HOW TO BE A DANCER IN SEVENTY-TWO THOUSAND EASY LESSONS Will Be Performed as Part of Sounds from a Safe Harbour

Sounds from a Safe Harbour (SFSH) returns for its fourth edition, from Thursday 7th to Sunday 10th September, welcoming some of the finest International and Irish artists to stages across Cork city.

Curated by Festival Director Mary Hickson, Bryce and Aaron Dessner of The National, actor Cillian Murphy and playwright Enda Walsh, SFSH will be an unmissable four days of music, dance, literature, theatre, and conversation, with lots of ticketed and free events to explore.

The first music headliners announced for the Festival include: Feist's Multitudes; the European premiere of Bonny Light Horseman with the RTE Concert Orchestra; Wilco, with support from Anna Mieke; and Ye Vagabonds' Lighthouse Constellations.

Following this initial announcement, Teaċ Daṁsa and the Gate Theatre have announced that they will bring the highly acclaimed 'How to Be a Dancer in Seventy-two Thousand Easy Lessons' to The Everyman, as part of Sounds from a Safe Harbour.

From an Ireland in the 1970s to the present day, How to Be a Dancer in Seventy-two Thousand Easy Lessons bends boundaries between what is lived and what is imagined, between history and destiny, between fact and fiction.

From Teaċ Daṁsa, the makers of Swan Lake / Loch Na hEala and MÁM, it is written and choreographed by Michael Keegan-Dolan who performs onstage for the first time in over twenty years, alongside dancer and life-time collaborator Rachel Poirier.

How to Be a Dancer in Seventy-two Thousand Easy Lessons is a dance down a rabbit hole: nationality, identity, racism, body-image, culture, death, love, ancestor worship, veneration, innocence and experience, sexuality and shame, defiance, humiliation and awakening.

CREATIVE TEAM

Written by Michael Keegan-Dolan
Choreographed and Performed by Michael Keegan-Dolan and Rachel Poirier
Directed by Rachel Poirier and Adam Silverman
Set and Costume Designer Hyemi Shin
Lighting Designer Adam Silverman
Sound Designer Sandra Ní Mhathúna

Speaking about the announcement, Director of Sounds from a Safe Harbour, Mary Hickson says: "Following the profound effect Swan Lake had on Cork audiences during SFSH19, it feels both right and necessary to invite Teac Damsa back with their new show How To Be A Dancer which is an incredibly brilliant piece of work. I'm not sure the festival can ever happen again without them."

Tickets for FEIST, Bonny Light Horseman with the RTE Concert Orchestra, Wilco, Ye Vagabonds, and 'How to Be a Dancer in Seventytwo Thousand Easy Lessons' are on sale now.

Further programme announcements are on the way soon.