Are there any dancers who influenced you?
In the Contemporary dance world, I love Pina Bausch. I love her work. I love the fact that a lot of it is endurance based, can span many hours, it’s very theatrical, and can demand a lot of audiences and performers alike. Her work really appeals to me. The aesthetic of her work is, to me, sublime. The fact that she used (Bausch has passed away but her company remains) many more mature dancers in her pieces, is also draw. I realised, fairly recently, that I seem to connect more with performances and performers that are of an older generation. When watching them, you can feel their sense of self and voices of experience, they dance without anything to prove, they dance more truly as themselves, and that is captivating.
Another company would be Lost Dog. They create work with a lot of text, definitely in the realm of ‘dance theatre’. We had the chance to work with the Artistic Director, Ben Duke, in The Place and I loved every minute. Being in rehearsal with him was like a masterclass in establishing a fruitful creative working space. His approach to people and feedback had a big impact on me, and the nature of his performance work continues to intrigue me.
I must also add Sandy Cuthbert who is responsible for me being able to work in dance in the first place. Without her influence in Belfast Met, I doubt I would have had the tools to enter into the working dance world.
What about Argentine Tango and Folklore?
In these worlds, there are two people, Tomás Corbálan (tango) and Emilio Cornejo (folklore). I know them as performers, teachers, and mentors. I trust them, admire them, and I feel incredibly privileged to call them friends. They are true artists.
Where to now?
As said, I came back to Ireland during Covid and I only intended to be here for a little while. But I have been here for a couple of years now. I have been very fortunate to often work with Maiden Voyage Dance (Belfast / director, Nicola Curry) who were hugely helpful in getting me, and other dancers, work in the digital sphere during the most difficult period of the lockdown. Jennifer Rooney, Tomás, Emilio, and my friend Tom Hughes (musician and film-maker) were also very supportive.
I did have an admin job for a while during and post-pandemic but I was starting to have to say no to dance work because of the shifts so, after a couple of years I decided to leave. And now I’m trying to work out the freelance world here in Northern Ireland which is much different than it is in London.
So, at the moment I am happily saying “Yes” to a jigsaw of contemporary dance or theatre research and performance contracts while continuing to teach mainly tango and folklore lessons and workshops . I have just come home from work up in Derry (a collaborative project between Jeremy Deller, London’s National Gallery, and The Playhouse in Derry) where we were diving into the world of traditional mumming alongside 90s rave culture. Wild and so fun!
Over the next couple of months I am dancing in forests, travelling to workshops in some remote Italian mountains, settling into a cosy studio space I got recently, working with a film-maker and poet in our first residency together, and gathering ideas for what happens come Autumn time. So plenty to keep me occupied for a wee while.
