Stellar European dance at the heart of Dublin Dance Festival 2013

Dublin Dance Festival, in association with the Abbey Theatre, is proud to announce that two stellar European dance companies will be taking to the Abbey stage during the 2013 Festival, in celebration of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Finland’s Tero Saarinen Company will present a Stravinsky Evening (14 & 15 May), and Ultima Vez from Belgium will present their game-changing What the Body Does Not Remember (16, 17, 18 May). Tero Saarinen is one of Europe’s leading dance makers and has created work for major international companies. His Stravinsky Evening will open the 2013 Dublin Dance Festival. It is presented in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the infamous first performance of Rite of Spring by the Ballets Russes, and will feature two stunning works. HUNT is Saarinen’s heart-stopping solo set to Rite of Spring, in which he is both the hunter and the hunted. The music’s unstoppable rhythms are matched by sinuous movements. Saarinen’s body acts as a canvas for atmospheric lighting created by renowned designer Mikki Kunttu and a kaleidoscope of live multi-media projections by artist Marita Liulia. Saarinen’s Petrushka is a love triangle played out with all the wit of a silent movie comedy and the colour of the fairground. Two classical accordionists play the score live on stage in an extraordinary version of Stravinsky’s ballet. What the Body Does Not Remember by Ultima Vez stunned audiences when it premiered in 1987, and, like Set and Reset by Trisha Brown Dance Company that featured in Dublin Dance Festival 2012, the work created a new landscape for dance. The New York Times wrote, “Tough, brutal, playful, ironic and terrific. Adjectives seem unduly passive in describing What the Body Does Not Remember”. Bricks are hurled across the stage, bodies collide in mid-air. 25 years on, the revival of this essential, gripping work comes to the Abbey stage for three nights only. Julia Carruthers of Dublin Dance Festival says, “These choreographers and performances have been specifically chosen because of their influence on the European arts scene. The colour and aesthetic beauty of Saarinen’s re-imagined ballets contrast with the raw athleticism of Ultima Vez’s landmark work. We are excited to share these gems from the European scene with audiences here in Ireland.” DDF 2013 will take place from May 14-26. The Festival will announce the full DDF 2013 programme next March. Highlights will feature exciting Australian and Irish elements, including the European premier of Jean Butler’s newest work. Tickets for these highlight performances of Dublin Dance Festival 2013 at the Abbey Theatre are on sale from today. Click here to book now! The Arts Council participation in the Cultural Programme to mark Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union is supported by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

Tero Saarinen Company is supported by the Embassy of Finland in Dublin.

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