Between Earth, Sky & Home
Posted on Friday, February 8th, 2008
Between Earth, Sky & Home is a dance performance directed & choreographed by dance artist Ríonach Ní Néill in collaboration with the 20-strong cast of professional and non-vocational dance artists.
The work arose in partnership between Ríonach’s professional dance outfit Ciotóg and 15 young dance artists between the ages of 8-15yrs from Ronanstown Youth Service. Fiona Delaney, from Nth Clondalkin Arts Development Project (SDCC Arts Office) acted as animateur, originating and overseeing the project, while also creating new visual art pieces which complement and inform the choreographic process.
These Sketches of places in the North Clondalkin area by Fiona Delaney formed part of the development work for the danc-exploring notions of territory, environment, and home.
“We move through the neighbourhood finding strange rhythm in the straightness of the Neilstown Road, with its full-stop roundabouts and crossed by strings of a pylon-hoisted fret-board in the sky. The vast flats of green space side onto snail-shell curls, inside housing estates with cul-de-sacs and gable-ends marked with goal posts and scattered with remnants of a much older Clondalkin in castle walls and parkland trees.”
The professional and non-vocational dancers have worked within this partnership, over a period of several months exploring themes that question the nature of dance; of creativity, of identity and of home. In particular the work sets out to reflect the suburban lifestyle of North Clondalkin.
A cast of 5 professional dancers and 15 non-vocational dancers from Ronanstown Youth Service performed in the Axis Theatre 12 & 13th April and in the Civic Theatre 15th April.
Comments from the dancers:
Making journeys, forming clouds, making pylons, building trust.
Supporting and needing each other.
Relying, sharing, playing messing–finding out what we are made of.
All drawings by Fiona Delaney. Photography by Joe Lee and Fiona Delaney. This project was funded by South Dublin County Council’s Arts Office, and the Arts Council of Ireland–Artist in the Community Scheme and Dance Ireland.
Ronanstown Youth Service is a joint project of Catholic Youth Care and Co. Dublin VEC.
Between Earth Wind and Sky Part 1 of 5
Between Earth Wind and Sky Part 2 of 5
Between Earth Wind and Sky Part 3 of 5
Between Earth Wind and Sky Part 4 of 5
Between Earth Wind and Sky Part 5 of 5
