The Creative Process

Dance House, 11 August 2020

In this recording, Jessie Keenan teaches dancers Marion Cronin, Lucia Kickham, and Sarah Ryan the first part of a dance phrase. This phrase was taken from footage of Jessie rehearsing a live dance improvisation to audio she recorded in response to the question ‘So what is surfacing?’, adapted from a phrase written by Brian Friel during the composition process for Dancing at Lughnasa (1990). The footage from which the phrase originates was taken at the UCD Humanities institute on 25 February 2020; this video was taken at Dance House during a week of workshops and rehearsals on 11 August 2020. This phrase, danced in unison with moments of deliberate hesitation and repetition from two of the three performers, forms a significant portion of Jessie’s film ‘So what is surfacing’.

The Creative Process

Dance House, 13 August 2020

This is a recording of dancers Marion Cronin, Lucia Kickham, and Sarah Ryan performing the second part of a dance phrase taught to them by Jessie Keenan.

The Creative Process

So what is surfacing (rehearsal), 25 February 2020

This is a version of Jessie Keenan’s live dance improvisation to audio she recorded in response to the question ‘So what is surfacing?’, adapted from a phrase written by Brian Friel during the composition process for Dancing at Lughnasa (1990).

The Creative Process

Jessie Keenan interview, extract 1

Jessie Keenan talks about the origins and development of her dance film ‘So what is surfacing’.

Related Manuscript

So what is surfacing

This note towards Dancing at Lughnasa (1990) contains a phrase that directly inspired Jessie Keenan’s short dance film of the same name, ‘So what is surfacing’.