This is it | 8 dance portraits Laura Murphy
Co-presented by the Irish Film Institute and Dublin Dance Festival
Premiere
Ireland
A series of candid portraits of eight iconic women in dance in Ireland.

Sat 25 May 2024
Traditionally, the worth of a dancer's career has been measured by time spent in the limelight. Yet a dancer’s experience of their career extends beyond the stage. It influences the personal, the mundane and the philosophical. This is it, a collection of multimedia portraits by dance artist and director Laura Murphy, expands our understanding of dance beyond traditional structures into the personal realm.
Price
€14 full price / €11.40 conc.
How long?
55 mins
Contains strobe effects in one of the portraits.
When?
Sat 25 May
From the show
Watch
“A carefully constructed and impeccably performed investigation into partnerships where the dancers seek equilibrium within shifting personal dynamics.”
The Irish Times on Wunderbar
“Choreographer Laura Murphy and composer Irene Buckley create a sequence of continuous movement, hypnotic in its pace and in the visual effect of its ranks of black-clad dancers, all obedient to an orchestra of tins. It is splendidly original."
The Irish Times on A Dance Concerto
Collaborating with filmmaker Pato Cassinoni, animator Alan Early and composer Irene Buckley, Murphy presents an innovative and multifaceted exploration of eight women in dance in Ireland: Jean Butler, Alicia Christofi Walshe, Lisa Cliffe, Finola Cronin, Joan Davis, Katherine O'Malley, Mary Nunan and Angie Smalis.
This is it challenges conventional views on dance and success. The portraits reveal the unspoken values that are often difficult to articulate and easy to forget, creating a unique living archive of untold stories of dance.
Credits
- Director & Choreographer Laura Murphy
- Filmmaker Pato Cassinoni
- Animator Alan Early
- Music & Sound Irene Buckley
- Text Editor Laura Murphy with Stephen Collins, Niamh Prior
- Portrait Subjects & Performers Jean Butler, Alicia Christofi Walshe, Lisa Cliffe, Finola Cronin, Joan Davis, Mary Nunan, Kathrine O'Malley and Angie Smalis
- Dancers Marion Cronin, Siobhán Ní Dhuinnín and Sarah Ryan
- Research Dancer Robyn Byrne
- Advisors Colin Dunne, Jools Gilson, Stephen O'Connell
- Costume Toni Bailey
- Lighting Design Hanan Sheedy
- PR/Communications Consultant Stephanie Dickenson
- Producer Kristyn Fontanella | Little Fountain Productions, Laura Murphy
- Associate Producer Once Off Productions
Co-presented by the Irish Film Institute and Dublin Dance Festival. Funded by The Arts Council | An Chomhairle Ealaíon. Created in association with Dance Ireland, Dance Cork Firkin Crane, Galway Dance, Mermaid Arts Centre, Coiscéim Dance Theatre, Dance Limerick and Joan Davis | Gorse Hill.
Special thanks to all the artists, friends and family for their time and commitment to this project.