I continue to be impressed with the dance community in Ireland. I have been attending an improvisation class at Firkin Crane, in Cork City. Everyone has been warm, but Associate Artist in Residence Siobhán Ní Dhuinnín has been especially welcoming. So has choreographer Amy Prendergast, whom I’m hoping to have some performative adventures with in the future. It feels great to engage with other dancers without the exclusivity of the New York City scene (of course, that’s a blanket statement, but in my personal experience people here just seem so much more approachable – though part of that could be where I am in my life, too.)

Firkin Crane is the major dance presenter in Cork, and I fell in love with Junk Ensemble’s Dusk Ahead when I saw it there in November. Created by twin sisters Megan and Jessica Kennedy, it has just the right amount of mystery, golden lighting, curious song, and intricate movements that combine to make me excited about live performance.

Also in November, I attended the Light Moves Festival of Screendance at Dance Limerick, and got to participate in a brilliant workshop on dance for the camera with instructors Lucy Cash and Marisa Zanotti. I loved being back in an academic frame of mind and the festival did a great job of combining art, practice, and scholarship. Thoughts are percolating now about making a film in the house before we renovate. I’d love to create a dance film installation where the footage is projected onto objects found inside the house. I’d better get going on it, though! More about plans for the house in Thursday’s blog post!

I’m looking forward to learning more about Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh. This Must Be The Place / The Great Island, five weeks of programming from January 26-February 26^th, raises a lot of questions we can relate to:

What is the role of an arts centre in a small town? Is it a place where art can be seen? Or experienced? Or made? Or discussed? Or bought and sold? Is it a community centre? Is it a place for participation? Education? Social interaction? Social development? Is it a civic building? Is it part of the academy? Is it autonomous? Is it inclusive? Exclusive? To whom? Is it part of a community? What community?

I feel like multiplicity is the answer to sustainability for us. We will be an artist’s residency and _______________????