In an intimate and playful presentation, Colin Dunne’s Out of Time brings movement, sound and image together to create a provocative dialogue between past and present that shatters his preceding reputation for being a traditional Irish-step dancer.
Shocking to many dance aficionados, the Irish dance icon and former Riverdance star gravitated away from traditional Irish stepping in favor of forward-stepping contemporary dance. After earning his M.A. in Contemporary Dance Performance from the University of Limerick in 2002, Dunne began exploring the fluidity of modern dance.
“I had the chance to step out of the traditional Irish dance box and immerse myself in a new practice,” Dunne said during a 2009 interview with Dance Magazine. “Now the two for me are one.”
An Irish step dancer turned contemporary performer? “It’s about making it work,” said Dunne.
And it does.
Dunne began paving a new path for himself as a solo artist with short performances presented at The Vail International Dance Festival in Colorado, the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton, Canada, and The Queen Elisabeth Hall in London, in addition to partnering with several choreographers across the world.
His first major modern performance at The Barbican in Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre’s production of The Bull earned him a nomination for a UK Circle National Dance Award for Best Male: Modern Dance. To date he holds techniques nine World, eleven Great Britain, nine All-Ireland and eight All-England titles under his belt.
In keeping with his exploration of the space between traditional and modern, Dunne’s first full-length solo show Out of Time investigates multimedia with the use of sound technology, film, text, and of course, various facets of dance including tap rhythms that only Dunne is capable of.
Dunne is poised to share Out of Time with audiences at the Ringling International Arts Festival this October at The Mertz Theatre. Patrons can be part of the provocative dialogue between past and present, witness the mature movements of a performer who has dedicated his life to exploring the relationship of sound and movement and experience the performance that earned a nomination for an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance.
Colin Dunne will perform Out of Time at The Metz Theatre Oct. 13 at 8pm, Oct. 14 at 2pm, Oct. 15 at 5pm and Oct. 16 at 5 pm. Learn more and purchase tickets
