Press Release: Keegan-Dolan's MÁM and special screening of Pat Collins's The Dance this October

[Jan McNulty]

Michael Keegan-Dolan & Teaċ Daṁsa   MÁM  Sadler’s Wells Theatre   Thursday 5 - Saturday 7 October    + Special screening of Pat Collins’s The Dance   Lilian Baylis Studio on Monday 2 October Credit: Ros Kavanagh    Irish choreographer and Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Michael Keegan-Dolan’s Olivier Award-nominated MÁM returns to Sadler’s Wells Theatre from Thursday 5 – Saturday 7 October.      Bringing together the virtuoso Irish traditional concertina player Cormac Begley, contemporary music collective s t a r g a z e, and 12 international dancers from the Teaċ Daṁsa company, MÁM is a meeting place between soloist and ensemble, the classical and the traditional, the local and universal.         The Irish word MÁM means at once a mountain pass, a handful, a yoke and an obligation – perhaps to continue or to go a certain way. Keegan-Dolan was inspired by the poetry of the word’s multiple meanings, and by the landscapes of West Kerry for this production. The production speaks to life’s nuances and contrasts, and how polarities can, on occasion, come together to find resolution.    To celebrate the return of MÁM, Sadler’s Wells hosts a special screening of the critically acclaimed film The Dance by director Pat Collins in the Lilian Baylis Studio on Monday 2 October, and subsequently available on Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage until 3 November. The feature documentary follows the creation process behind the dance show MÁM from the first day of rehearsals in the remote Dingle Peninsula in Ireland, to the opening night performance at the Dublin Theatre Festival in 2019.    The screening will be followed by a post-film talk between Keegan-Dolan and Sadler’s Wells Artistic Director Sir Alistair Spalding.    Opening a window onto the process of creativity and collaboration, the film explores the relationships between dancers and choreographer, movement, place and traditions, articulacy and artistry. It was released to critical acclaim in Irish cinemas in February 2022. Pat Collins’ other works include Song of Granite and Silence.        MÁM is a Sadler’s Wells Coproduction    Michael Keegan-Dolan is a Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist    Post-film talk between Michael Keegan-Dolan and Sir Alistair Spalding on 2 October in the Lilian Baylis Studio    BSL interpreted Directors Conversation with Sir Alistair Spalding and Michael Keegan-Dolan on Thursday 5 October 2023 at 6:15 pm    The Dance screening: Monday 2 October at 7:30 pm in Lilian Baylis Studio    Pat Collins  The Dance  Screening in Lilian Baylis Studio  Monday 2 October, 8pm (86 minutes) Followed by a post-film talk between Michael Keegan-Dolan and Sir Alistair Spalding Tickets: £12  Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com    &    Michael Keegan-Dolan/ Teaċ Daṁsa                                           MÁM   Sadler’s Wells Theatre Thursday 5 - Saturday 7 October Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes (no interval) Tickets: £15 - £55   Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com       About Teaċ Daṁsa  Teaċ Daṁsa was established by Michael Keegan-Dolan in 2016 when his company, Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre, moved from the midlands of Ireland to the West Kerry Gaeltacht.    Teaċ Daṁsa makes dance and theatre work that nurtures deep and meaningful connections with the traditions, language and music of Ireland. Teaċ Daṁsa creates a place where artists can come together to make dance and theatre work that aspires to transform both artist and audience through the experience of the work. While grounded in Ireland, the company draws upon an international ensemble of performers, artists and collaborators and has created productions that have toured and resonated nationally and internationally.     Teaċ Daṁsa's first production, Swan Lake / Loch na hEala, was ground-breaking and won the Irish Times Theatre Award 2017 for Best New Production and the UK Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Best Production 2018.   Created in 2019, MÁM was the first show entirely conceived, rehearsed and produced in the West Kerry Gaeltacht and was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best New Production in 2020 and two UK Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards in 2021.   Teaċ Daṁsa recently returned to the Dublin Theatre Festival in 2022 with How To Be A Dancer In Seventy-two Thousand Easy Lessons, a co-production with the Gate Theatre that will tour nationally and internationally in 2023/ 24. www.teacdamsa.com    About Michael Keegan-Dolan  Michael Keegan-Dolan was the artistic director of Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre (1997-2015), creating three Olivier Award-nominated productions: Giselle (2003), The Bull (2005), and The Rite of Spring (2009).    He trained with Japanese Sword Master, John Evans and Yoga Guru Shandor Remete.  In 2004, Giselle won an Irish Times Theatre Award and The Bull received a UK Critic’s Circle National Dance Award in 2008. Rian, created in 2011, won a Bessie Award (New York Dance and Performance Award) in 2013 for Best Production. In 2012 he directed and choreographed a new production of Handel’s Julius Caesar at the London Coliseum for English National Opera. In 2015 he created The Big Noise, for the GoteborgOperans DansKompani, working closely with celebrated Nordic Folk Musician Ale Moller.     