Deirdre Mulrooney's Diary

The incredibly thought-provoking shows by girl jonah, This Two and She Was a Knife Thrower’s Assistant, moved into Project Cube last weekend. 

During our fascinating conversation for the Dance On The Box video diary, Fiona Wright explained that she and Caroline Bowditch landed on Jonah, who found himself in the belly of a fish for three days, as in the bible tale “Jonah had to be very physically strong.”  Their intimate, and sometimes playful duets featured two very different bodies, often executing the same choreography.

National College of Art and Design Director Colm O’Briain queued to see their world premiere of She Was a Knife Thrower’s Assistant, exploring the notion of danger in all its many and unexpected manifestations in our lives.  Colm didn’t have to think twice about his festival highlight – he was blown away by Colin Dunne’s Out of Time, the work that went into it was “colossal,” and yet it was absolutely entertaining.  

James Kelly of Feenish films, whose series of short films for TG4 The Wren’s Nest was broadcast recently, was also there.  He could well have caught wind of girl jonah’s exciting show on the stairwell, as his office is in the same building as Dublin Dance Festival.

After meeting Caroline Bowditch (from Melbourne), and seeing her wonderful performance - slow, steady, self-assured, and sometimes sassy - it is amazing to think that out on the street, if not overlooked, she is often probably put in a box by passersby. 

They are missing out. 

She is a compelling dancer, with an amazing gift for communication, inviting us to take a close-up look at her “different” body and the way in which she executes the same choreography as her collaborator Fiona Wright, (whose background is in visual and performance art).  This intriguing pair of performers resist the term 'integrated arts’, opting instead for an aesthetic that could perhaps be more akin to ‘interrogative arts’.

Grabbing a bite to eat between shows out on bustling Temple Bar Square, I ran into choreographer/dancer Dylan Quinn, with his partner and their three children, all en route to see Dschungel Wien at The Ark. 

Dylan, who has performed for Liz Roche in Belfast dance company Maiden Voyage works mostly in  Enniskillen, where he is based, and in the UK.  He has been burning up a trail driving up and down from Fermanagh over the last couple of weeks to get his fix of the festival.  

He loved the skill and execution of Ballet Preljocaj, but if he had to pick a highlight, it was being introduced to all the downtown American work that doesn’t normally make it over this side of the Atlantic.  He was keeping to a tight schedule on Saturday, running from girl jonah, to Dschungel Wien, to Philippe Saire out in Dun Laoghaire.  And his little girl was tugging at his sleeve, so I had to let him off.   

Crossing Millenium Bridge, I bumped into Jean Butler, who was en route to catch Mixed Bill 2 of Re-presenting Ireland over at Dance House.  What can I say, Dublin City Centre seemed to be crawling with festival-goers!  She was set to fly back out to New York the next day (Sunday), fully sated by a fantastic Dance Festival. 

There was a full compendium of festival-goers at  Risa Jaroslow’s  provocative Resist/Surrender at O’Reilly Theatre on Friday night, from dance student Olwyn Lyons, who is studying at Leicester’s De Montfort University; to Mairead Vaughan and Dara O’Brien of Shakram Dance, whose short film Frozen will be screened at Project on May 21 – 24; to Jean Butler and Colin Dunne. 

After having the privilege of joining the company in rehearsal (take a look at the Dance On The Box video), it was a delight to see the work, complete with chorus of Dublin men in trench-coats, (and then varying stages of undress) and accompanied by the fantastic Crash Ensemble playing Scott Johnson’s score live. 

Luke Gutgsell led us into the piece with an incredibly agile and arresting solo.  Paul Singh, Gabriel Forestiere and the spectacular Elise Knudson, the only female in a cast of twelve, wrestled and danced out Jaroslow’s themes, which were later amplified by the ‘regular guy’ chorus. 

Computer Worker Jason Mah Ming, and property valuer John Magee, among the others, accomplished their choreographic tasks with aplomb, and were delighted with the experience. 

“It was great, we hardly noticed that the audience was there,” said John afterwards, grinning from ear to ear.

After the post-show discussion, moderated by Philip W Sandstrõm, prolific lighting designer, and new general manager of the Science Gallery at Trinity College, there was no time to lose before dashing down to Temple Bar’s Meeting House Square where the RTÉ Dance on the Box films were set to be screened at 10pm.  

A great crowd assembled, and as well as the films were treated to an exhilarating live performance from the swing-dancing community of Ireland – who were up on the big screen in their swish and moody 1940’s-vibe short film Swing Talking, directed by Anna Rodgers, and choreographed by Lucy Dunne, exploring that age-old theme of  the connection between men and women.

This was a great opportunity to see all four of the Arts Council and RTÉ's specially-commissioned dance films at once.

Together delivered an innovative take on a typical family drama Together, by Ursula Laeubli and Steve Batts.

Unsung saw a meeting between seán-nós and contemporary dance.  Directed  by Morleigh Steinberg and featuring the exquisite dancing talents of seán-nós dancer Nic Gareiss, followed by Liz Roche and dancing to the extraordinary singer Roisín Elsafty.

And my own favourite, Monitor: surveying three outbreaks of dance in unusual places, and shot in luscious high definition, it was an orgy of dance film.  (See our festival diary interview with director Luke McManus, who collaborated with choreographers Katarina Mojzisova, Nick Bryson, and Sascha Perfect to make Monitor). 

Bravo to all involved. 

If you weren't there, or missed them on RTÉ Two, all is not lost – you can still check them out right here on our website until 9 May. 

Saturday night, out at Dún Laoghaire’s Pavilion Theatre, the final festival treat was Philippe Saire’s Could I Just Draw Your Attention to the Brevity of Life?

Exuding a cabaret feel – this rather jazzy show featured magic tricks, minstrels, a glitterball and a final coup de théâtre as a chorus of local children were pulled out of the magic hat.   A very “show-time” piece, it is the third choreography seen in Dublin by the Lausanne-based Saire, whose company has been going since 1986. 

Each creation has been so totally different from the other that it is hard to find a choreographic thread apart from eclecticism itself.  His wonderful, clean 2001 choreography A Question of Distance was inspired by proxemics – the study of space, and the effects of the distance between people, with Dance Theatre of Ireland.  That was followed by the more moving 2004 duet, Lonesome Cowboy, as part of DTI’s Between You and Me programme of duets at Project.

Val Bourne, festival board member, and former director of London’s Dance Umbrella, had flown in from London to savour the last moments of the festival, as had international producer Jeremy Alliger, from Boston, where he was founder/director of the former Boston Dance Umbrella festival.

Cathy O’Kennedy, Lucy Dundon and the indefatigable Dylan Quinn were delighted with Saire’s festival finale.  This time, Laurie Uprichard herself hosted the post-show discussion with Philippe Saire. 

After all that dancing, the wrap party on Sunday evening at Liberty Hall was a quiet affair.  Well, I guess all good things must come to an end.  But not for long, as the second annual Dublin Dance Festival is only one year away!  So – there’s just about enough time to absorb all we've enjoyed in this one before the next one is unleashed.  Bring it on!