First time for everything...

We’re trying to get this blog up and running and get everyone contributing so to start I have cast my mind back five and a half years to October 2003...

I’m attending an Echo Echo performance of an improvised dance piece at The Playhouse Theatre and I don’t know what to expect at all. Watching a dance show was a totally new concept to me.

Instead of narrative, or a specific storyline, there was improvised live music as accompaniment and inspiration for the dancers. At times I didn’t know where to look and found it quite hard to understand what was taking place on the stage. It all seemed pretty far out.. experimental.. different.

I went with it. Partly intrigued by the movement, partly because I thought the live soundscape was excellent, but mainly because I was starting a new job with the company the next day. I needed to know what I was getting myself into!

Over the years since then I’ve been fortunate to get the opportunity to watch many dance performances and physical theatre shows in venues and at festivals throughout Ireland and Europe.

Like in other art forms such as film, music or literature, some were good, some weren’t great, but some were truly excellent.

The Convent by Jo Stromgren Kompani, Circus by Barrabas, It’s Only a Rehearsal by Zero Visibility (soundtracked by Murcof), Barcelona’s Nats Nus, the outstanding Familie Floez, and France’s Kafig to name a very few of my favourites.

While these shows may be presented as dance/physical theatre, they’re all so completely different.

Think of music as an art form. Modeselektor’s dubstep and techno is very different to The Beta Band’s folky psychedelica. They both have qualities that I like however they’re completely different styles within contemporary music. I still always want to hear new (and old) music, whether it turns out to be good or bad, because I might really like it.

I think it’s the same in contemporary dance/physical theatre as in any art form. You won’t know if something is quality without watching it first.

I believe that Echo Echo’s work is quality. It’s worth watching. The care and attention that goes into a production is to a very high level. The commitment and skill of the performers really shines through in every performance that I have seen.

Echo Echo's new production Ripple Affect is shaping up to be very high quality indeed with an exceptionally talented ensemble of dancers and musicians and I would urge anyone who reads this far to come along and see for yourself in March.

Maybe you’ve never seen a dance show before or maybe you’ve never seen an Echo Echo show before – I think that’s even more reason to try it. You might really enjoy it.