Please Break my Heart, NAF Dance
What role does place play in your work?
I feel like place and environment has no choice but to seep into the artistic decisions that you make. Being from Ireland I haven’t been able to escape the humor that charges through our culture and it’s inevitably made its way to become one of the leading factors of my work. As I trained in the Netherlands our distinctive Irish nature was quickly highlighted to me as they have a very different tonal landscape. We have such a unique approach, lightness and charm that I adore weaving into my work. It adds this camp flavor to dance which can often be foreign to dance and contemporary dance in particular. Working in Ireland has not only shaped me but also the work I continue to create.
I feel like place and environment has no choice but to seep into the artistic decisions that you make. Being from Ireland I haven’t been able to escape the humor that charges through our culture and it’s inevitably made its way to become one of the leading factors of my work. As I trained in the Netherlands our distinctive Irish nature was quickly highlighted to me as they have a very different tonal landscape. We have such a unique approach, lightness and charm that I adore weaving into my work. It adds this camp flavor to dance which can often be foreign to dance and contemporary dance in particular. Working in Ireland has not only shaped me but also the work I continue to create.
Who or what are your biggest influences as an artist?
I’m always observing my surroundings and ideas form from such mundane places. People watching and eavesdropping are endless sources for me. Any moment that gives an accidental insight into people is where my ideas truly spark from. Once I have that moment of raw excitement I’m struck with a clear vision of the piece. This has led me to creating work around growing up, what royalty do when they think no one is looking, deranged housebound identical twins, reality television and wanting to be Cinderella. I simply adore Dolly Alderton, Phoebe Waller Bridge, John William Watson, Michael Keegan Dolan, Claudia Winkleman, Rose Matafeo and so many more. I want to pick the brain of anyone who can make me laugh and cry.
I’m always observing my surroundings and ideas form from such mundane places. People watching and eavesdropping are endless sources for me. Any moment that gives an accidental insight into people is where my ideas truly spark from. Once I have that moment of raw excitement I’m struck with a clear vision of the piece. This has led me to creating work around growing up, what royalty do when they think no one is looking, deranged housebound identical twins, reality television and wanting to be Cinderella. I simply adore Dolly Alderton, Phoebe Waller Bridge, John William Watson, Michael Keegan Dolan, Claudia Winkleman, Rose Matafeo and so many more. I want to pick the brain of anyone who can make me laugh and cry.
How do you approach collaboration in your practice?
I used to shy away from collaboration as I was afraid that I would lose my voice within the work or lose the permission to be able to call it my work. I always marveled at people who felt settled enough to have a vast team of collaborators. It wasn’t until my first full length production ‘Ham Sandwiches and Discipline,’ where I really felt the benefit of having incredible collaborators. I worked with Kitty O’Brien and Jack Pierce for costumes, and it was mesmerising to see how I could have a wacky brief, and they were able to find ways of making it come to life. Tien Le as the sound designer elevated everything they touched and Ben Sullivan as my co-performer constantly brings new ideas to the table. This allows me to be a better maker and choreographer as I don’t have to half being doing all the jobs and makes the work as a whole a million times better. It really makes me determined to find ways and resources to be able to continue these invaluable collaborations.
I used to shy away from collaboration as I was afraid that I would lose my voice within the work or lose the permission to be able to call it my work. I always marveled at people who felt settled enough to have a vast team of collaborators. It wasn’t until my first full length production ‘Ham Sandwiches and Discipline,’ where I really felt the benefit of having incredible collaborators. I worked with Kitty O’Brien and Jack Pierce for costumes, and it was mesmerising to see how I could have a wacky brief, and they were able to find ways of making it come to life. Tien Le as the sound designer elevated everything they touched and Ben Sullivan as my co-performer constantly brings new ideas to the table. This allows me to be a better maker and choreographer as I don’t have to half being doing all the jobs and makes the work as a whole a million times better. It really makes me determined to find ways and resources to be able to continue these invaluable collaborations.
What’s a place or moment that has shaped who you are today?
In my third year of college, I spent two months on exchange at the Centre National Danse Contemporaine in Angers, France. Simply put I had a ball. It was during my time there that I was introduced to so many new artists and ways of moving and thinking and after getting into such a rut during covid, I was reinvigorated with a desire to create. I read Dolly Alderton’s ‘Everything I Know About Love,’ which has become my choreographing bible and is littered with notes. I watched ‘Fleabag,’ for the first time which thrilled me and so many more. These all came together and led me to create a solo work called ‘A Piece for Seven People,’ which was pivotal for myself in understanding how I want to work. It paved the way for me to be able to create my new work ‘Please Break my Heart.’
Can you describe what you’re working on during your time in the studio
I’m developing my next piece 'Please Break my Heart.’ An interdisciplinary solo work fusing dance, text, theatre and film. This love story focuses on the quest for true love purely for the sake of wanting to discover how it feels to have your heart truly and utterly broken. Based on the fact that all the classic films, books, plays and songs are all about love and heartbreak - trying to actively get my heart broken in order to have content for a piece. After all, aren’t all the best works of art centred around love and heartbreak? Saturated with drama, comedy and chaos. Giddily marching towards a broken heart to understand what is this endless pit of inspiration for makers called heartbreak?
From Pride and Prejudice to Bridget Jones, Casablanca to Notting Hill, Bridgerton to The Way
We Were, it dives into the romantic troupes that mold how we see and experience romance. 'My New Year's resolutions for 2023 were to watch more daytime TV and to get my heartbroken...' - the opening line of the work sums it all up. Finding a way to balance the mundane and the supposed universal transformative experience of being heartbroken. As with each NAF Dance piece it walks the line between comedy and tragedy and allows the audience to open up to the heartache through laughter. Creating a piece that anyone can enjoy while maintaining a high artistic quality. It captures the fundamental pillars of my work by being daring and dynamic in both form and content. It captures dance in its utmost theatricality and fuses it with projections, text and music.
To book Please Break My Heart Uillinn Dance Season 2025
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