Dublin Dance Festival, taking place across the city 1-19 May, is picking up the pace as we launch into the second week of the exciting line-up of events.
**Opening Tonight** At Project Arts Centre, controversial Italian choreographer Roberto Castello explores a life engulfed by endless desire in We go around at night consumed by fire. Fusing cinema, dance and theatre, four dancers move together, yet apart – their striking tribalistic movement relentlessly driving them to carry on, like characters in a Beckett play.
Liz Roche Company, DDF Company in Residence, will present the Dublin premiere of their beautifully compelling and critically acclaimed I / Thou this week (Wed 8 – Fri 10 May). This captivating exploration of human connection with live music, dance and song was created in response to a series of wall paintings by iconic visual artist Brian O’Doherty.
The Abbey Theatre will once again be home to pioneers from the dance world, artists revered for their craft and their drive for innovation.
Former Dance Director of the Venice Biennale Virgilio Sieni makes his Irish début with the overwhelmingly beautiful La Natura Delle Cose. In this hypnotic production, five dancers portray a character moving through the entire cycle of life in one hour, creating a rich visual poem, lyrical and unforgettable. Sieni created this definitive work in 2008.
Hugely anticipated collaboration Session will see leading Irish dance artist Colin Dunne perform with Olivier Award-winning Flemish-Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, renowned for his collaborations with some of the world’s greatest dance artists. In this unique exploration of movement and sound, which just premiered in France this February, these two performers draw on the rich rhythmical and sonic aspects of Dunne’s traditional Irish dance, joined on stage by composer Michael Gallen and musician Soumik Datta.
An undisputed masterpiece of contemporary dance will bring the 15th Dublin Dance Festival to a close – Rosas danst Rosas by Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Created in 1983, this piece for four female dancers showcases a tension that is characteristic of De Keersmaeker’s work; where structure contrasts with emotion, and aggression with tenderness. This is the Irish premiere of this seminal production, fifteen years after De Keersmaeker’s company performed on the Abbey Stage and Keersmaeker herself on the Beckett Theatre stage with the Festival’s 2004 Edition.
To view the full Festival Programme and to book tickets, visit www.dublindancefestival.ie.
