A RECENT Ph. D. available at UL has seeded a totally new dance show rooted in traditional Irish dance but influenced by flamenco, contemporary and classical dance forms.
NOCTU is a daring production that seeks to posit Irish dancing in today’s world. It is choreographed, scripted, directed and produced by a former Riverdance principal, Breandán de Gallaí. See it staged at UCH on Thursday April 28 prior to seven nights at Civic Theatre in Tallaght and on to a five-stop tour.
Will Breandán de Gallaí dance himself?
“No, I’m afraid,” laughs this likeable Gweedore man. “All my dancers are young and beautiful, and that’s not me anymore. The storyline of NOCTU is abstract but deals in part with the world that the Irish dancer finds him or herself in. There are different struggles expressed, mostly through the three main characters, two male and one female. The universal theme of marginalisation is another influence throughout. I think being on the outside affects all our lives in one way or another, long after we leave the school yard”.
Drawing on de Gallaí’s own experience as a dancer (hugely successful, although he does not say so), life on the road, as an academic in UL and as dancer in productions created by people who are not dancers themselves, much has informed the end performance we will see at UCH.
A regular presenter and producer with RTE, the station took an interest in the concept and making of the show which brings together some of the world’s best dancers. That documentary will be screened in six parts this Summer.
“NOCTU’s dancing is a story in itself. Having explored all sorts in my own career, I thought it was time for a new shift in the genre of Irish dancing, away from the strict model of traditional dancing and away from what we know through Riverdance and later. NOCTU is about transmitting a new aesthetic that we have”.
Audiences will have an opportunity to see this story of passion, creativity, isolation and boundary breaking at University Concert Hall on Thursday April 28, 8pm; www.uch.ie
