Michael Keegan-Dolan
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Michael Keegan-Dolan (born 1969) is an Irish choreographer and dancer. He is the founder of Teaċ Daṁsa and the Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre company.


Career

Keegan-Dolan trained as a dancer at the Central School of Ballet in London. He became an associate artist at Sadler's Wells, the UK's primary contemporary dance theatre. A limited dancer, he moved into choreography, working on productions at
Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
, the
English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...
, and the National Theatre. Returning to Longford in Ireland, he founded the Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre in 1997. Among its productions,
Giselle ''Giselle'' ( , ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (; ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet () in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, it was first perfor ...
, The Bull and
The Rite of Spring ''The Rite of Spring'' () is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky ...
were nominated for
Olivier Awards The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...
. In 2014, he dissolved the company and re-emerged with Teaċ Daṁsa (''teach damhsa,'' Irish for "house of dance", stylised with an overdot used in traditional Irish orthography) in 2016. Based in the Irish-speaking
Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...
area of
County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...
in the south-west of the country, its first work was
Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...
/Loch na hEala, a reimagining of the
Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...
standard that disregards the original score. Mám, with music by west Kerry concertina maestro Cormac Begley and Berlin orchestral collective Stargaze, debuted in Dublin in 2019. Described as a "mysterious, mythic" work, it moves on from previous retellings of classic ballets and tales to build a work responding to the original music, with dancers' individual, stylised solos continually giving way to ensemble pieces. It was performed at and part-produced by Sadler's Wells in London. It has also been performed in the United States, Germany, Italy, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan, in addition to a tour of regional arts venues in Ireland. "How To Be A Dancer in Seventy-Two Thousand Easy Lessons", a biographical work in collaboration with Keegan-Dolan's partner and longtime collaborator Rachel Poirier, followed in 2023. Unusually, he danced in the production. Nobodaddy debuted in September 2024 at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, followed by runs at the Dublin Theatre Festival and Sadler's Wells in London. It is named after a figure from the poetry of
William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
. US folk musician
Sam Amidon Samuel Tear Amidon (born June 3, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Early life Amidon's parents are folk artists Peter Amidon and Mary Alice Amidon. They were members of Bread and Puppet Theater in the 1970s ...
supplied much of the music and performed in the show.


Biography

Keegan-Dolan was raised in Clontarf, a suburb on Dublin's northside. His father is from Longford and Keegan-Dolan describes the county as home. His first dance lessons came late, at the age of 17 at Billie Barry School in Dublin. He moved to London to train in ballet at the Central School of Ballet. He is married to Rachel Poirier, a dancer and longtime collaborator. They have two children. Their daughter has also performed in his work. He was born Michael Dolan. His great-uncle, Edward Keegan, fought with the Irish Volunteers in 1916 and acted at the Abbey Theatre. Keegan-Dolan added his great-uncle's name to his own. In addition to dance influences, he cites American musician
David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...
, Irish singer
Liam Ó Maonlaí Liam Ó Maonlaí (born 7 November 1964 in Monkstown, County Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish musician best known as a member of Hothouse Flowers. Ó Maonlaí formed the band in 1985 with his schoolmate Fiachna Ó Braonáin. Biography He attended ...
and Irish playwright
Enda Walsh Enda Walsh (born 1967) is an Irish playwright. Biography Enda Walsh was born in Kilbarrack, North Dublin on 7 February 1967. His father ran a furniture shop and his mother had been an actress. He is the second youngest of six children. Walsh ...
as having had an impact on his development.


Work


Teac Damsa

* Nobodaddy (2024) * How To Be A Dancer in Seventy-Two Thousand Easy Lessons (2023) * Mám (2019) * Swan Lake/Loch na hEala (2016)


Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre

* The Rite of Spring/Petruska (2014) * Julius Caesar (2012) * Rian (2011) * Helen + Hell (2010) * The Rite of Spring (2009) * James Son of James (2007) * The Bull (2005) * Giselle (2003) * The Christmas Show (2001) * The Flowerbed (2000) * Fragile (1999)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keegan-Dolan, Michael 1969 births Living people Irish choreographers Irish male dancers People from Clontarf, Dublin