Dance House, 3 September 2020

This is a recording of a live improvisation by dancers Marion Cronin, Sarah Ryan, and Lucia Kickham whilst listening to Zosia Kuczyńska’s placeholder recording of the opening monologue from Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa (1990). Accompanying live and recorded sound is directed by Robbie Blake and performed by Bláthnaid Conroy Murphy and Michelle O’Rourke, combining improvisation with non-vocalised, articulated speech using only the lips and teeth. Whilst developing this piece, the dancers were directed to experiment with different ‘intentions’, responding to the content of the monologue or its imagery or its rhythm. Singers were likewise directed to respond by singing pitched rhythms, improvising freely, or mouthing the words with percussive articulation as they heard them. This work in progress is an example of some of the material from the collaboration that remained unused due to the project having to be reimagined for film rather than live performance in the wake of the ongoing pandemic.