Munich Musings

I travelled to Munich last November for a two week residency at the tail end of a very busy year. The tank was empty. I had no real plan except to continue making a show that I’ve been developing since February 2022. With the knowledge that there was a sharing towards the end of the process, I wanted to make it as stress free as possible.

Previously, the thought of presenting something would raise some kind of anxiety inside me rendering me slightly paralysed. In true Irish fashion, I would bury the feelings and just get on with it. I presented a work in progress to this effect in May 2022; it felt more like an out-of-body experience than the grounded approach us barefooted contemporary dancers are known for. I crashed and inevitably got sick afterwards, vouching to change my outlook on
the dreaded sharing from then on.

Tanztendenz seemed to be a right place, right time happening that proved itself by luring me into some sort of calm-er state while making. Being in a new place, with new people offered me a sense of freedom. Nobody had any preconceived notions of me, there were no expectations. I continued making because I liked what I was doing, not because I was thinking about how an audience might perceive it. If I’ve learnt one thing about making from Jonathan Burrows it’s that you will kill your work if you start to judge it too soon. It sounds like an obvious observation but it can be easier said than done. At least the physical and mental spaces Munich provided allowed for some uninhibited making. Burrows also says “It’s just a stupid dance”. That helps too.

I’m becoming less and less concerned with the “dance’ and more concerned about the people. I spent my two weeks with two collaborators Susanne and Roisin. They are both such generous people and their contributions to the work is what makes it interesting. Tantendenz itself is an artist-led organisation which supports freelance choreographers and makers. Its whole model is built around sharing space, sharing ideas, supporting one another, and you can feel it while you are there.

I presented my work in the end and I’m proud I found a new ease with that, but the crux of my time in Munich was so much more. It was about connecting to others and sharing values in shared spaces.

I will thank “dance” for that.