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Picture: David Gray MÁM Birmingham Hippodrome **** There was a time when traditional Irish dance was formulaic with traditional structure and steps . . . then along came Riverdance. Irish dance was no longer the preserve of folk gatherings and festivals, it had found its way into the world, become mainstream. Music was no long age-old accompaniment at a céilí, it had become the stadium filling driving force. Irish dance had become cool. Not that Mám is a Riverdance variation, choreographed and directed by Michael Keegan-Dolan. It stands on its own two, ever dancing feet with a cast of ten dancers, five men and five women, a young girl and Cormac Begley who makes the traditional concertina sing – he is simply magnificent with a modern take on rhythmic, insistent, traditional jigs, reels and folk tunes, joined on stage by Berlin-based, international "orchestral collective" Stargaze adding guitar, piano, keyboard, drums, oboe double bass and violin to the music.
Picture: Ros Kavanagh We open with a young girl on a table with Begley wearing a ram's head mask. The mask comes off and the girl is given a packet of crisps, a sign, perhaps, she is too young for what is to follow. A curtain is drawn to reveal a line of 10 dancers, five men and five women, in black, indeterminate masks, a sort of Mexican wave of clapping, masks off and let the dancing take over the stage. Costumes are simple – normal even, women in grey dresses, men, white shirts, dickie bows and non-stop dancing, frenetic, at times erotic, at times hinting at fear or danger, even love. The publicity for the show promised a group of fearless dancers who summon a whirlwind of myth and magic . . . but with a knowledge of Irish folklore that is limited , and even that claim is optimistic, and any knowledge the myth and magic of the West Kerry Gaeltacht non-existent, that was a closed avenue to understanding the dance. The Gaeltacht is a vibrant Irish-speaking region on the Dingle Peninsula, incidentally, serving as a stronghold for Gaelic language, music, and culture and where Keegan-Dolan moved his company Teaċ Daṁsa in 2024. So, with no narrative or tradition to link to the dance the dancers are left to write their own story, and it is a story full of emotion, enthusiasm, moments of sadness and even laughs with a tale, in dance that is yours to interpret. Contemporary dance déanta in Éirinn Roger Clarke 06-02-26 |
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