Lazarus, a work by award-winning Belfast choreographer Oona Doherty, is set to be revived and performed alongside works from internationally acclaimed choreographers Akram Khan and Liz Roche in an extraordinary new triple-bill by Luail, Ireland’s national, all-island dance company.
Featuring Kaash by Akram Khan, Lazarus by Oona Doherty and 12 Minute Dances by Liz Roche, Nōs will have its world premiere at The MAC on 6 November, as part of the Belfast International Arts Festival.
Performed by Luail’s ensemble of dancers, the themes of the three pieces range from mythic worlds to raw human experience, revealing dance as a shared act of searching and connection.
Since she began her career in 2010, Oona Doherty has achieved widespread success in the dance world, winning the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2021 and collaborating with artists including David Holmes, Jamie xx and LANKUM.
Speaking about the revival of Lazarus, choreographer Oona Doherty said:
“I’m still amazed by the life of this work. It has been touring internationally within my other pieces – Hope Hunt for ten years and Hard to Be Soft: A Belfast Prayer for nine. At its heart Lazarus is about pain, anger and fear, more so than themes of class, nationality, or gender. I think the work reflects on how now more than ever, in every nation, fear is on the rise. With fear comes anger, confusion and violence, and I think we are seeing this both in the individual and in the collective.”
Looking forward to the world premiere of Nōs in Belfast, Liz Roche, Artistic Director of Luail said:
“This production marks a significant moment for Luail as we continue to build a repertoire of ambitious contemporary dance that reflects the scale of our artistic vision and our mission for dance to be known and celebrated by everybody across the island of Ireland.
Nōs – which means ‘us’ in Latin – brings together three distinct choreographic voices, each offering a unique perspective on what connects us. Welcoming these remarkable works into Luail’s repertoire is an important step in the company’s artistic journey, creating more opportunities for audiences to experience world-class contemporary dance while celebrating the diversity, richness and power of the artform”.
First performed in 2002, Kaash by Akram Khan is an internationally acclaimed work rooted in the rhythmic complexity of Khan’s classical background. Exploring cycles of creation and destruction, black holes and mythological gods, the piece moves between the earthly and the transcendent. Meaning “if only” in Hindi, Kaash unfolds within a poetic set design by Anish Kapoor, while a powerful score by Nitin Sawhney responds to the intensity of Khan’s dynamic and highly physical early movement language.
Ten years on from its original performance, Lazarus by Oona Doherty remains a bold and deeply affecting work from one of the most vital voices in contemporary dance today. Raw, confrontational, and emotionally charged, it explores masculinity, socio-economic stereotypes, and rebirth, with unflinching physicality and humanity. Reimagined for the Luail ensemble, the work magnifies Doherty’s urgent search for hope and connection beneath the masks society asks us to wear.
Completing Nōs are two works from Liz Roche’s 12 Minute Dances, originally performed in 2009. These pieces are vivid studies in colour, rhythm and emotion, where human embodiment becomes a dynamic, living event. Set to music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Julia Wolfe and Ed Rosenberg III, the works are inspired by painter Mark Rothko’s belief that art “lives by companionship”, inviting the audience to complete the picture.
Nōs will be performed at The MAC on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 November at 7.45pm. To book tickets, visit https://belfastinternationalartsfestival.com/event/nos/
