![]() ![]() They just do it,” adds Butler, who was born and raised on Long Island by a mother from Mayo and a father who was New York City Fire Department battalion chief. To create this first archive dedicated solely to Irish dance, Butler has partnered with the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the New York Public Library. “Irish dancers don’t talk about this stuff. And Jimmy Erwin danced the way he did because of Cyril McNiff.” But without a central source to record such legacies, they are in danger of simply vanishing from historical record. ![]() Donny dances the way he does because of Jimmy Erwin. at the National Concert Hall for the Mayo 5,000 concert in 1993. They will be talking to as many people and performers as they can about Irish dance, documenting the personal part they’ve played in this history, as well as – whenever possible – recording their performances, and tracing their distinct influences.īallyhaunis, County Mayo. In May, Butler and an Our Steps crew will embark on their first research trip to Dublin, as well as Belfast, London, and Scotland. ![]() She has created the Our Steps Foundation, whose mission is to reclaim “the essence of Ireland’s traditional dance, the story of its people, and the evolution of the form through a range of innovative archival, performance, and multi-disciplinary projects.” The dances live in the body and memory of the people who have danced them.”įor Butler – who has spent her post-Riverdance career exploring more intimate forms and expressions of Irish dance, as well as teaching in Ireland and at New York University – something had to be done to chronicle the extensive history of Irish dance, to tell a part of the Irish diaspora story that had yet to be told.“I just got this fire in me: this has to happen now,” Butler recalls. Four celebrated dance masters – Jimmy Erwin, Jerry Mulvihill, Michael Bergin, and Peter Smith – passed away in close succession.“All I could think,” recalls Riverdance choreographer and dancer Jean Butler, “was the steps and stories that died with them. A few years back, the Irish dancing community was dealt a series of devastating losses. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |