Stretching the material

Three choreographers have joined forces to show their work in a theatre, an unusual venue for them, writes Michael Seaver

You would assume that the theatre is the normal home for dance, but for the three choreographers that make up Trigger, tonight's opening at Project in Dublin is a rare journey into a theatrical setting. Although the three have made more than a dozen works between them, these have been almost exclusively presented in non- theatrical settings: laundrettes, nightclubs, bridges and streets.

Rebecca Walters, Julie Lockett and Maireád Vaughan conceived the idea of presenting a night of dance when they shared a rehearsal space last year. The co-operative spirit that diluted the prohibitive cost of studio hire was extended to mounting an evening-length programme of works, but it was not just based on financial considerations.

"I certainly feel that, at the stage I am at as a choreographer, it would really stretch me to have to create over an hour's material for a show", says Julie Lockett. "By presenting the three works, which are each about 20 minutes long, we can concentrate on our own work without feeling we have to pad it out to fill a programme."

"This type of programme is common in the US," adds Rebecca Walters.

"And it's really good for the audience," Lockett concludes.

Although operating as a collective, with an ability to toss the conversation effortlessly from one to another, the women remain strongly individual. Walters is American and silently considers each question before launching into a detailed answer. Her choreography has become a regular feature of the Dublin Fringe festival, more often than not in unusual locations such as corridors, laundrettes and bars. Her award for the Sexiest Show in 2001 is indicative not just of her canny choice of venues but of the streetwise nature of her choreography.

In her new work, Please Put Your Wild Finger Away, she has spurned the safety net of an odd location and placed the work in a conventional theatre setting.

"It's about relationships, which I know is not too original," she says. "But I have used the conventions of cooking as both a source for the material and as an inspiration for constructing the piece. Some movements are specifically taken from acts of cookery and I've taken these and blended them into a narrative that takes a funny and unusual look at the whole nature of relationships."

The confines of Julie Lockett's 2002 work, Tank, which placed dancers and audience in a small enclosed space shrouded with dim light, have been blown apart in More Below than Above.

"I am imagining the floor as it is, but around the performers on all sides there is a limitless horizon that stretches beyond the walls, beyond Project, just stretching out forever," she explains. "I suppose I could have set it in a flat, featureless landscape. The idea for More Below than Above is in creating a divergent focus between what's happening on the floor and this horizon."

Lockett is English and studied dance performance at Middlesex University before moving to Ireland. She came to dance late and consequently takes quite a matter-of-fact approach to her work. "I'll throw myself at the work for four weeks, up early in the morning watching videos of the previous day's rehearsals and all that, but in the end I feel that I can leave the work and move on, happy that I have given it everything," she says.

"Things can change as you make a piece and you need to know when to go with new ideas and when to ignore them. For example, in this work a narrative began to emerge between the two dancers [Emma O'Kane and Katherine O'Malley] but I didn't force it and try to make something out of it. It just happened and I let it take its own course. I remember doing a workshop with Lily Kiara at the Institute for Choreography and Dance, where she said how important it is to let the piece take on a life of its own.

"She suggested that you play the piece in your head last thing at night before going asleep. Don't analyse it, just play it through as it is. Then you can change things or reconstruct it."

In contrast, Maireád Vaughan's dance language and sensibilities lie in the Indian solo dance tradition, bharata natyam. Solo female dancing was suppressed for many years in India and a number of urban intellectuals took up the cause as a symbol of India's growing nationalism. By the mid-20th century, its study and performance had became a popular pastime for the daughters of wealthy families. Vaughan travelled to India with musician Dara O'Brien (who will accompany her solo dance, Matra) and spent time studying bharata natyam while O'Brien studied vocal percussion techniques.

On her return, Vaughan formed Shakti Music and Dance Company and performed on the streets and in other non-theatre sites, at one time even having a residency in The Da Club.

"I have a quite specific ideas around lights and presentation of Matra," she says. "So the change from street into the theatre doesn't really faze me."

Until now the choreographers' use of non-theatre spaces has been an economic decision as much as an aesthetic or political statement. As independent artists they feel that, apart from Arts Council project grants, there is no funding structure to support them. Although armed with a commitment by Project to programme Trigger, they were unsuccessful in the latest round of Arts Council funding decisions.

Nevertheless, Willie White, artistic director of Project, kept in touch.

"I discussed possibilities of support and what we could offer," he says. "I was prepared to waive the rental charge so they got all of the box office, but we also discussed more ethical issues. Without any money should they do the show at all? The three choreographers were making sacrifices by not paying themselves and denying themselves the opportunity to earn money by teaching, while they were making the pieces . . . Right now we can only try and support the artist in making and presenting work."

However, for a night of dance performance there are at least four weeks of rehearsal. "Studio space is a huge expense," says Walters. "And that's one area that would really help emerging choreographers. We've pulled in loads of favours for this piece, but we can't do that forever."

All three have participated in the Association of Professional Dancers in Ireland's Choreography Platform series, in which emerging choreographers are given studio space and dancers to create a short work over a few weeks. In the case of Walters, it was one of these works-in-progress that evolved into tonight's work, Please Put Your Wild Finger Away.

Instead of getting disillusioned with the funding situation they all recognise that it is early days in their choreographic life and for now they are going to continue to make work. Lockett is itching to do a solo and return to performing, prompted by workshops with Deborah Hay and her own meditative practices; Walters is planning dance works "in a road intersection and in the Wax Museum", and Vaughan is happy tinkering with her solo dance, maybe expanding it for other dancers.

Trigger: New Dance from Three Choreographers opens at Project Cube tonight and runs until Saturday. There will be a post-show discussion on Thursday. Tickets: €12. Box office: 01-8819613. Details at www.project.ie