OONA DOHERTY | NAVY BLUE

Oona Doherty, the brilliant choreographer from Belfast, is shaking up the world of contemporary dance with her visceral honesty and her works haunted by Northern Ireland’s past, a legacy of violence, patriarchy, and religion. Navy Blue, her most ambitious piece to date, brings together a group of enigmatic dancers in blue work overalls, a monumental performance that is no less than a powerful antidote to the insignificance of the individual.

A dozen performers of different ages and body histories dance in splendid unison to Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 2. It’s the Irish choreographer’s version of grand ballet, flamboyant and sublime, until it all comes crashing to a halt. Bodies crumple to the ground. If the whole world is feeling down, are we in free fall? Oona Doherty’s own voice conjures up a vision of a devastated landscape. But in the face of society’s unraveling, nothing makes more sense than the hypnotic grace of this furiously vital dance.