Shifting your notions of dance.. with Colin Dunne

This one's kind of fun.



I spoke to some friends, trying to cajole them into watching shows at dansfest. One of them looked at me and said flatly, "But I don't like dance." Maybe I need some new friends.



Anyway, I asked him what he liked. He said, "Humour. People poking fun at things. I relate to speech and talking more than i do dancing."


To which I laughed and said, "We actually have something like that."


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The purpose of our dansfest SHIFT programme is to showcase contemporary work that challenge the notions of what dance is and can be. One of our programmes this year is 'Out of Time' by acclaimed Irish dancer Colin Dunne.

Another first for dansfest! We've never showcased Irish dancing before. Colin Dunne is a highly acclaimed, former dancer from Riverdance - The Show, and his performance here includes a big multimedia screen where footage of traditional Irish Step Dance, including him as a child training to be a step dancer will be projected.

But riverdance this is not. Colin will interrogate the style, form and culture of Irish stepdancing in this personal and provocative solo work, peppered with trademark Irish humour where he talks to the screen, addressing his younger self and other dancers. All this while he is zipping across the stage in a blaze of percussive footwork which will then be digitally processed to form a soundscape in real time. Wow. That was a mouthful.

Wit, humour, virtuosic feet, multimedia, speed.. I think it'll be pretty cool.

Catch
Out of Time by Colin Dunne (Ireland)
27 & 28 Oct 09, Tue & Wed, 8pm
Esplanade Theatre Studio

Sidi Larbi interview with The Guardian

The Guardian did a nice interview with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui on Monday- short answers, informative, personal- it really does give a deeper sense of who he is. I like interviews like that because they add another layer to the artist and allow us to see the human side of the artist and perhaps even get to understand his work more.

What he says about the myth of contemporary dance being inaccessible is true though- and could probably be applied across the board to most performing art forms - don't have preconceived notions, or pre-judge your appreciation of it! Article linked here.

Portrait of the artist: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, choreographer
'I do read my reviews – but only a month after a performance.'

What got you started?
Watching a friend imitate Kate Bush when I was 13. I loved the idea of expressing yourself through movement.

What was your big breakthrough?
Winning best Belgian solo at a dance contest in 1995. I found my own style, mixing hip-hop with classical ballet and African moves – and met major choreographers like Alain Platel. It was only later that I realised I had been very lucky.

Do you suffer for your art?
Sometimes. As a choreographer, your work is quickly owned by other people – dancers, critics, audiences. It's strange when people assume that you have sole responsibility for it.

What work of art would you most like to own?
There's nothing I'd like to own. Art should be there for everyone.

What's the biggest myth about contemporary dance?
That it's inaccessible. You don't judge a book from the first page; so you should learn to see a dance piece from beginning to end before you judge it.

What's the greatest threat to dance?
It might not always be something people get paid for, but I don't think there's any danger of dance going away. It's part of the nature of people to need to move.

What song would feature on the soundtrack to your life?
Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush. It's about trying to make a deal with God.

What's your favourite film?
Wall-E, because I like the way he tries to do good. Requiem for a Dream, for making addiction something I can understand. And Shortbus, because it makes you realise we're indoctrinated with ideas about sexuality being bad.

What advice would you give a young choreographer?
Don't be afraid to do work that's like stuff other people used to do. So many people try to find something new, but by continuing a tradition, you will make something new.

Is there anything about your career you regret?
Regret is a word I don't like. My first work of choreography, Rien de Rien, was about not believing in regret – only in making choices.

Complete this sentence: At heart I'm just a frustrated . . .
Musician. I hear music in my head and would love to translate what I hear.

Do you read your reviews?
I do, a month or so after a performance. Everything that's said about me influences me. So if I get a bad review at the time, that's when I want to quit.

PRELIMINARY FEST LINEUP

Many of you may have seen this at Esplanade during the arts festival and Flipside festival:

da:nsfest says hello!

On Centrestage (and more to come) :

The World Premiere of Dunas by Maria Pages & Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (23 & 24 Oct)

The Asian Premiere of The Re-Triptych by Shen Wei Dance Arts (30 & 31 Oct)

A World premiere and an Asian premiere - when the da:ns team found out we did something of a leprechaun jig around the office. Happy as clams, and not to mention super excited as well. These days any performance happening for the first time can be a world premiere (like the school play I put up in '96) but for one of the best and most prolific, eloquent flamenco dancers in the world (Maria Pages) to want to dance for us with Sidi Larbi of Sutra (the arts fest performance with the Shaolin monks and Antony Gormley) fame... it really is an honour.

And Shen Wei as well. Everyone remembers the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony. And this:

Scroll to 2:10 and watch!

Shen Wei was the lead choreographer and chief creative consultant for the opening ceremony, directing 16,000 dancers. This beautiful piece with ink-dipped dancers swirling across the blank canvas of the stadium floor is adapted from his work Connect-Transfer. Shen Wei Dance Arts will be performing The Re-Triptych at da:ns 2009 after its World Premiere in the USA.

Watch this space for more from these artists, as well as the full lineup!

MAKING A START

Welcome to the da:ns festival blog!

In the spirit of the digital age and sharing information here's something that will provide instant gratification for all you dance fans out there in the months leading up to da:ns fest 09! What's a festival team that doesn't keep it real anyway? Before we begin-

Save the date

23 October - 1 November 2009

Ticket prices have also been reduced this year - students can watch the shows from as low as $10 if they come with their schools, and for the public, the lowest ticket price for all our Theatre/Concert Hall shows is $20!

In our fourth festival you will find dance(r!)s to adore, stories to fall in love with, high-energy shows that'll get you on your feet, work that will set you thinking and lots of fun for you and your friends/family in a full celebration of the joy of movement.

This very blog will keep you up to date with all the latest news and behind the scenes action with interviews, photos, video and lots more over the next few months and throughout the festival. So keep checking back, subscribe to our feed and get excited.

Look out for Who's Coming, an introduction to the da:ns team and more in our upcoming posts!

It's Friday and I've got candy in my heels ;)