Ériu Dance Company: The Village *Deutschland-Premiere*

In the organizer's words:

The Ériu Dance Company is coming to Germany for the first time. On 18.10.2024, it will present the dance theater performance The Village as a German premiere.

A contemporary Irish dance performance with world-class dancers

Choreography by Breandán de Gallaí

Music by Paddy Mulcahy

Presented by Gyula Glaser

Part of Zeitgeist Ireland 24, an initiative of Culture Ireland and the Embassy of Ireland in Germany.

ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE:

The plot of The Village centers on five strangers who, although they don't know each other, have all grown up in the same place: the village of the same name. The performance takes place on a hill overlooking the village, years after each of them left it. From the top of this hill, they overlook their hometown and tell their stories, which are motivated by two central elements: a series of explosive and hypnotic dance routines to a mix of traditional, contemporary and electronic music, as well as haunting confessional monologues. Through these means, the audience is confronted with a dissolving sense of reality that surrounds both the narrators and the village. The Village is a meditation on Irish culture in general. Within this culture, villages are places that harbor both literal and metaphorical forms of drama in national life. For at least a century, villages have been a

setting for seemingly immutable artistic expressions of national identity, such as the central role of fields for Cathleen Ní Houlihan and the Bull McCabe. More recently, however, our national conversations about villages have focused on decline; places left behind by a modernizing, urbanizing and diversifying Ireland. As a result, villages - even more than cities - occupy an in-between space in Irish culture that is both immutable and soluble, depending on the perspective of the viewer. This quality makes them fertile ground for the depiction of stories about the loss and restoration of identity, which is the driving theme of both The Village and Ériu as an ensemble.

ABOUT ÉRIU DANCE COMPANY:

Ériu was founded in 2010 as an avant-garde dance company to explore and express a particular and idiosyncratic moment in Irish culture and society. Since the early 1990s, Ireland has been characterized by the dissolution of a supreme form of identity: an identity that was invariably white, middle-class, Catholic and heterosexual. Through seismic economic, cultural, demographic and constitutional changes, the Irish have since experienced a multitude of dissolutions and reconfigurations of the 'self'. In various works - Noċtú, Rite of Spring, Lïnger, Aon, Salómae, Chased, Walls Talk, The House of Bernardó Alba and Countless Cathleens - Ériu has expressed these currents through dance and now seeks to do so again with a bold new production: The Village.



ABOUT THE CHOREOGRAPHER:

In his capacity as artistic director and choreographer of dance company Ériu, Breandán explores the poetic potential of the Irish dance form, presenting works that are exploratory and innovative in a contemporary context. He has created several works, notably The House of Bernardó Alba, Countless Cathleens, The Village, Walls Talk, Salómae, Aon, Lïnger, Rite of Spring and Noċtú. Noċtú (2010/11) completed a 5-week residency at the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York, supported by Culture Ireland. The piece was nominated for 2 Drama Desk Awards: "Outstanding Choreography" and "Unique Theatrical Event" (New York 2012). Breandán's second work, Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (2012), premiered at the opening of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in August 2012 and attracted 14,000 spectators. The work received a nomination for the coveted Allianz Business to Arts Award (Dublin 2013). Most recently, Breandán has reworked 'Rite', which the company performed at Cork Midsummer and Earagail Arts Festival (June and July 2018). The company had the honor of performing the work at the International Festival of the Arts ""Diaghilev. P.S."" in St. Petersburg in 2019. Lïnger, which marked Breandán's return to the stage after a 12-year hiatus, premiered at Project Arts, Dublin in January 2016, followed by performances at Firkin Crane Cork and Dance Limerick. In August 2016, Lïnger took part in the Edinburgh Fringe and was shortlisted for a Total Theatre and The Place Award for Dance. Since then Lïnger has toured throughout Ireland with eight venues, with international performances at Jack Crystal Theater New York, Théatro Sofia Bulgaria and Aix-en-Provence France. Aon had its world premiere in Amharclann Ghaoth Dobhair, Co. Donegal, as part of the 2017 Earagail Arts Festival. These performances were followed by a two-week run in Firkin Crane Cork. In November 2018, Aon toured Ireland, both north and south. In 2019, Breandán adapted Oscar Wilde's Salome (Salómae), which was performed at An Taibhdhearc - Ireland's National Irish Language Theatre - as part of the Galway International Arts Festival. This dance, music and Gaelic interpretation of the classic was a first for the ensemble. In recent years, the work has become more ambitious in terms of its scope and interdisciplinary nature. Walls Talk, which features blues/jazz singer Gina Boreham alongside Breandán, opened at Projects Arts in 2020. The play completed a 9-stop national tour of Ireland in 2022 and is scheduled for a two-week run at the Edinburgh Fringe in August 2024. The Village premiered at the Black Box Theatre in May 2022 and was shown at the Earagail Arts Festival in July of the same year. His interpretation of Lorca's The House of Bernardó Alba, in which the play's themes are viewed through a queer lens and in which male performers play key female roles, premiered at the Galway Theatre Festival in May 2023.



