Liquid Gold @ Dance Base

With respect to Latin Beach explores the relationship between the idealism of childhood and the adult reality of being a dancer. What were your childhood ideas about dance, and if you were better informed of the adult realities would you necessarily have pursued a dance career?

From what I can remember and the photographic evidence, I used to prance around a lot! I spent a lot of time fluttering from room to room in a pair of silver shoes. When I was 3 my grandmother made me a pink tutu which I lived in, so I thought dancing was all sparkle and flutter. Even now I can't help but be enthralled by Strictly Come Dancing, I'm a sucker for Swarovski, virtuosity mixed with a little grace.
Being an independent Dance Artist is definitely a lifestyle choice,  without much material gain and a lot of insecurity and vunerability. Currently, there is very little compatibility beween artistic endeavour and earning a living. A career dancing and choreographing contemporary works is becoming less attainable, people just get tired and give up.

I do wish at the age of 18 I'd listened but I didn't. Now it's a monthly battle not to become artistically extinct! On the upside, I get to dance my heart out everyday and that's special stuff

What dance styles did you train in growing up and professionally?

Aged 3, I signed up for Ballet, Tap and Modern Jazz. Mostly I remember the all-in-one pink lycra catsuit being a nightmare to get in and out of. My parents bought me a pair of clogs aged four which I jumped around in. Age 11 and the swift development of big teeth and glasses meant any dreams of the Royal Ballet were over. I stumbled across contemporary dance aged 12 and enjoyed the flow. I think what happens is you spend a lot of time trying to dance like others, and in 2007 at the age of 29 I decided it was time to pay attention to how I danced.

Liquid Gold is a solo piece...

The solo work is a practical response to the economic situation. Solos are cheaper and lighter. I would love the opportunity to work with many performers, but it's expensive. I have just started to research the Danse Macabre and I'd like to do something with a ghost train so hopefully I'll get to work with more performers soon.

 

Do you have any influences from beyond dance?

Currently a big influence is my living and working context, Limerick city: a dark, grey strange place savaged by gangland feuds; words just can't describe it. I live next to a funeral parlour. Others things include the human skeleton, Grace Coddington from Vogue, Bach, female Bodybuilders, eBay, anything by HBO, David Eagleman, neuroscientist and author of Sum, virtuosity, the Arizona desert and communicating with clarity.