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Vivaldi, that I wanted to become a dancer. She se
nt me to the studio of María Fux, a pioneering dancer who developed a life changing dance therapy system. I wanted to be a ballerina and that was the beginning. I discovered dance as a way of expression. It was very important at the time, because it was the time of the dictatorship; dark years. For me, dance was a refuge, a place where I could definitely express who I was at the age of 12.” She received a bursary to travel to France where she trained and turned professional at 23. After five years in France the birth of her daughter brought her to Ireland where she started as a freelance dancer. “Liz Roche was the first company who hired me as a dancer. I lived in various places around Cork but always in the countryside. The choice at the beginning was more economical than anything else. But then it was an actual choice to be in the countryside. Now I live near Cashel and the house is in the middle of nowhere. I think that there is something quite strong for me in Ireland, this sense of land. The feeling of being in a place manifests itself more powerfully when I am in its geographical space more than in the cities. But then Dublin gives me this buzz and this multiculturalism. It has changed so much in the last 20 years. So I actually have the best of both worlds, because I have this little refuge in the countryside and then my work makes me travel a lot so I have my dose of city culture. The relationship with Liz – who is now Artistic Director and head choreographer of Luail, Ireland’s brand new national dance company – was, in the very beginning, as an interpreter, as a dancer. And then I created a project, Tipperary Dance. That was the 14 years of my experimentation, my professional experimentation. At the same time Liz continued her career, growing her company. Incredibly, I would say, internationally and nationally. And now it’s interesting how we both are head of these big organisations and important, leading organisations for dance in Ireland. It’s a very important moment for dance in Ireland to have this national company and for us to present their inaugural performance, Chora, in The Bord Gais Theatre. We are delighted to be able to do this together.” She smiles when I ask her thoughts on the dance scene in Ireland when she arrived twenty years ago. “I was coming from France. France is such an indulgent space. It was a very different path in terms of how contemporary dance developed in Ireland. My initial feeling was one of fear, what exactly is going to happen with my career as a professional dancer here? But very quickly, what was very interesting was this openness to people who come with a certain energy, creativity, innovation, ideas. I mean, I, together with Alexandre Iseli, created this huge project, Tipperary Dance. Tipp is probably one of the least likely places that you can imagine developing an international programme of contemporary dance. It was very interesting how this energy and this passion and these connections – because we were both very connected to continental Europe – were very welcome and appreciated. We 16 actually created quite a lot of different and innovative programmes to dance in schools and for elderly, creating residencies, and that’s why I started the international festival there. I saw Ireland growing with me and me growing with Ireland. She became director of the Dublin Dance Festival in 2021. Was that something she strove for? “When you are doing this career as an interpreter, then you are a choreographer, you’re making your work with communities. You are in the land. You take it as a challenge. So at the time I was like, okay, this is a good challenge that I can put to myself. And if it doesn’t work, it’s okay. I can get it at 50, because the terms are four years. I think it was a good moment. I was expanding the programme of Tipperary Dance in a way that I needed it more, more land of expression. I knew that there was something that I could bring in terms of artistic views and when the call was out there, I wanted to admire the next person. I want to work with the next person that directs this festival. I want to be inspired by programming. I am one of these people, constantly thirsty to receive and to be nourished and to be also supported as an artist. I realised that I would be a good candidate for the role! I was well supported by Karina McGrail, who is the co-director of the festival, she has been a very important partner in crime. It was a big jump in terms of scale and responsibility. But I was ready and I was prepared. Many people ask me sometimes if I miss the practice of dancing, which is a very strong practice to leave behind. How can you maintain both? I’m not currently dancing at the same level anymore, but the idea of maintaining a very strong connection on the programming of how the body is present and is acting, and bringing that sensation of being on call, it’s very important in the way that I’m thinking about the programming all the time. How dance today can impact our lives.” Just as the Argentine Dirty War military junta made the young dancer find her mode of expression, I wonder if she believes there is a space for dance to impact lives in these troubled times. “Dance is one of those spaces that bring us together. It’s very connected to communities, very connected to the bodies. It’s connected to life and to movement, to resilience, to learning. I think learning is something that is part of dance. If we learn what the art form is, and we get close to what the art form is by either practising it or coming to shows or attending discussions or listening to the artists, we get closer, and that proximity can create empathy and a relationship that is effective, which you enjoy more. So I think that there is something about the role of the festival as well, to bring dance as a space to as an invitation to learn more about this art form, to grow with this art form, to love this art form, and then with it, to start observing the world in a different way. The body is a place of resistance and also a place of poetry, and it’s a place of imagination, and a place of curiosity, a place of surprise. So people coming to the festival can have all of those different feelings and sensations and hopefully new ways of reflecting and seeing the world. That means our our artists Jazmín Chiodi “Dance is connected to life and to movement, to resilience, to learning”