close to home as Poppintree, and events in venues ranging from the Abbey Theatre to a playground in Fairview. This is a programme by turns dazzling, witty and thought-provoking, with performances by artists hailed by critics as “terrific”, “powerful”, “arresting”, “kick-arse” and “compellingly human.”

Julia Carruthers, Director of DDF, says of the 2013 programme, “Dublin Dance Festival has again gathered some of the best and brightest dance from across Ireland and around the world.” The festival opens with renowned Finnish choreographer Tero Saarinen’s Stravinsky Evening at the Abbey Theatre, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the first performance of the Rite of Spring. This extraordinarily influential work had one of the world’s most infamous premieres in May 1913 with the Ballets Russes in Paris culminating in a near riot. Wim Vandekeybus (Brussels) will also be reviving a startling modern masterpiece at the Abbey, the visceral What the Body Does Not Remember. These performances form a major part of the cultural programme of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

At the official launch Minister Deenihan commented “Dublin Dance Festival presents one of the finest dance programmes in Europe. It now forms a key part of the wider arena in which Irish dancers and choreographers work and it has played a key role in helping develop a dedicated audience for dance in Ireland. Dance plays a significant role in Ireland’s cultural landscape and in this regard I am delighted that my Department, through the Arts Council, provided significant funding for this Festival which is one of the key features of Culture Connects - our culture programme celebrating Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union. I know that thousands of spectators will enjoy the experience for themselves at the Dublin Dance Festival in May this year.”

This year’s DDF is also bringing some of the hottest dance from Australia to Ireland. “Our special ‘Big Island / Small Island’ strand features the ambitious, playful and big-hearted work of eight Australian dance makers and their breathtaking dancers,” continues Julia.

The festival will be offering audiences a diverse programme of work by key Irish choreographers. Jean Butler will be reconnecting with her Irish Step Dance history in a personal new work balancing her past and present dancing sensibilities. Irish artists will be tackling some of today’s most sensitive topics, with CoisCéim exploring the issue of missing persons in Ireland, and Fearghus Ó Conchúir asking, what happens after collapse and what does it take to recover? Re-Presenting Ireland, a showcase for Irish contemporary dance, will present works with inspirations as diverse as Beckett

 

 

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and the disused Clifden-Galway railway.

There’s a great line-up of family friendly events taking place all across Dublin. Playgrounds will come alive with the high energy performances of Spill, which combine quirky dance with street gymnastics. Scottish Dance Theatre’s What on Earth?!, a hilarious show combining dance theatre and animation for younger audiences will offer them the chance to enjoy a pre-show pyjama party at The Ark. And to the very young, DDF is offering The Light Garden, an interactive light and video installation for toddlers, who will be equipped with little torches and then guided by a dancing bug around a camping scene from dawn ‘til dusk.

This year’s Dance on Film programme will feature a selection of films by renowned choreographer and filmmaker Wim Vandekeybus, whose films have featured at Cannes Film Festival. The festival will also screen Life in Movement, a documentary with universal resonance inspired by the life and untimely death of young Australian choreographer Tanja Liedtke. This screening at the IFI will be introduced by Brighton based dancer/choreographer/costume designer Theo Clinkard, who was Tanja’s close friend from the days they studied and trained together in London.

DDF also offers audiences a unique opportunity to enjoy gorgeous and innovative design, lighting and interactive technology. Jean Butler’s work will feature an installation by renowned Irish visual artist Corban Walker, while Tero Saarinen’s Stravinsky Evening is lit by celebrated lighting artist Mikki Kunttu whose oeuvre has included lighting the Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki! Ros Warby’s Monumental, drawing on two iconic symbols of classical ballet, the swan and the soldier, is performed against a background of old 35mm films, projected images and atmospheric lighting, while in Daniel Linehan’s Montage for Three dancers recreate a collection of projected photos in freeze frames that become like a stop-motion film.

The festival will offer a wide range of opportunities for people to engage with and participate in dance – whether they’re curious newcomers or dance-hungry fans. In Lucy Guerin’s Untrained we can witness two men with no movement training trying to follow the same instructions as two experienced dancers – with humorous and heart-warming results. Fast Track to Dance will invite a group of people new to dance to immerse themselves in the festival experience for one weekend, hosted and supported by Project Brand New. Moving Conversations, a series of discussions curated by Create, will offer the opportunity to talk to Fearghus Ó Conchúir and David Bolger about the topics of their works. Philip Connaughton’s performance at axis: Ballymun will begin with a short performance by local dancers who have been taking part in a series of workshops facilitated by Connaughton as part of his Residency at axis. The festival will also be hosting a number of master classes with some of the artists featured, along with a voice workshop for dancers and actors with Paul Blackwell, one of Australia’s most highly regarded actors, and Milly Ellis who has worked alongside some of Britain’s finest actors including Sir John Gielgud and Michael Gambon.

This wealth of activity will offer audiences an abundance of experiences, as the city is animated with dance to entrance, surprise, ponder and delight from 14-26 May.

 

 

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TO BOOK FOR DUBLIN DANCE FESTIVAL 2013

LIMITED EARLY BIRD TICKETS available online from March 7 until midnight Sunday, March 24.

ONLINE from March 7

www.dublindancefestival.ie

BY PHONE from April 1 Tel: + 353 1 672 8815 Lines open Monday to Friday 11am–6pm

IN PERSON from May 1

Dublin Dance Festival Box Office @ Filmbase, Curved Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2. Open Monday to Saturday 10am–6.30pm, Sunday 12noon–3pm. Bank Holiday Monday (May 6) 12noon–3pm

Dance Deals: To see as much of the Festival as possible AND save money, book for 3 or 4 shows in the Dance Deal scheme and say 15% off Full Price tickets, or book 5 or more shows in the scheme and

save 20%. For details see www.dublindancefestival.ie/book-here

Tickets may also be booked via the host venues, which may have venue-specific terms and conditions.

Be Our Friend:

DDF wants to ensure that Dublin continues to see the best international and Irish contemporary dance there is. 2014 marks the 10th Festival – and we have BIG plans. Our Friends provide vital support – and enjoy a more memorable Festival experience, with benefits such as generous discounts, invitations to

gala performances and access to special events year-round. Join from as little as €50 for a year!

To become a Friend, please visit www.dublindancefestival.ie.

Additional  picture  credits  go  to:    Lewis  Major,  Laurent  Phillippe,  Simon  Richarson,  Fionn  McCann,  Van  Meer,  and  Julieta  Cervantes.  

 

 

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