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IF CONTEMPORARY DANCE seems like something you just don’t ‘get’, then consider this advice from dancer Leonie Pony: when you’re at a dance show, pretend you’re in an art gallery.
She’s the artistic director of Ponydance, a dance troupe who fuse elements of cabaret, clowning, theatre, and music to create shows that are almost impossible to describe.
In fact, that’s just how Ponydance want it, so that the audience goes with no real idea of what to expect. And really, that ties into Leonie’s art gallery comment – the audience is free to get what they want out of the show.
Dublin Dance Festival
This coming week, Ponydance will bring their latest work, Ponies Don’t Play Football, to the Dublin Dance Festival.
The festival has been running for a decade, and in this landmark year is bring a varied range of shows to stages around the capital.
If you thought that a dance show wasn’t for you, or are a little confused about what to expect, we spoke to Leonie, and Peter Daly from the show Swing, about how their shows break the mould.
Who are Ponydance?
“It looks chaotic and we look like we don’t know what’s going on, but we do know what’s going on,” laughs Leonie when speaking about Ponydance’s show.
“Sometimes dance is the least most important bit.”
For Ponies Don’t Play Football, Ponydance are working with Belfast band Uncle Social. It’s a marriage of creative minds, with Leonie saying the band were “so game, so sporting” about taking part.
Why they dance
Ponydance had a budget for a four-man show. “We had an 11 man show in the end,” shrugs Leonie. “Financially, as a business model Ponydance is a farce.”
But, of course, finances are not why they dance.
Why bring a band on board for the show? “I’m years trying to make a show with a live band. Live music connects with people so much,” explained Leonie.
After working with Uncle Social, she knew they were the ones. “I can’t really afford you – but let’s do it anyway,” she told. “It didn’t make any financial sense but it made loads of artistic sense.”
Having a live band made things easier in some ways. “There was like an instant gratification, music wise,” said Leonie.
She describes the show as “a number of short pieces that run into each other… it’s like a cabaret without an MC. It is very clown-like”.
The dance, she explains, makes up the substance to carry the clown material. There’s some nudity and pop culture references, and Ponydance take the notice of a fourth wall and smash it to smithereens.
“We change on stage, everything is on stage. It’s the set-up of a rock gig with the feel of dance gig,” described Leonie.
The title, Ponies Don’t Play Football, is a reference to sport, and people’s obsession with it. “The sense of competition and sense of human achievement” fascinates Leonie, just as the human endurance of athletes fascinates her too.
When Leonie is at shows, she tries to see everything that’s going on in the wings, and onstage:
The moment that a techie walks across and changes the set – they’re the really real moments.
Having a live audience “is the most important part of performing”. “I’m conscious that people have spent money and given up time and want to give them a good time.”
To Leonie, a good show “reminds us of humanity, of what it is to be human, to feel better about the place in general”.
It’s not mindless feel-good, it’s subversive in how it rejoices in humanity, and it’s a hell of a show.
What advice does she give to someone going to a Ponydance show?
Sit in the front row – and risk it for a biscuit. If you already like theatre, live music and comedy, come to our show.
If you’re watching any dance show, Leonie’s advice is to pretend you’re in an art gallery. Don’t expect there to be a narrative, or story arc. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about immersing yourself in the show and seeing where it takes you.
Absorb and view the piece. Watch the dancers breathe and sweat. And just enjoy.
Swing
Fishamble’s show Swing is a totally different kind of show to Ponydance. It’s a show about dancing (of course), and it’s about music, but it’s about “love and not settling and feeling like an eejit”.
Written by Steve Blount, Peter Daly, Gavin Kosick and Janet Moran, it’s about trying new things and thinking outside of the box. It tells the story of two people at a dance class, with the actors playing all the other characters too.
After a glowing review in the New York Times, the team sat down to chat about why it had struck such a chord with people.
“Our story is as anti-epic as you can possibly get, pretty much,” mused Peter Daly. “Not a huge amount happens, not a lot moves forward, but for some reason the thing seems to work.”
“The parts that we’ve written call for the actors to be very funny and outgrageous in some parts and very real in some parts.” From obnoxious characters to shy men, the men features a range of dancers of different types.
The one thing they all seem to have in common is they’re there because all the questions in their wider life don’t seem to be answered. Each week they learn steps and they move a little bit forward.
The two main characters are May and Joe. He has been dancing before, and is older than May. He has had a fairly difficult enough few years in his own life, with his relationship and job breaking down.
