Dublin Dance Festival | Our Pick

Preview by: Dave O'Shaughnessy

Dublin Dance Festival 2012

 

Kicking off on May 11th, this years Dublin Dance Festival is highly anticipated by the Dublin dance community, and promises to be a truly international affair. Running for a little over two weeks, the annual festival in it's 8th year has abandoned the previous premise of a theme, and has instead opted for a smorgasbord of delights and performances, ranging from traditional and contemporary dance productions, to multimedia delights and slapstick comedy. And there's also a wealth of homegrown talent to be observed in some of the best and brightest venues this fair city has to offer, and the following are just some of our picks for festival.

Cheap Lecture & The Cow Piece, running on the Peacock stage in The Abbey on Monday May 21st and Tuesday May 22nd is an hour-long double-act that promises to "change what you think dance can be" is a quirky two part comedy show bouncing rhythms and rants about life and dance and has received heavy praise in it’s previous incarnations.

Apparition bills itself as "mindbending illusion" that combines dance with new media and technology to a spectacular extent, and is the very definition of experimental and envelope-pushing. Running in Trinity College's Samuel Beckett Theatre for two nights only, tickets for this hour-long performance will be snapped up speedily, so get them while you can.

The Falling Song by Irish company junk ensemble is premiering at the festival, and if any of their previous shows are to be taken into account, this one will be unmissable. Incorporating an all male cast and a live children’s choir is no small feat, and if that doesn’t peak your interest immediately, then maybe the premise of pushing physicality to the extremes in an examination of the nature of flying and falling will. Unfortunately unsuitable for under 12's, although this means there'll be more room for the rest of us in what promises to be a sell-out spectacular.

For families, Nubes (Clouds) by Spanish company Aracaladanza, running in Dún Laoghaire's Pavillion Theatre Saturday & Sunday May 12th and 13th, promises to leave both parents and children speechless in a "wildly imaginative" show that sees clouds evolve through vibrant dance scenes in enthralling fashion. Praised as one of Europe's finest child-focused companies, this one is for all the family.

Aside from the myriad performances that are taking place over the fortnight and a bit, there are also numerous events, masterclasses and artist talks that should not be passed up. Highlights include the Dance on Film screening on Sunday May 13th, which promises a chilled out Sunday afternoon of mixed shorts in The IFI in Temple Bar for the tidy sum of €8.90, and Dancing With Fire, a symposium on technology, performance and the confluence of the two in our modern age, with a keynote by the aforementioned Klaus Obermaier of Apparition. Tickets are priced from €10 and booking is advised.

All in all, Dublin dance enthusiasts will be spoiled for choice this coming May, and come rain or shine you'd be cheating yourself if you didn't dip into something.

Story by EI Team | 09:00 | Wednesday 25th April 2012 | Theatre

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