As Guest Artistic Director of the National Youth Dance Company at Sadler’s Wells London for the 2015 – 2016 season, Michael created In-Nocentes. In March 2017, he devised a new work to Dvorak’s 8th Symphony for the Dance Company at the Gärtnerplatztheater, Munich. He has extensive experience teaching and has led workshops for a range of dance and theatre companies. Michael is an associate at Sadler’s Wells London.    About The Dance  Director: Pat Collins  Producers: Philip King, Tina O’Reilly, Sharon Whooley  Company: Harvest Films/South Wind Blows  Financiers: Screen Ireland, RTÉ  Director of Photography: Colm Hogan  Editor: Keith Walsh  Sound: John Brennan    About Pat Collins  Since 1998 PAT COLLINS has made over 30 films. His film The Dance received its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival 2021 and was the Gala Screening at Cork Film Festival 2021. Previous feature documentary Henry Glassie: Fieldwork premiered at TIFF in 2019. His new feature film ‘That They May Face the Rising Sun based on the novel by John McGahern receives its world premiere at London International Film Festival 2023.     His feature film ‘Song of Granite’, funded by the Irish Film Board, BAI, SODEC and Telefilm Canada, was based on the life of the traditional Irish singer Joe Heaney. It received its world premiere at SXSW 2017 and was released in cinemas by Oscilloscope Distribution in the USA, Thunderbird Releasing in the UK and Canada, and Wildcard Distribution in Ireland. ‘Song of Granite’ was the Irish nomination for best Foreign Language Oscar 2018. Fionnuala Halligan, Chief Film Critic of ‘Screen International’ wrote “In an era of safe film-making, especially within the art-house sector, it’s rare to view a title as formally audacious as ‘Song of Granite’.”      His 2012 feature film ‘Silence’ received its international premier at London International Film Festival in 2013 and was distributed in Irish cinemas by Element Distribution and New Wave Films in the UK. He was co-director of the historical 3 part series ‘1916’. The series was broadcast on RTÉ, BBC and PBS in America.  In 2012, the Irish Film Institute curated a mid-career retrospective of his work to date. saying “…Viewed together, these fascinating screenworks offer a unique snapshot of Ireland at the turn of the 21st century.” The Irish Times listed ‘Silence’ and ‘Song of Granite’ in the top twenty ‘Best Irish films of all time’.    He has made films on the writer John McGahern, the poets Michael Hartnett and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, the singer Thomas McCarthy and the Connemara based writer and cartographer Tim Robinson. ‘Abbas Kiarostami – The Art of Living’ (co-directed with Fergus Daly) was picked up for international distribution in 2004 by MK2. He has directed political feature essay films ‘What We Leave in Our Wake’ (2009) and ‘Living in a Coded Land’ (2014) and his short experimental work has screened at numerous Irish and international film festivals, and many galleries including the ICA London, Galway Arts Festival, The Visual Carlow and Crawford Art Gallery.    About Sadler’s Wells  Sadler's Wells is a world-leading dance organisation. We strive to make and share dance that inspires us all. Our acclaimed year-round programme spans dance of every kind, from contemporary to flamenco, Bollywood to ballet, salsa to street dance and tango to tap.    We commission, produce and present more dance than any other organisation in the world. Since 2005, we have helped to bring more than 200 new dance works to the stage, embracing both the popular and the unknown. Our acclaimed productions tour the world. Since 2005 we’ve produced 64 new full-length works and performed to audiences of more than two million, touring to 51 countries.    Each year, over half a million people visit our three London theatres - Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Lilian Baylis Studio and Peacock Theatre. Millions more attend our touring productions nationally and internationally or explore our digital platforms, including Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage. In 2024 we’re opening a fourth London venue in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Sadler’s Wells East will house a 550-seat mid-scale theatre, as well as facilities for the Choreographic School and Hip Hop Theatre Academy.    Supporting artists is at the heart of our work. We have associate artists and companies, which nurture some of the most exciting talent working in dance today. We host the National Youth Dance Company, which draws together some of the brightest young dancers from across the country. Sadler’s Wells Breakin' Convention runs professional development programmes to champion and develop the world’s best hip hop artists, as well as producing, programming and touring groundbreaking hip hop performances.    Around 30,000 people take part in our learning and engagement programmes every year. We support schools local to our theatres in Islington and Stratford, designing experiences for children and young people to watch, explore and critically engage with the arts. We also run Company of Elders, a resident performance company of dancers aged over 60 who rehearse with renowned artists to make new work for public performances locally, nationally and internationally. Sadler’s Wells is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.  www.sadlerswells.com  Stay up to date with everything Sadler’s Wells on social media   Facebook: @SadlersWells   Twitter: @Sadlers_Wells   Instagram: @sadlers_wells   YouTube: Sadler’s Wells Theatre