Irish professional dance standards continued to rise in 1997 and much new dance originated in Cork, thanks to Mary Brady and the Firkin Crane. Patricia Kavanagh and the Association of Professional Dancers also deserve thanks for the opportunities provided by Dance Fest '97. Unfortunately, standards varied greatly and Daghdha Dance Company's excellent Three Piece Suite may have lost audiences due to lamentable contributions to earlier programmes. Lack of an opera house forced major overseas companies to avoid Dublin or perform either on the too-small stage of the Olympia or at the Point, where front seating on the flat precludes a view of the dancer's feet, and raised seating is too far from the stage.
In a year which gave us Merce Cunningham's brilliant dancers in Belfast, Russell Maliphant's technically-superb Decoy Landscape (Dance Fest, Project) and overseas acclaim for Irish Modern Dance Theatre's all-male Just Bodies (RHA Gallery), my category winners are:
Dancer of the Year: Elena Kulagin in Romeo and Juliet (Perm State Ballet, Olympia)
Choreographer of the Year: David Bolger for the Thin Lizzie tribute Back in Town (Dance Fest, Samuel Beckett), the famine-inspired Ballads (Project) and his remarkable work for the Abbey in Tarry Flynn.
Most Promising New Choreographer: J.J. Formentor for Field of Blood (Dance Fest, Samuel Beckett Centre).
Most Improved Choreographer: Mary Nunan for Three Piece Suite (Daghdha, DanceFest), closely followed by Fiona Quilligan for Cuchulainn a Chroi (Rubato, National Gallery).
Highlights: Perm State Ballet's Romeo and Juliet in Dublin, with Monica Loughman splendid in the top rank of the corps de ballet, and Moscow City Ballet in Belfast with The Nutcracker, in which Gavin de Paor, Karen O'Neill and Harriet Parsons all danced beautifully.
Lowlight: Joaquin Cortes (Point) who, despite the hype, proved an indifferent performer of both flamenco and ballet, unlike members of his company.
Wishlist 1998:
1) An artistic director for DanceFest, so standards will be maintained.
2) A conservatoire for the performing arts, so our most talented dancers and musicians may train in their own country.
3) The purchase of the Gaiety for an opera house, provided the size of the stage can be doubled or, failing that, definite plans for building a theatre capable of housing major dance companies.
4) A small classically-based dance company - the long-awaited replacement for Irish National Ballet - into which Irish dancers could graduate instead of, at present, into companies in Russia, Germany and the UK.