EN------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A contemporary Irish dance performance featuring world-class dancers.

Choreography by Breandán de Gallaí

Music by Paddy Mulcahy

Presented by Gyula Glaser

Part of Zeitgeist Irland 24, an initiative of Culture Ireland and the Embassy of Ireland in Germany.





ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE:

The Village's action focuses on five strangers who, although unknown to one another, all grew up in the same place: the titular village. The performance is set on a hill overlooking the settlement, years after each of them has left. From the top of that hill, they survey their homeplace and tell their stories, which are motivated by two, key devices: a series of explosive and hypnotic dance routines set to a blend of traditional, contemporary and electronic music; and powerful confessional monologues. Through these devices, the audience is confronted by a dissolving sense of reality surrounding both the storytellers and the village. The Village is a meditation on Irish culture more generally. Within that culture, villages are places that host both literal and metaphorical forms of drama in national life. For at least a century, villages have provided the

setting for seemingly immutable artistic expressions of national identity, such as the central role of fields for Cathleen Ní Houlihan and the Bull McCabe. However, in recent times, our national conversations about villages have focused on decline; places left behind by a modernizing, urbanizing and diversifying Ireland. As a result, villages - to a greater extent than towns or cities - occupy a liminal space in Irish culture, both immutable and soluble depending on an observer's perspective. This quality makes them fertile ground for expressing stories about the loss and remaking of identity, which is both the driving theme of The Village and Ériu's as a company.



ABOUT ÉRIU DANCE COMPANY:

Ériu was founded as an avant-garde dance company in 2010, to explore and express a particular and peculiar moment in Irish culture and society. Since the early 1990s, Ireland has been typified by the dissolution of a hegemonic form of identity: one that was invariably white, bourgeois, Catholic and heterosexual. Through seismic economic, cultural, demographic and constitutional changes since, Irish people have been experiencing multiple dissolutions and remakings of "the self". Through various works - Noċtú, Rite of Spring, Lïnger, Aon, Salómae, Chased, Walls Talk, The House of Bernardó Alba, and Countless Cathleens - Ériu has expressed these currents through dance, and now looks to do so again through a brave new production: The Village.



ABOUT THE CHOREOGRAPHER:

In his capacity as artist director and choreographer of dance company Ériu, Breandán explores the poetic potential of the Irish dance form and presents work that is explorative and innovative in a contemporary context. He has created several works, most notably The House of Bernardó Alba, Countless Cathleens, The Village, Walls Talk, Salómae, Aon, Lïnger, Rite of Spring and Noċtú. Noċtú (2010/11) completed a 5-week residency at the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York which was supported by Culture Ireland. On the back of this run the show was nominated for 2 Drama Desk awards, "Outstanding Choreography" and "Unique Theatrical Event" (New York 2012). Breandán second work, Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (2012) premiered at the opening of the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in August 2012 attracting 14,000 spectators. The work received a nomination for the coveted Allianz Business to Arts Awards (Dublin 2013). Breandán has recently re-worked the Rite which the company performed at the Cork Midsummer and the Earagail Arts Festivals (June & July 2018). The company was honored to be invited to perform the work at the International Festival of Arts ""Diaghilev. P.S."" in St. Petersburg in 2019. Lïnger, which saw Breandán return to the stage after a 12-year hiatus, premiered in Project Arts, Dublin, January 2016, followed by performances in Firkin Crane Cork and Dance Limerick. In August 2016 Lïnger took part in the Edinburgh Fringe and was shortlisted for a Total Theatre and The Place Award for Dance. Since then Lïnger completed an 8-venue All-Ireland tour, with international performances in the Jack Crystal Theater New York, Théatro Sofia Bulgaria, and in Aix-en-Provence France. Aon had its World Première in Amharclann Ghaoth Dobhair, Co. Donegal as part of the 2017 Earagail Arts Festival. These performances were followed by a 2-week run in Firkin Crane Cork. Aon toured Ireland, north and south, in November 2018. In 2019 Breandán adapted Oscar Wilde's Salome (Salómae), which opened at the Galway International Arts Festival at An Taibhdhearc - Ireland's National Irish Language Theatre. This dance, music, and Gaeilge interpretation of the classic was a new departure for the company. In more recent years the work has become more ambitious in terms of its scope and its interdisciplinarity. Walls Talk featuring blues/jazz singer Gina Boreham performing alongside Breandán and opened at Projects Arts in 2020. It completed a 9-venue national tour of Ireland in 2022 and is slated for a 2-week run at the Edinburgh Fringe in August 2024. The Village premiered at the Black Box Theatre in May 2022, with a performance at the Earagail Arts Festival in July of the same year. His interpretation of Lorca's The House of Bernardó Alba which explored the play's themes through a queer lens and had male performers in key female roles, had its premiere at the Galway Theatre Festival in May 2023.