CoisCéim Dance Theatre introduces a new beat this January with The Piece With The Drums
Written by The Piece With The Drums by David Bolger
Combining high energy jazz notes and upbeat rhythms, the performance is set to lift audiences from their winter blues.
CoisCéim, one of Ireland’s leading dance companies, presents their latest jazz inspired performance, The Piece With the Drums from 17th- 28rd January, 2023 in Project Arts Centre, Dublin. Building on the critical success of GO TO THE BLAZES, David Bolger and CoisCéim present a pulsating, magical theatrical experience, driving a dance narrative between dancer and percussion.
Directed and choreographed by David Bolger, with music, beats and everything in between by pioneering Jazz percussionist Conor Guilfoyle, this major new work is a colourful exploration of relationships, spirituality, and our connection to rhythm, life and the cosmos. It showcases the jazz drum kit and its elements, breaking down the notion of rhythm through the dancers movements, the beats and the very construction of the drum kit itself. In imagining the piece, both David and Conor, look to question the depth of the impact rhythm has on our lives.
Speaking about his inspiration and the choreography, David Bolger said; “Early in the development process for The Piece with the Drums I realised how much we live our lives rhythmically. How our collective sense and moods are dominated by sound and vibration. How vibrations have the power to heal, to disrupt, to change, to control, to make things better. These vibrations have the ability to have huge impacts on our daily lives.”
He continued: “From the dawn of time rhythm has played a part in our evolution – the Big Bang, our heartbeat, our breath. This new work allows me as a director/choreographer to make sound visible in the body. Pulsating with endless theatrical possibilities. Exploring several ideas by peeling back the layers of sound and science in a fun and inquisitive way. To have the opportunity to work with musician Conor Guilfoyle, in my view one of Ireland’s greatest jazz percussionists, when he drums he dances. To work with a creative team of some of Irish theatre’s greatest stars and a company of exceptionally gifted dancers is an inspiration.”
With humour and swift sharp dancing from Diarmuid Armstrong (in his CoisCéim debut), Justine Cooper, Ghaliah Conroy, Ivonne Kalter, Jonathan Mitchell and Alex O’Neill it features set & costume design by multi-award winner Katie Davenport and is bathed in brilliant light by Eamon Fox. It will lift audiences from dreary January days and transport them to a wondrous space where mesmerising, vibrant movement will renew the rhythm of their day.
Commenting on the music score Conor Guilfoyle said; “One of the joys of being a drummer is seeing the physical reactions of an audience to the pulses I am providing. Whether it’s up on the floor dancing or a simple tap of the foot, this invisible yet primal connection between us has been there as long as humanity itself.
As a jazz drummer I constantly improvise with other musicians but this is the first time I’ve explored this area with another discipline. I am fascinated on how the visual movements of the dancer influences me as a player as much as I influence them. It completes the circle making the invisible (sound) visible and the visible (dance) invisible.”
The Piece With The Drums is previewing from Tuesday 17th January-Wednesday 18th January at 7.30pm. The performance opens Thursday 19th January and runs to Saturday 28th January at 7.30pm in Project Arts Centre, Dublin.
Recommended ticket price €23. Pay What You Can options ranging from €6 – €35On sale from 30th November, 2022 from:
Project Arts Centre
No.39 East Essex Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Box Office Open:
Monday – Saturday, from 11am – 7pm.https://projectartscentre.ie/event/the-piece-with-the-drums-by-david-bolger/Email: box-office@projectartscentre.iePhone: +353 1 881 9613
Visit www.coisceim.com for more details.
