Fearghus Ó Conchúir Choreographer and Dance Artist

Author Archives: Fearghus

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Leading Change: My speech to the British Council’s Forum on Cultural Leadership in Hong Kong

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I grew up in the green calmness the Irish countryside so waking up this morning and seeing the urban forest of Hong Kong’s skyscrapers reminds me how much things have changed in my life.  This is the first millennium in … read more…

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Starlight: photos from the Blank Canvas residency

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These are photographs by Andy Ferreira and feature the luminous Matthew Morris, the radiant Peggy Grelat-Dupont and me in the studio and stage of the Firkin Crane in Cork. I think Andy has managed to capture the playfulness, beauty and twinkle of these great performers. These aren’t so much images of the dancing, as images of its spirit. read more…

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Starlight: Blank Canvas Residency, Firkin Crane Cork

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The apparent on and off twinkling of a star’s light is not caused by the star’s failure to maintain a steady output of light and energy. It is atmospheric turbulence that momentarily re-routes that energy:

This does not mean that the star’s light is lost for that moment. It just means that it didn’t make it through your pupil to your retina – it went somewhere else in the vicinity of your pupil. read more…

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In the moment: dance and technology

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I was in Dancehouse today to interview John Scott for Imeall. John is collaborating with the renowned video artist and film-maker Charles Atlas on a new production, In the moment. The studio was already like a technical rehearsal with lights, screens, cameras and banks of computers and processing equipment. Charles has worked with Merce Cunningham, with Michael Clark, with Marina Abramovic and with Antony and the Johnsons. He knows a lot, though he wasn’t giving much away when I interviewed him today. read more…

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East Coast Towers: Tower L

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The security guard spends long shifts patrolling the grounds on his own. He knows the territory well, the plants and trees, the animals and their routines, the history of the site. He says the job gives him plenty time to think. He is gentle but an unexpected noise sees him shoot purposefully to check its source. This ability to alternate between alert and thoughtful suggests the energy of my dancing in the towers – the fall into interiority balanced by outward action, the stillness containing agitation.

The security guard is my touchstone for now. read more…

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Tattered Outlaws: The East Coast Towers

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But the towers are still quirky and still make me think of transience and permanence. In the past, I’ve thought about the towers’ solidity in contrast the temporary nature of our human intervention in them. However, the fact that some of these towers have been lost to coastal erosion suggests that even that presumed architectural ‘permanence’ is temporary. read more…

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Modul Dance: The first gathering

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Modul Dance is another structure to navigate.  Artists and dancehouse partners gathered for the first time at the Maison de la Danse in Lyon to get to know each other and begin planning how the opportunity will evolve.  Reading the … read more…

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Dialogue on Imeall

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It was great to see Xiao Ke being interviewed on Imeall last night. The programme focused on Ireland’s cultural contribution to the Shanghai Expo and though I had returned by the time the Imeall team got to Shanghai, they interviewed Xiao Ke about our collaboration. read more…

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Starting – resuming

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Stéphane’s visit to London has allowed me some precious time in the studio and a chance to open myself to the thoughts that movement stirs in me.  It has also left me with precious material to look over in video … read more…

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ODA Residency – not this Olympics

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What I see as urban is a heterogeneous structure that allows for grassroots development and for alternative communities to coexist. read more…

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