May’s boyfriend is away for three months and she tries the class while “looking for answer to something”, said Daly.
The two meet and seem to click straight away. “We’re watching their relationship, watching it inch forward whatever might or might not happen between them.”
Writing for the stage
Daly sees himself first and foremost an actor, but relished the opportunity to try his hand at a new aspect of theatre – even if the early scenes were “turgid and awful”.
Once the writers stopped being polite with each other, things were tightened up. “The three of us were really good script editors for each other. Nothing got past the goal posts unless all three of us were happy with it,” said Daly.
Even at three-quarters way through the process, he said the play was “pretty bad”. But then, thanks in part to the help of a more seasoned theatre writer, they realised that they were trying to do too much. They needed to let the audience do more work.
Things started to fall into place. “We were learning on the go and it was a really useful lesson,” said Daly.
Swing is a good show for those who want to see a more traditional style of dance and a solid narrative.
“Myself and Stevie and Janet, we are three sentimental fools,” said Daly.
We set out to make something that was enthusiastic, optimistic, and hopeful…. we’re cynical aul f**kers as well. We want you to leave the theatre with a spring in your step.
Swing isn’t a throwaway piece of theatre, but it’s not so deep that it’s not enjoyable, either. “We could have ended up with a piece of theatre people walk away from and never think about it again, “said Daly. But that’s not what happened.
After the festival, Swing can be caught at Bewleys for three weeks, before going on a nationwide tour.
Cowradless pr!cks, the lot of them. Rot in jail.
Rot in jail? won’t happen.The longest any of them will serve is 8 years if even that.
these sentences are not enough. not by a long shot. these people don’t give a rats about their crimes or their victims because its the way they are brought up. they are brought up to be criminals. i saw it only this week with the use of 12 year old kids supposedly collecting for the local *insert random sporting club* and subsequently setting off house alarms before the ‘adult’ comes along. this is nothing new and has been happening for years. those 12 year olds will more than likely turn out the same way as the people in this article.
the point is the criminality amongst these families is rife from a very early age. This country needs to stop treating these people with kid gloves and actually come down hard on them. i’m sick of the people in charge being completely PC about the whole thing. Action is clearly needed. But unfortunately we will be having the same conversation in 10 years time when the new wave comes along
One of the couple’s children woke in terror after her dad was knocked out by the butt off a gun and screamed: “Daddy is dead.”
The relative told how quick-thinking Emma, 37, called gardai in Thurles, Co Tipperary, after the Traveller mob attempted to break the front door of their home in Burnchurch, Killenaule, just after 3am.
http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/crime/brutal-tipperary-gang-told-parents-2836600
oh god i wish i was a prison officer now. they deserve a good kick8ng.
Between them they had over 315 convictions, empathy is not something these people experience.
last night, Vincent Browne queried why one of the papers reported that the men are Travellers. VB wanted to know what was the relevance of this fact. Well, Vincent, I think it’s very relevant.
Joyce, Mac Donagh that sums it up
Vincent Browne doesn’t realise or care that those families are like the mafia families in the US – they are families in the same way that Whitey Bulgers gang are families.
And no word of sympathy or concern for the Corcoran family.
Some people think immigration is the big problem in Irish society today…not even close. The problem is much closer to home.
I think we’re long past the point of salvation with this particular group of people so much longer sentences are needed to take violent travellers off our streets.
And cut Pavee Point’s funding while we’re at it. They’re a useless shower who only make a noise when travellers are the ‘victims’. Travellers are never the victims, it’s decent hard-working people like this family who are the victims.
100%. No place in our country for these lads.
Martin collins should be locked up along with his fellow pondlife.
I am delighted to read these comments. I thought I was the only one. Pavee Point should be forced to accept the stark reality, they have ruined this country. The media need to get real and represent us people who don’t beat our wives, who want our children educated, who pay our taxes and don’t ride our cousins (animal cruelty).
In general I would say most criminals only show remorse in hope of getting a shorter sentence.
I don’t think it should be a factor at al.
Instead of showing remorse why not try not actually committing the crime in the first place.
I still believe they should have got thirty years. Beating a poor man so badly that his little eight year old girl thinks he’s going to die is a horrible crime.
These people have no place in society. We should have to accept some people have to be locked away.
Their sentences should never have had 4 years suspended. It’s disgraceful. Especially with their track record.
4 years suspended plus they will only serve 9 months for each year they got.
