Tipperary Dance hosts artists in residency in the context of our international exchange programmes, in partnership this year with Tanztendenz München e.V. (Munich, Germany), La Caldera (Barcelona, Spain) and Teatro Victoria (Tenerife, Spain).

 

In this residency, Ian Garside is developing his new work Extranjero.

What is it to feel like a stranger in your own skin, in your own land?

Extranjero is a performance that uses dance theatre as a tool to invite us to reflect on our physical, geographical and cultural heritage.

This planet we call Earth sustains us all, but it doesn't allow us all to belong…

Who owns the heritage of a certain place, when the only constant is change? The heritage that surrounds us may have nothing to do with our ancestors, but still we claim it as ours.

Socio-politically, we are in a moment where nationalism is proudly showing its ugly face and enjoying inexplicable but undoubtedly popular support. The position in society of the “other,” the stranger, the foreigner, is in perilous danger.

What does it mean to belong to a place? Who has more or less the right to occupy space, to use resources, to enjoy freedom of movement?

As a perpetual foreigner, I seek a home in my own body. But sometimes our own body is the most treacherous of all. It can be a hostile environment if we fail to make peace with it.

This solo opens a dialogue between the body, the space in which that body resides, and the being that inhabits that body, and asks whether being a stranger can simultaneously make us feel more connected to everything around us.

 

Shown as part of our Residency Double Bill on Saturday 04th October.

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A Tipperary Dance Residency in partnership with Teatro Victoria, Tenerife.