This September audiences will have the opportunity to experience Liz Roche Company’s landmark 12 Minute Dances, which confirmed Liz Roche’s place as one of Ireland’s foremost choreographers.

12 Minute Dances received coveted five star reviews when it premiered in 2009, and will be performed at the Civic Theatre in Tallaght 21st and 23rd September and at The Cork Opera House 28th September.

Composed of a sequence of pieces inspired by the paintings of Mark Rothko, the dances are seamlessly woven together to create story in motion, showcasing Roche’s supreme talent for creating finely-wrought arrangements of movement which are both thrilling and evocative. These performances offer a unique chance to witness the purity and essence of Liz Roche’s most beautiful dance, performed by a company of exceptional dancers, with lighting, set and costumes by some of Ireland’s most celebrated designers.  The collection of short works appears as a wash of colour, movement, rhythm and emotion; human embodiment as a dynamic event.

12 Minute Dances was selected as one of the Irish Times Highlights of 2009 by Michael Seaver, who wrote, “Liz Roche’s 12 Minute Dances for Rex Levitates Dance Company were carefully crafted and deliberately understated, and confirmed her position as the one of the most thought-provoking Irish choreographers around”.  The piece premiered at the 2009 Absolut Fringe Festival in Dublin, and was later presented at the Baryshnikov Arts Center New York, in partnership with Culture Ireland, at the 2010 Leap Dance Festival in Liverpool and at Le Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris.

2017 has seen Liz Roche Company, one of Ireland’s foremost exponents of contemporary dance, commence a planned three year residency at the Civic. This major revival of her 12 Minute Dances is the first public offering of that residency. The work will be performed by a company of exceptional dancers and with members of the Company’s Active Audience team who have been following the re-rehearsal process.

“Liz Roche’s 12 Minute Dances confirmed her position as the one of the most thought-provoking Irish choreographers around. *****”  Michael Seaver, Irish Times

Credits

Choreography: Liz Roche
Lighting Design: Kevin Smith
Costume Design: Catherine Fay
Set Design: Joe Vanek
Original Music by Edward Rosenberg, Joel Mellin and Julia Wolfe
​2017 Cast: Katherine O’Malley, Miguel do Vale, Liv O’Donoghue, Cliodhna Hoey, Ryan O’Neill, Ailish Maher.
Musician: Sean MacErlaine

Funded by the Arts Council,  and presented by Civic Theatre in association with Dublin Dance Festival and Tallaght Community Arts.

Performance details

Civic Theatre, Tallaght
Thursday 21st and Saturday 23rd September 8pm
Tickets €16/€14 conc.
Booking 01 4627477 | boxoffice@civictheatre.ie | www.civictheatre.ie

Civic Theatre, Tallaght
Friday 22nd September 8.30pm
Free performances of excerpts of 12 Minute Dances as part of the venue’s Culture Night activities.

Cork Opera House
Thursday 28th September 8pm
Tickets: €16*
Booking 021 427 0022 | hmurphy@corkoperahouse.ie | www.corkoperahouse.ie
Cork Opera House presents 12 Minute Dances as part of its ‘Best of Irish’ series, also featuring Company Philip Connaughton. 

Photos by Luca Truffarelli