MusicTown 2024 - Improvised performance
I’m using this post to do two things: highlight an exciting performance I have coming up and to talk about improvised performance in general. Why? because it keeps knocking on my door and offering some insights that I feel like acknowledging.
My year started like it does for most other dancers—slow. January isn’t exactly bustling with shows and opportunities. However, I did get a few fun gigs, including one at the Hugh Lane Gallery, dancing for the closing party of the Andy Warhol Exhibition.
After a long Christmas break, the prospect of improvising for 40 minutes felt very daunting, and I started to doubt myself and the literal YEARS of experience I have as a performer.
“What will I do for that amount of time?” “I’m going to get tired.” “I’m unfit after Christmas.” “How will I keep people’s attention?” These were just some of the internal monologues running through my head.
The performance came and went. It was a success—a classic case of worrying for nothing. Panic over!
What I was reminded of by these doubts and by going through the experience is that all those feelings are important and actually SO useful in improvised performance. Leaning into how you are feeling and being very present in what you do is what makes improvised performance so interesting. This isn’t new knowledge, but I had let my head lead the logic on this one. Generally, when you're in your head while you dance, you aren’t in your body.
Image cred: Kate Lawlor from “Silver Night” closing of Andy Warhol Exhibition.
I hadn’t done much improvised performance before this, but some exciting opportunities came my way afterward: a collaboration between spoken word poet Sheila Ryder and sound designer Lara Gallagher for Stoa Collective’s Home exhibition, and a full-length improvised work called Sketches for Scenofest 2024.
Sketches involved a group of designers working across various practices, creating sound, video, movement, and light performance in an improvised atmosphere. Using new and existing designs, the performers remolded and recreated contributions from some of Ireland’s top designers, all threaded together with new material being improvised live in the space.
Sketches was curated by Peter Power, with live performances by Robyn Byrne (dancer), Choy-Ping Ní Chléirigh-Ng (video), Aisling Ennis (harpist), Lara Gallagher (composition/sound design), Aisling Phelan (video), Peter Power (composition/sound design), and Sarah Jane Shiels (lighting design).
I think a special part of improvised performance is the shared understanding with the audience that it is just that—improvised. It’s exciting to know that what you are seeing will never happen exactly the same way again. It’s also thrilling to realise that nobody knows exactly how it’s going to unfold. Such a space is charged with energy, and everyone is very tuned in. Whats not to love!
This finally brings me to MusicTown, a festival produced by Foggy Notions, taking place at The National Concert Hall from July 19th to 21st. I’m really excited about this event because if I’ve learned one thing from all these improvised experiences this year, it’s that they are incredibly fun and rewarding ways to perform. They offer a beautiful contrast to more structured and set shows.
I will be participating in MOODS, a fascinating cross-disciplinary collaboration presented by Harp Ireland, featuring harpist Aisling Ennis, visual and sound artist Peter Power, and myself as dancer and choreographer. We will be working with a series of original compositions, interpretations of existing material, and improvisations centered around embodied performance.
