HYPERPHYSICAL
a visceral double bill of dance featuring new choreography by Abby Zbikowski and John Scott's duet Actions (NOW). Dancers in both works, push physical limits, inviting you into their intense mental states.
At Dublin Fringe Festival
12 September (Preview) | 8:15pm
at The Lir Academy > Studio 1
13 - 14 September | 8:15pm
at The Lir Academy > Studio 1
14 September | 1:15pm
at The Lir Academy > Studio 1
Presented by Dance Cork Firkin Crane
20 - 21 September | 7:30pm
Photo by Patricio Cassinoni
HYPERACTIVE
Racconti di Altre Danze
11 October | Liverno, Italy
The future is on the way
Abby Zbikowski’s, The future is on the way is a new, highly physical group work grappling with the impossible task of reckoning with our pasts to collectively manifest more equitable, democratic, and viable futures.
Choreography by Abby Zbikowski
Performed by Inez Berdychowska, Roberta Ceginskaite, Boris Charrion, Rosie Mullin, Adam O'Reilly
Actions (NOW)
Scott’s Actions (NOW) where two outstanding male dancers merge and break apart - a forceful resistance to merging and the breaking up is the motivation for the movement. Battling through the space using physicality, lifts, falls, text and sound, the dancers alternately throwing their bodies together then fragmenting into threads of raw movement.
Choreography by John Scott
Performed by Adam O'Reilly, Boris Charrion
With thanks to: the Arts Council of Ireland, Dublin City Council, Dance Cork Firkin Crane, Dance Ireland, Dublin Fringe Festival
Photo by Effy Grey Photography
ABBY ZBIKOWSKI
Choreographer Abby Zbikowski created Abby Z and the New Utility in 2012 with dancers to experiment with the potential and choreographic possibility of the body being pushed beyond perceived limits, creating a new movement lexicon that triangulates dancing/moving bodies across multiple cultural value systems simultaneously. Her piece “abandoned playground” premiered to a sold-out run at the Abrons Arts Center in New York in April 2017, leading to Zbikowski being honored with the Juried Bessie Award and was awarded the inaugural Caroline Hearst Artist in Residence at Princeton University, along with commissions from national and international organizations. Abby Z and the New Utility have been presented at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the Boston ICA, 92nd St Y, Movement Research at Danspace Project, Gibney Dance Center, Bard College, New York Live Arts, and the Fusebox Festival in Austin, TX, among others. In 2021 the company was granted residency support at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, OH to rebuild work post a year long pandemic shutdown. Currently, they are working out of Columbus and New York City with collaborators locally, nationally, and internationally.
Irish Modern Dance Theatre commissioned Abby Z to come to Dublin to develop a new, ambitious dance work to not only support the development of Irish based dancers but to develop a deeper appreciation of dance. Abby Z (Zbikowski) a Polish-American choreographer who has studied and worked extensively in the Germaine Acogny’s legendry ‘Ecole des Sables’ African Dance Academy in Burkina Faso.
The future is on the way will be Abby Z’s latest work on a ten year trajectory of creating highly physical, collaborative dance works that force audiences and dancers to reckon with the collision of cultures that vibrate throughout the practice of dance in this contemporary moment, and manifest a path towards equity that supports the necessary evolution of the world via the practice of dance. Throughout the process of creation Abby Z physically challenges assumed conventions of form and work towards re-imagining known outcomes as a way to challenge the systems we cling to for understanding.
“in ‘radioactive practice,’ Abby Zbikowski showed the distinct way that she views dance. It’s highly physical and sweat-inducing, but it also reveals something about what happens when an athletic act becomes a spiritual one. At New York Live Arts, her performers, fluent in many styles from postmodern dance and hip-hop to synchronized swimming and martial arts, took center stage for dancing that spoke about a body’s history, its conditioning. The music was blissfully loud.” —Gia Kourlas, NY Times
Photo by Paul Johston
Inez Berdychowska is a contemporary dance artist based in Dublin. In 2023 she graduated with
a Masters of Arts in contemporary dance performance from the Irish World Academy of Music and dance. Alongside dance she trains in martial arts styles Kung Fu and Tai chi. Her movement style is an array of strength, flexibility and control.
Photo by Jentel Schiettekatte
Roberta Ceginskaite is a dance artist based in Galway. She trained in contemporary dance in The Netherlands. Her work has been developing through residencies in Ireland and abroad. She completed an MA in Digital Art, Design and Cultures from University of Galway. She loves to collaborate through physicality and play.
Rosie Mullin
I am looking forward most of all to having my premier performance with IMDT and Abby in the Dublin Fringe festival, such a pivotal point as an Irish movement artist. Working with Abby and her team of dancers has been such a test in will power and determination. Her style of work has me challenging my body every day. It's athletic. It's powerful. It's fun. Cannot wait for the next chunk of the process.
Boris Charrion is a French movement and performance artist. After studying contemporary dance in the regional conservatory of Lyon, he entered the National Superior Conservatory of Music and Dance of Lyon where he had the opportunity to broaden his artistic horizons, notably through various collaborations with musicians, graphists, composers and space designers. During his studies there, he has worked with different choreographers such as Eszter Salamon, DD Dorvillier, and Ashley Chen. He is currently a member of SUB.LAB.PRO The Ensemble Program in Budapest where he worked with Jenna Jalonen, Máté Mészáros and Barnaby Booth.
Adam O'Reilly is a 24 year old Dance Artist, Performer and emerging Dance Maker, Choreographer & Director from North Dublin. He has worked through various contexts of dance incuding film, theatre and commercial performance since 2019. Some of his recent work being with Choreographer John Scott with Irish Modern Dance Theatre, performing at Dublin Theatre Festival 2023 in 'This Solution' directed by Shaun Dunne & Choreographed by Jessie Thompson, and performing at Culture Night at Top 8 choreographed by Tobi Balogun. Adam has more recently began developing his own work via various residencies and funding opportunities including Garter Lane Artists Residency, Dance Ireland Residency and The Arts Council Agility Award.