Ella Clarke presents 42 at Dance Limerick

Ella Clarke presents 42 –

Ella Clarke presents 42

Ballet dancer turned contemporary dance artist Ella Clarke brings her autobiographical performance piece 42 to Dance Limerick.  This personal examination of how a dancer becomes an artist takes place on Thursday 16 June at 8pm.
Part biography, part history exposition, 42 was originally a lecture commissioned for the Dublin Fringe Festival Contemporary Performing Arts Symposium in 2011.  Now a performed response to her evolving career as an artist, Clarke describes 42 as “a kind of TED Talks dance… a creation formed from the attempt to understand what makes me an artist, what governs my practice, why I love precisely ordered chaos and what use it will all be when the plane goes down in flames.  Using montage, excerpts from some major ballets and some of my favourite things, I’ve been writing this dance for years”.

Announcing details of 42, Jenny Traynor, Director of Dance Limerick, said “We’re delighted to welcome Ella Clarke to Dance Limerick for the first time.  This is a wonderful opportunity to see a dynamic, original performer, who questions and challenges herself, her work and her art.  I find her work refreshes and invigorates, so I hope Limerick audiences will come and experience this true original for themselves”.

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Ella Clarke graduated from the Perm State Ballet School and performed as a soloist with Perm Youth Ballet and Wexford Festival Opera before radically retraining her technique to contemporary dance and working with many of Ireland’s major companies and choreographers.  A further transformation saw her evolve as a post-modernist solo performer, adapting works by eminent US choreographer Deborah Hay.  Clarke earned her theatrical stripes through award-winning work with Selina Cartmell at The Gate Theatre and Jason Byrne at the Abbey Theatre.  She has lectured in dance at The Conservatory of Vocal Opera and Drama at DIT for 16 years, while her work for theatre has led her to create a distinct technique to physicalize violent acts.  Clarke has journeyed from the heart of classical ballet to the outer reaches of ‘acceptable’ public behaviour in search of the thing that makes her tick and makes art ‘art’.

Dance Limerick opened in October 2013 as a centre for professional dance and to promote dance in Limerick and beyond.  Through a programme of performances, artist residencies, classes, talks and workshops, Dance Limerick provides opportunities for dance to be created, experienced and discussed in many ways, by all ages.  Dance Limerick supports the development of new and innovative work and encourages dance participation by the wider community.  

Tickets €12.00/€10.00 from www.dancelimerick.ie

For further details, see www.dancelimerick.ie

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