Five Fast Facts: Teaċ Daṁsa

October 8, 2019

Teaċ Daṁsa performs Oct 24-Oct 27 at Walker Art Center in a co-presentation with Northrop. Here are Five Fast Facts to know about the company and the performance in advance.

  1. This production is the first major tour of Michael Keegan-Dolan’s work in the U.S. His company Teaċ Daṁsa (‘House of Dance’ in Classical Irish) embodies his journey to create dance and theater work that clearly reflects the place from which it originates.
  2. The music is performed live by Slow Moving Clouds - a Dublin-based band that blends Irish roots and Nordic folk traditions with post-punk drones, baroque strings, and soaring falsetto vocals into an immersive sound that has drawn comparisons to Icelandic post-rock legends Sigur Rós.
  3. This uncommon production has unique requirements: numerous cinder blocks, extensive scaffolding, a shotgun, a custom cake eaten each night, large sets of feathered wings, and 35 pounds of loose feathers that end up everywhere in the theater by the end of the show.
  4. Mikel Murfi (lead actor) is one of Ireland’s much loved actors and directors. Trained under Jacques Lecoq in Paris, his screen and stage credits include The Man in the Woman's ShoesJimmy's Hall, and extensive roles in plays by Enda Walsh, Ireland’s leading playwright.
  5. When the piece premiered at the Dublin Theatre Festival in 2016, it received unanimous critical acclaim, including rave reviews in The GuardianThe Globe and Mail, and The Irish Times. This led to worldwide tours that included South Korea, Germany, Hong Kong, and Australia, where it has been met with similar ecstatic response from audiences.

Watch a preview of Swan Lake/Loch na hEala.

Please note: This production ontains sounds of gun shots, references to suicide, and depictions of physical and sexual violence. Note that real feathers will be blown into the front rows, which may affect people with allergies.