Dance
a dance and music performance for 4 dancers with youth choir and piano
Dur. 16’
Commissioned by Maiden Voyage Dance and premiered online as a filmed performance in the Ulster Museum for broadcast on QFT Player as part of the Belfast Children's Festival 6th-14th March 2021.
Choreographed by Jennifer Rooney with dancers Adam Ashford, Clara Kerr, Michael McEvoy and Maeve McGreevy with a vocal score recorded with sound designer Brian Murphy by Belfast Philharmonic Youth & Chamber Choirs, pianist Gail Evans and conducted by Lynsey Callaghan.
Text compiled by Olive Broderick, drawn from stories of hope created by
St Joseph’s, St Kieran's and Rathcoole PS.
Turnabout (2021)
Turnabout is an expression of all aspects of hope: holding on to hope, losing hope, shared hope, keeping hopeful hearts and it explored the experiences of 10-11 year old schoolchildren across Belfast during the pandemic. From the outset Turnabout was made as a socially distanced piece where the performers were masked and stayed two metres apart in separate three metre squares throughout the filmed show.
In 2022, Belfast International Arts Festival curated a season of dance films for the Attakkalari India Biennial, India’s largest movement and digital arts festival. During this festival, Turnabout had its international premiere screening in a special live broadcast ‘Dancing on the Edge: Northern Ireland on 30th January 2022. As part of the 2022 Belfast Children's Festival Turnabout was performed twice to a live audience on 12th March in St Anne’s Cathedral and the following day in 2 Royal Avenue.
“Maiden Voyage excels in creating vibrant new work that engages and excites young audiences and their adults alike. With ‘Turnabout’ they show the magic potential of dance: exploring hope in a seemingly hopeless time, and togetherness in a world of social distancing and mask-wearing. The coming together of words, music and movement in this piece is very inspiring, and the array of talent is thrilling. It promises to be a celebration of the very best of human creativity and collaboration which will give us all hope for the future.”
“The title, ‘Turnabout’, suggests movement and change which can be physical, emotional or mental. We look at times when we have lost hope and how we responded to that in our lives and how, keeping hopeful hearts and sharing our hope, it can be restored. It also suggests how we take turns to hold hope and can pass it on to others, which is especially relevant to us all at the moment.”
Theatre
for six actors/dancers with the Rainbow Quartet (clarinet/bass, violin, cello and harp)
Dur. 40’
Commissioned by Tall Tales Theatre Company and premiered by actors/dancers Gus McDonagh, Emma Meehan, Clare Barrett, Sorcha Fox, James Hosty and Diane O’Keefe with musicians Brona Cahill/violin, Paul Roe/clarinet/bass, Annette Cleary/cello and Anne Marie Papin/harp in Solstice Arts Centre, Navan from 8th to 12th December 2008.
Playwright Deirdre Kinahan
Director Veronica Coburn
Choreographer Muirne Bloomer
Maisy Daly’s Rainbow (2008)
A wizardly fusion of dance, theatre and music, Maisy Daly’s Rainbow is set in 1940 where Johnny lives with his Spanish Mammy on the edge of Navan and delivers egg to the townie’s doors. One morning he and his friend Jen discover a magnificent rainbow in the Doctor’s garden and Johnny vows to bring it home to his colourless cottage. He strikes a deal with local witch Maisy Daly and so begins a fantastical journey of self discovery.
After the first week of ten performances in December 2008, Maisy Daly’s Rainbow enjoyed 16 performances on tour in Portlaoise, Drogheda, Roscommon and Bray later that month. On 21st June 2010 it was performed as a revised chamber piece for two narrators, Deirdre Kinahan and Shay Carry, and the Rainbow Quartet.
Radio Drama
a live radio drama for six actors and orchestra
Dur. 62’
Commissioned by RTÉ and premiered by actors Dorothy Cotter/Meagan, Jasmine Russell/Emma, Tina Kellegher/Rebecca, Alan Howley/John, Anne O’Neill/Kathleen and Jonathan White/Paul with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, directed by Gavin Maloney, and recorded live in RTÉ Studio 1 on 5th October 2011 and broadcast on RTÉ’s Drama On One on 30th October 2011.
Writer/Director Veronica Coburn.
Love is a Simple Thing (2011)
Three would-be couples search for love - at home; on the net; even at the local salsa night - while an orchestra conveys all the hits and lows of romantic life.
