Dancehall

Black shiny hard shoes lick the hard floor, littered with crushed coke cans and debris. Sharing the same air, shiny faces, blood pumping together. Only skin is holding them back.

Drawn from the shadows of Ireland’s Public Dance Halls Act, this exhilarating work revels in the powerful simplicity and raw humanity of the dancehall, a space where freedom, resistance and individuality unapologetically meet in messy, sweaty, chaotic joy.

Dancehall is an unrestrained tribute to what it means to be alive—together, egos smashed up, in the moment.

Emma Martin’s celebratory 2015 work Dancehall returns, with music by composer Andrew Hamilton, performed by Crash Ensemble, bringing order and chaos, obedience and rebellion to the stage. Exploring the primacy of the dancing body, this dance concert embraces the internal desires and external forces that propel us through the world.

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Cast and Team

Choreography Emma Martin

Performed by Luail Company Dancers

Music by Andrew Hamilton, performed by Crash Ensemble

Stage Design Emma Martin

Lighting Design Stephen Dodd

Costume Design Katie Davenport

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