Ballads
…the use of symbols and multi-purpose props, combined with highly-imaginative choreography, results in excitement and catharsis
David Bolger developed BALLADS out of a desire to come to terms with the emotional aspect the great Irish Famine of 1845. Using the power of dance to articulate beyond the spoken word, it captures the emotion of the real people who were caught up in this natural calamity and political holocaust which even today historians are keen to ignore. BALLADS sets out to explore defining emotional moments in the psyche of the Irish people. Tangible key objects are presented to us on this journey – a pair of boots, a mound of earth, the log books of ships that record our connection with the greater world beyond Ireland. We witness the manipulation of objects as symbols which transform themselves – a plank of wood becoming a door – an empty table – a platform to perform on- a gangplank.
…a powerful expression of human strength and frailty, Ballads dramatically evokes the complex nuances of the human lives
Gallery
Performed at
Ten Days on the Island Festival
Theatre Royal
Hobart, Tasmania
30 March - 2 April 2001
Samuel Beckett Studio
Trinity College
20 - 22 March 2001
Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival
Doris Duke Studio Theatre
Massachusetts, USA
6 - 9 July 2000
Samuel Beckett Theatre
Dublin
28 - 30 June 2000
Irish Tour
Firkin Crane
Cork
11 December 1997
Irish Tour
Town Hall Theatre
Galway
6 December 1997
Irish Tour
Garter Lane Arts Centre
Waterford
4 December 1997
Irish Tour
Belltable Arts Centre
Limerick
2 December 1997
Premiere
Project at The Mint
Dublin
24 - 29 November 1997
Credits
Original Cast Ella Clarke, James Hosty, Diane O’Keefe, Simone Litchfield, Kevin Murphy, LIZ ROCHE
Subsequent Cast Muirne Bloomer, Daryn Crosbie, Benjamin Dunks, Anne Gilpin, Robert Jackson, katherine o'malley, Lisa mcloughlin, Martin Nolan
Direction David Bolger
CHOREOGRAPHY David Bolger AND THE COMPANY
Sound WORK Bell Helicopter
Cello Music & Improvisations Diane O’Keefe
Lighting Designer Paul Keogan
Costume Designer Helen McCusker
Hair & Make-up Val Sherlock
Technical Manager Eamon Fox
relight rob furey
sound engineer jimmy eadie
Stage Manager Catherine Nealon / jim stenson
PUBLICIST MARY FOLAN
audience development officer caroline dennehy
producer bridget webster
ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION TEAM
BALLADS breaks ground for ireland with a few firsts...
JACOB'S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL | july 2000
In July 2000, David Bolger's BALLADS became the first Irish contemporary dance work to be presented at America's oldest and most prestigious dance festival, Jacob's Pillow at the Doris Duke Theater with a new version of BALLADS prompting Jack Anderson of the New York Times to write “thanks to choreographic magic audiences could travel from Ireland to Brazil on Saturday without leaving their seats..."Ballads" had a melancholy beauty and it was dramatically danced” - watch an excerpt
australia | march 2001
In 2001, CoisCéim became the first Irish contemporary dance company to perform in Australia when it opened the inaugural TEN DAYS ON THE ISLAND festival (programmed by Robyn Archer) in the country's oldest theatre in Hobart. To celebrate, the company presented COISCÉIM NAKED - a series of curated experiences including workshops devised by Jak Ahluwalia and led by Liam Steel to get to know us better and raise awareness - more information