THREE separate and complete dance works performed three dates back to back on the calendar. The national premiere is our privilege at Dance Limerick on Wednesday September 5 at 6pm for these performances with the summer’s Step Up 2018 programme culminating at the John’s Square resource centre.
Talking to Dance Limerick’s communication manager Emer Casey, it emerges that Step Up is professional development for talented graduates, offering them a shot at public performance and working with international class choreographers.
This is the seventh year of Step Up, a joint venture between Dance Limerick, Dance Ireland, UL’s IWA and the Arts Council.
“There is an open call in early summer and we had 12 applicants. We selected six dancers from overseas and home and we are really happy with them this year. Around the end of July we all sit down together in a very informal way. It is the first time that the dancers and we, Dance Limerick who are the producers and some of the choreographers come together for a debrief of what is going to come up over the next two months.”
The selected dancers are Rocio Dominguez, Katrina Galvin, Mintesinot Getachew, Rebecca Lee, Evgenia Sizmina and Kathy Young. Ireland’s Catherine Young has oversight of this year’s course and performances, working with the highly regarded John Scott and Daniel Squire.
“We usually have two pieces for performance, one of them brand new and choreographed from scratch. The other is a repertoire piece from one of the choreographers. This year we have a third from Daniel.
“The new piece is ‘Call to You’ by Catherine Young and she knows where she is going to with it. John Scott’s ‘Every Gesture’ is new but drawn from old works and Daniel Squire’s is ‘MinEvent’.”
With Squire having studied with the innovative dance artist Merce Cunningham and worked with his dance company in New Year, appreciate that ‘MinEvent’ will be a sort of collage of Cunningham’s choreographed works.
Sit aside about 25minutes for each of these costumed (Arran Murphy), fully produced dance performances from 6pm on September 5; on then to Firkin Crane in Cork on the 6th, Galway on Friday September 7 and DanceHouse, Dublin on Saturday 8.
www.dancelimerick.ie
