O’Conchúir’s ‘Niche’ was performed in the Project Theatre recently. It is a theatre-based 4-hander presenting work devised and first performed out of doors, under the cranes and scaff of a docklands skyline. ‘Niche’ tracks the search for ‘a place’ for locals, workers and a resident choreographer. It offers an audience an unsentimental take on the quest for niche, represented with determination and cool discipline. O’Conchúir has a blog documenting his journey towards ‘Niche’ http://www.bodiesandbuildings.blogspot.com/
Film and visual artist’s Anne Cleary and Denis Connolly were invited to give a ‘Body & Film’ seminar at DanceHouse. An aspect of the work involved taking their cameras and dancers outdoors creating an impromptu encounter with the world outside the centre. The work culminated in the creation of ‘Not a Fish’ a challenging short film, which generated a broad debate about art, participation and representation. The finished work includes a text documenting the encounter and the subsequent debate. More on Cleary and Connolly’s work can be seen on their website http://www.connolly-cleary.com/
It is interesting to see that as large as these projects are in scope and aspiration they draw support in a hybrid fashion. They rely on local authority and arts council funding (including South Dublin County Council and Dublin Docklands) and garner support by partnering with agencies such as Create or Dance Ireland and organisations including Project Theatre. We can expect more of these enterprising collaborations in the future.
And finally, in the interest of the future of collaboration and a treat for anyone keen on what is described by the Washington Post as ‘the source of epochal revolution in the scope and purposes of art’ was Liz Lerman’s series of presentations on Critical Response Process organised by Bealtaine, the Dublin Dance Festival, the Abbey and Create. US choreographer Lerman has fine-tuned her working theory over the past 30 years and has tested it in the fields of business, art and science (amongst others) in order to find a working process for collaboration between experts in diverse fields. Credit is due to choreographers John Scott and Ríonach Ní Néill for submitting their works to the rigour of critical inquiry. More on Lerman’s techniques and company The Dance Exchange at http://www.danceexchange.org/