This is it | 8 dance portraits 

Film Screening by Laura Murphy
Saturday 19 October I 7.00pm I €10 I BOOKING online
James O’Driscoll Gallery I 55 mins plus post show discussion with Mairéad Vaughan
Age 12+ 
Contains strobe effects

A series of candid portraits of eight iconic women in dance in Ireland.

Traditionally, the worth of a dancer's career has been measured by time spent in the limelight. Yet a dancer’s experience of their career extends beyond the stage. It influences the personal, the mundane and the philosophical. This is it, a collection of multimedia portraits by dance artist and director Laura Murphy, expands our understanding of dance beyond traditional structures into the personal realm.

Collaborating with filmmaker Patricio Cassinoni, animator Alan Early and composer Irene Buckley, Murphy presents an innovative and multifaceted exploration of eight women in dance in Ireland: Jean Butler, Alicia Christofi Walshe, Lisa Cliffe, Finola Cronin, Joan Davis, Katherine O'Malley, Mary Nunan and Angie Smalis. 

This is it challenges conventional views on dance and success. The portraits reveal the unspoken values that are often difficult to articulate and easy to forget, creating a unique living archive of untold stories of dance.

A selection of the short films will be screened as an installation in Gallery III from 21 to 1 November during gallery opening times. Free entry.

ABOUT

Laura Murphy is an award winning choreographer, a performer and a teacher based in Dublin, Ireland. Taking an expansive approach to dance, her work includes staged work, dance film, video installations, site-specific performances, solo and ensemble pieces and large scale, socially engaged dance projects.  Laura Murphy Dance has been presented at galleries and festivals to include Reykjavik Dance Festival (IS), Irish Arts Centre LA (US), Judson Church (US), the Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest (RO), NN Contemporary Northampton (UK), Dublin Dance Festival and Cork Midsummer Festival (IRL). Her work 'Abacus' was recently selected to present at FiraTarrega, Spain (2021) and Tanzmesse (2022).  Laura has been a recipient of numerous National Arts Council awards, as well as several prestigious national and international residency opportunities. She was awarded Best Movement Director, The Irish Times Theatre Awards 2017.

TRAILER

CREDITS

Director & Choreographer: Laura Murphy
Filmmaker & Editor: Patricio Cassinoni
Animator: Alan Early
Music & Sound: Irene Buckley
Sound Mix: Cormac O’Connor
Text Editor: Laura Murphy with Stephen Collins, Niamh Prior
Portrait Subjects & Performers: Jean Butler, Alicia Christofi Walshe, Lisa Cliffe, Finola Cronin, Joan Davis, Mary Nunan, Katherine O'Malley and Angie Smalis
Additional Voices: Orestis Smalis Ludwig Smalis, Melios Smalis, Elli Smalis, Thiseas Smalis                 
Dancers: Marion Cronin, Siobhán Ní Dhuinnín and Sarah Ryan
Research Dancer: Robyn Byrne
Advisors: Colin Dunne, Jools Gilson, Stephen O'Connell
Costume: Toni Bailey
Lighting Design: Hanan Sheedy
PR/Communications Consultant: Stephanie Dickenson
Producer: Kristyn Fontanella|Little Fountain Productions, Laura Murphy
Associate Producer: Once Off Productions