Biblical tale of debauchery inspires new dance show

BY LAURA VARLEY

Former Riverdance performer Breandán de Gallaí, who is now Artistic Director of Ériu Dance Company, has turned his attention to Oscar Wilde’s famed play, Salomé, for his latest show, Salómae. Ériu, in conjunction with An Taibhdhearc, will premiere Salómae at Galway International Arts Festival from July 11-20. This dance show, based on a tragic biblical tale, captures a family’s descent into debauchery. Salomé was the dancer who asked for – and received – John the Baptist’s severed head in return for performing a dance for her step-father, Herod, and his guests at a party. Salomé’s mother, Herodias, had instigated the request as she was angry at John the Baptist’s condemnation of her marriage to Herod.

This story captured the Donegal-man’s imagination many years ago.

“We did a version of Salómae in my secondary school a long, long time ago. I was always intrigued by the tale and my teachers were inspirational. There was a tendency to work these productions in a contemporary, post-modern way, which was very forward-thinking at the time. A lot of what I do now is motivated by those early experiences,” he explains.

The production is an Irish-language interpretation of Wilde’s play and while sur-titles will be available, the director believes the fluid nature of music and dance will make it highly accessible.

“Many people will be familiar with the story and, with the direction of the dance, you wouldn’t have to worry about watching the sur-titles. With the outline and movement of the bodies there won’t be any doubt as to the action,” he says.

Having explored the piece, Breandán says the text “sounds incredible” in Irish, adding that Wilde’s beautiful text, originally in French, “belies the awfulness at the heart of the plot”.

A former principal performer with Riverdance, Breandán explains that his version of Salómae moves away from Irish dancing.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.