Past Performances
Forgive Me, Father
September 2019
‘Forgive Me Father’ is an interdisciplinary dance theatre performance that shines a light on the topic of child sexual abuse under the Catholic Church. The performance also demonstrates a minor consideration to the tragic history of mother and baby homes in Ireland.
This performance offers a glimpse into characters and experiences related to this topic, using post-modern fragmentation techniques to support the overall structure and narrative of the piece, offering snippets of material to exercise a non-linear storytelling approach. This performance uses a multi modal approach to explore related themes, narrative, images and symbolism through the merging of movement, text, song and technology; namely projection, projection mapping, and the use of ‘Isadora’ software for the creation of special effects.
22
December 2018
This dance short explores the journey of grief and bereavement through dance, with a focus on gesture and pedestrian movements. ‘22’ brings this much ignored topic to the stage and illustrates the sense of surrealism and distortion of time that one can experience throughout periods of grief and loss, in addition to recurring trauma that can result from losing someone close to you.
Research in Performance
Somatic Practice for Contact Improvisation - A Live Demonstration
This research addresses the politics of touch, the relationship we have with our own body, and the benefit of fascial stimulation for the bringing about of an ability to concieve a consious balance between control and letting go, (in both mind and body), which is essential when engaging in Contact Improvisation.
In this performance demonstration, the performers use soft therapy balls as their first contact 'partner', navigating space and tuning into a 3D awareness of thier body through felt sense, slowly becoming more receptive to and inviting of touch in this context.
The performers allow themselves to fully let go and pour their full weight onto the therapy ball, which acts as a non judgemental partner and tool for breaking down barriers such as self-consciousness in giving ones weight, which is generally a key issue for many when first practicing this technique. The therapy ball is eventually removed, allowing the now primed dancers to continue their contact exploration with their fellow dance partner.