Their ringleader has been out on bail since the crime was committed. Its mind boggling. Is anybody trying to fix the justice system in this country? Anyone?
Why is there a blanket ban in all the media on using the T word They were a violent traveller gang who did this It is even not fair on law abiding travellers to protect them by not using T word
One of them was a 22 year old with 120 previous convictions. The judges who presided over cases 3 through 120 have a lot to answer for.
The sentences are far too lenient in my opinion. These individuals will spend their time in prison lifting weights, watching Netflix and be a general burden on the Tax payer. They should be incarcerated for at least 25 years and also put to hard labour working on projects that will benefit the community they so will fully set out to destroy. I’m sure Clonmel has plenty of roads and other public works that could be completed using free labour. Our laws MUST change to dispense much harsher punishments for crimes or we are never going to see a change in society.
Fingers crossed the family make a full recovery and that the young impressionable minds of the children can let this awful incident go and not have it haunt them in any way later in their lives. Fair play to the community for setting up a system to try to help them feel comfortable again.
Intelligence suggested that they got more of a kick out of terrorising innocent victims than from the rewards of their crimes.
Nasty crew.
http://www.sundayworld.com/news/crimedesk/we-unmask-vicious-gang-of-thieves-responsible-for-spate-of-robberies
I said it yesterday and believe worth saying again. We need more prisons and to dramatically increase our prison population. Too many repeat offenders walking the streets as there is no room for them.
Bring back transportation to Australia!
The broken justice system is responsible for this families hardship. The thug only in his twenties and 70 convictions, why was he not in jail? Too expensive to lock him up? How much did his legal aid, dole, housing and the fall out of his 70 crimes cost in that period? If you are convicted of 70 crimes and are still free you learn one thing – i can commit crime with impunity. Our justice system is not only failing to protect our citezens, it is creating these violent criminals
Citizens
I can’t believe, considering what the family went through and conditions go through and the defendants previous convictions, up to 85 for one of them, these are considered harsh sentences. that poor family.
*continue to go through
As shocking story. This family will never, ever get over this. It was a despicable, brutal crime. I understand that someone on VB yesterday indicated that perpetrators were travellers to which VB said what had that got to do with it? Typical VB, more concerned about the feelings of the criminals.
Claire Loftus,DPP must appeal these shockingly light sentences
And who on Earth thought it was acceptable to release John Joyce on bail while awaiting this case to go to trial??? He had over 70 convictions FFS. While on bail he went on a robbing, violent spree where three people were shot. One of his gang members was banned from every pub in Dublin because he was so violent.
Dublins finest knacker’s coming down the country for an easy score. Rot in a cell you dirty sub human inbreds. Show them as much mercy as they’ve shown their innocent victims.
Gangs like this and the Dundon’s, McCarthys, Keane’s, Collopy’s and too many others have been allowed run riot all over Ireland and terrorise communities. All of those families are traveller families. The Limerick feud alone has claimed 20 lives, some of them innocent like Shane Geoghegan.
If our broken justice system is going to allow violent criminals roam around on a bail why dont we have an electronic tag system???? The solutions are not difficult. A monkey could sort it out
They should have a special room full of skilled operators, equipped with hammers, blowtorches, cable ties and tweezers to work this pondlife one over at a time…
I’d prefer not to think along those lines much as they might deserve it. Better to say ‘stuff’ the European Court of Human rights and bring in sentences of weekly floggings for a year for lowlife dregs like them
Shot to kill- if an inbred knacker comes onto you’re property do the state a service and pull the trigger. You probably wouldn’t do any time and you’d be feted as a hero.
Every sympathy with the Corcoran family and hope that they will fully recover from their horrific ordeal.
Now, I have this to say about those who did that:
They are nothing but seven pathetic, parasitic, subhuman pieces of dog-turd; the decent people of Ireland hope that they rot in prison for a very long time
I hope they all die in prison
great work by gardaí !! with limited resources, disasterous government policy, detrimental decision making by the ivory tower judges, they continue to face these s****bags head on every day.
Hope the poor family get though the traumatic incident.
Hopefully political parties will now start campaigning for elections they will consider crime up there with health and education.
too long crime has not been tackled or concerned by those representing the people.
why wont my comments post?!
At last a judge gives sentences that fit the crime.
And fair play to Judge Tom Teahan, this should serve as a wake-up call to the remainder of our judiciary
It’s our culture boss
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