THE ARTS: An eclectic programme of international and Irish dance shows promises nifty moves at the Dublin Fringe Festival, writes Christine Madden
SHUTTING DOWN a shop, apart from everything else, is a cumbersome activity. If you're lucky, you have another premises to which you can shift your merchandise. But what happens when the merchandise is performance, and the shop sells events and experiences? This year, Aurora Nova, a much admired and very successful "mini-festival" within the Edinburgh Fringe for seven years, slipped out of the programme.
The loss of Aurora Nova was "a blow" to the Edinburgh Fringe, in the words of Guardian theatre correspondent Lyn Gardner, who believes the festival is "a far poorer place" without it.
"Since 2001," she wrote in her blog, "Aurora Nova has, under Wolfgang Hoffmann's tireless direction, been delivering a superlative programme of international visual theatre and dance."
Yet Hoffmann, the artistic director of Dublin Fringe Festival as well as Aurora Nova, was able to shift several top-notch Aurora Nova productions from Edinburgh to the Dublin Fringe. The movement westward of dance and physical theatre between the two cities is not new, as Hoffmann's dual position has previously facilitated the cross- programming of various productions.
Nevertheless, this year Dublin managed to pick up some of the best of what Aurora Nova could no longer offer.
"The economic situation made it increasingly difficult to put on ," says Hoffmann, who has had difficulty with the mini-festival over the past couple of years.
He had to transfer its financial base from one company to another last year, but it didn't work out the way the new sponsors envisaged.Rising costs and insufficient funding meant that Aurora Nova came under increasing financial pressure.
"I didn't want to give up on the integrity of the programme, and I felt I had to concentrate on Dublin this year," Hoffmann says, explaining why he decided to put Aurora Nova on ice, at least for the present. "So it was a mixture of economic feasibility and the concern that I wanted to do a good job in Dublin."
This year, the selection of dance on the Fringe feels particularly vibrant, with a broad and variegated programme that includes a multitude of dance workshops, some of which feed into the performances. The range of styles and interests is demonstrated by the fact that, despite there being a dedicated dance category, In Motion, many dance and physical performances can be found in other strands, such as Pushing the Envelope or On the Streets.
Productions such as The Four Horseman Project formed part of the original Aurora Nova programme Hoffmann had prepared before Easter. Created by Canadian company Volcano in association with Crooked Figure Dances and Global Mechanic, "The Four Horsemen Project is this amazing production", according to Hoffmann. "They worked on it for more than four years to create very intricate and quirky movement to match the sound poetry of this sound group, The Four Horsemen, who worked in Toronto in the 1970s."
A previous Fringe award winner, the Jo StrØmgren Kompani returns again this year with a new piece, Polaroid, which had a political impact in Scandinavia. StrØmgren worked with dancers from Greenland, and Polaroid was the first dance production created in that Danish colony to be shown in Denmark.
"It was a big deal politically," says Hoffmann. "Even the Danish queen went to see it."
StrØmgren has been to the Fringe twice before, with The Hospital (Sexiest Show Winner 2005) and The Convent (Best Production nominee 2007), so "he's much appreciated in Dublin by now".
Another Fringe veteran, Philip Glass protégé John Moran, returns with "his neighbour Saori" to present Saori's Birthday, a "very intricate choreography perfectly synchronised with the music", as Hoffmann describes it.
DANCE FROM IRELAND fills a substantial portion of the programme as well, many of the productions blurring the distinctions between genres.
"People are trying out new things and taking risks in an informed and researched way," Hoffmann states.
One example of this collaborative spirit is Drinking Dust. Hoffmann is "excited" about this co-production by dance company Junk Ensemble and theatre company Brokentalkers. Both companies are previous Fringe award winners (Junk Ensemble won the Jayne Snow Award in 2007; Brokentalkers won the Sexiest Show prize in 2006) and their work together on a site-specific piece in a burnt-out building holds out great promise. One of the joint directors of Junk Ensemble, Megan Kennedy, is additionally engaged in a further collaborative piece with writer Gavin Kostik for the KLoCK Productions piece, A Distinct Glimpse.
Another co-production, between Catastrophe Theatre and Chrysalis Dance, brings back the popular production, Love and Other Disguises, which premiered at last year's Galway Arts Festival. This piece, as well as ticking the collaboration box, also presents dance in a way most people never imagine it.
"It's really a dance comedy in a church," says Hoffmann. And how can that work? "I think dance can be very funny. If you understand the mechanics of laughter, that you need an element of surprise in order to make people laugh, that's very easily achieved in movement. I've seen hilarious dance pieces, and programmed a few."
The Fringe team actively sought out collaborations such as these to enrich their programme and the artistic field.
"It's something we specifically asked for in the application process," Hoffmann says. "Who is your team? Who are your collaborators? Obviously, it would read weaker if it was 'just me and my pen'."
As well as other new work by Irish Modern Dance Theatre, Emma Fitzgerald and Julie Lockett and other companies, the Fringe is also hosting a Day of Dance, together with Dance Ireland.
"We're talking to the young professionals, directors, dancers, and asking:, 'What should dance be like in 2020?' We're showing new dance works and having a big open-space discussion to encourage discourse on where dance should be heading in the long term and what are the structural shifts that need to happen on an educational level, political level and personal level in order to achieve those changes," says Hoffmann.
It's a great parting gift to the dance community, as Hoffmann will be leaving the Fringe after this year's festival. He hopes "to sail out of Dublin on a river of tears", he says, laughing. Then he becomes serious.
"I don't think I made such a huge impact," he says. "Not everyone appreciated the work, but a few did, and that made it all worthwhile."
He admits that, while this year sees him parting from two successful ventures, "I also feel I'm ready for a new adventure". At his new "shop" location in his home town, Berlin-Potsdam, he has already received offers to get involved in other projects, and he would like to return to his own dance work, which has been sidelined by his exhaustive programming activity.
And regarding Aurora Nova, he says: "I don't regret the decision; it was right to stop it. It was in danger of losing quality, and if that happens, it's better to stop and let people remember it as what it was. Riding on success is not my style."
•The Dublin Fringe Festival opens on Saturday and runs until Sept 21; http://fringefest.com
