A show of ‘ritualised ecstasy’
Surrender yourself to ‘‘90 minutes of ritualised ecstasy’’ (The Irish Times) in this dark and devilish whirling dervish.
MAM is the creation of traditional concertina player Cormac Begley, the European classical, contemporary collective star gaze and 12 international dancers.
Directed and choreographed by Michael Keegan-Dolan, MAM arose from the first sixweek ‘‘Made in Wellington’’ residency and finished overseas. Now, the work comes full circle.
‘‘We spent six weeks working in a converted shop unit in town, not far from the top of Cuba St and in many ways Wellington feels like home from home,’’ Keegan-Dolan said.
Over 10 weeks in a school hall at the very tip of the West Kerry Peninsula, 10 dancers, a cook and a stage manager grew to a group of more than 40 people – a ‘‘beautiful mix’’ of creatives.
The show was the outcome of a collective experience of hours upon hours of dancing, singing, and drumming from 8am to 8pm, six days a week.
Keegan-Dolan has a strong connection with the festival, through his productions of Giselle and Rian in 2014 and Swan Lake/Loch na hEala in 2018.
MAM, in many ways, was more like the non-narrative Rian than like Swan Lake or Giselle but it has also been influenced by these narrative works.
Wellington dancer Amit Noy saw choreography as an opportunity to have an experience of being alive, and to practise living together with the people in the room – the other dancers, the musicians, and the people watching.
Rehearsals meant hours of conversation, shared meals, bush walks, sea swimming, hugging, crying, laughing, yoga, dancing, playing music, and listening to each other, Noy said.
Keegan-Dolan said its creation ‘‘left nothing in reserve’’.
‘‘It would be a lovely outcome if a large part of the audience can connect with the work and, through connecting with it, see the possibility for connecting, in other aspects or parts of their daily lives.’’
MAM is being staged from March 5 to 8, while a free post-show talk with Keegan-Dolan will be held on March 7 at Wellington’s TSB Arena. Tickets from $49.