A strange brew

I went to the Firkin Crane to see an interesting dance show curated by Cork's dancer in residence, Laura Murphy.

First, a series of three short films were shown, featuring a number of teenage girls who had participated in a community dance project. Some of the girls had never danced before. It was interesting to see what they had developed together, and lovely to see them receiving applause from the audience and bouquets of flowers from the curator.

Following this, the audience was split into two groups and we were taken on a promenade through the various studios and performance spaces in the building. There was a dance performance in each of the spaces. My talented friend, Cathy, who is a beautiful dancer based in Berlin, gave a quirky, humorous, and thought-provoking performance in the Mirror Room.

The last performance our group saw was 'polyp', featured in this photograph. We tentatively edged our way onto the blacked-out stage and sat on the floor or stood in a circle. Gradually, the red lights came up. A man in a black face mask lay on the floor holding a microphone, creating an eerie soundscape with loops of his voice, while a woman lying perpendicular to him moved, sometimes jerkily, her eyes closed, in somewhat of a trance. It was unsettling at times, and I had quite a strong physical reaction to the piece.