IN PLACE – Croí Glan – Review
Croí Glan Integrated Dance Company

IN PLACE – Irish Museum of Modern Art – 16-19 Sept 2021

Croí Glan is a fascinating Dance company that uses “both disabled and able-bodied dancers” in their work. This alters your expectations about the performance. It is no longer about the dazzling physicality that you expect to see from the exceptional athletes of the dance world. This is a study of movement, no matter how small and subtle. It shows that the love of dance does not alter with your age or physical condition.

Their latest performance In Place was at four locations in and around the Irish Museum of Modern Art at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham.  The first section was at the stables, the second and third used the courtyard with the final section outside the Freud centre. The cast was also varied, with a male and female dancer for the first and second piece and a lone female for the final two sections. The audience was invited to walk between the various locations to see the dancers perform. The nighttime setting made the performance quite dramatic, as the dancers moved in front of strong lights, casting shadows onto the walls behind them.

This piece aims to “Investigate the architecture of distinct art spaces around Ireland”. The first performance was in IMMA, but it later travels to Ballina, Limerick and Cork. The work focuses on the dancers and how they interact with the architecture of the space in which they perform. In some sections, they dragged their arms along the walls or hung from the lintels over the doors. They moved between the arches of the courtyard, occasionally hiding from view behind the pillars. The music by Ray Harman linked the various strands well. As the production moves onto new locations around the country, the performance will also change, making the work unique in each new location.

Performances 2021
Dublin: IMMA – Irish Museum of Modern Art (Premiere)
Ballina: Ballina Arts Centre, October 10
Limerick: Limerick City Gallery, October 27
Cork: West Cork Arts Centre, October 30

Credits:
Choreographer: Tara Brandel
Performers: Tara Brandel (In Place One) Linda Fearon and Leighton Morrison (In Place Two)
Lighting: SJ Shiels
Costume: Angharad Matthews
Music: Ray Harman
Additional Vocals: Lisa Lambe

Production Manager: Conor Mullan
Producer: Gwen van Spijk
Line Producer: Michelle Cahill
Assistant Producer: Sophie Coote
PR: Stephanie Dickenson