The Night of the Big Wind by Claffey | Christofi Dance
New Movements, DanceHouse (30 August 2013)
Supported by Dance Ireland
Filmed by Design for Life
Directed by Ailish Claffey
Performed by Alicia Christofi-Walshe, Deirdre Griffin, Lucia Kickham and Catherine Young
Folded Productions present: A Dance Concerto (Kinsale Arts Week, July 2010)
Conceived and Choreographed by Laura Murphy
Produced by Folded Productions (Laura Murphy & Ailish Claffey)
An outdoor community dance project based on Laban Movement Choirs from the 1930s for 12 Dancers & an intergenerational cast of 100 Community Members from Kinsale, Co.Cork, Ireland.
Dublin Dance Festival: Re-Presenting Ireland
May 29, 2014 Em Culture No comments
The Night of the Big Wind by Claffey | Christofi Dance
Re-Presenting Ireland, Dublin Dance Festival 2015
“I found myself immediately intrigued as the seven performers marched into the intimate studio space. What impressed me firstly was how they were dressed; in what could be described as a “peasant chiq” style complete with cut-off Wellington boots and chunky shoes. The dancers displayed real skill in their robotic yet fluid movements and seemed like creeping animals as they stomped to the beat of an intense soundtrack (designed by Liam O’Callaghan and cellist Kim Porcelli).
At first, they danced perfectly in sync with each other. They soon dispersed and broke into a sort of freestyle Irish dance reflecting the primal nature of the “the big wind”, a hurricane often mentioned in Irish Folklore which devastated entire communities throughout Ireland in 1839.
I loved the contrasts displayed in this piece from the clash between the floating white skirts and heavy boots to the fluid antagonistic movements. The piece took a different turn as the dancers began to waltz elegantly to Leo Delibe’s beautiful Coppelia:Valse Lents, but even this sequence wasn’t without its conflict as one of the dancers broke away, running around the others as if to create a disturbance.
The Night of the Big Wind came across as a passionate, strong and earthy piece of dance, displaying exceptional talent from the dancers and its co-directors/dancers Ailish Claffey and Alicia Christofi-Walsh, who graduated from Trinity Laban and The Boston Conservatory respectively. Apparently the storm has not yet abated as The Night of the Big Wind is still only a work in progress. I’m looking forward to seeing what else is to come from these talented women.”
Ailish Claffey Dance 