The artistic director of Ireland’s new national dance company on her plans for its programme and the dancers she’s recruiting
Luail director Liz Roche: ‘A regular income and stability are important. We have to work towards that for all dancers’
For her, putting together a company is familiar. She formed Rex Levitates in 1999, rebranding it as the Liz Roche Dance Company in 2012. But whereas her own company organically emerged over time, Luail has had a quick birth.first mentioned a possible new full-time dance company, in its October 2022 report, the council committed €5 million to the organisation’s creation over three years.
“It has always been part of my DNA to want to build a core company. I really like the idea of dancers being able to develop over time and really understand your way of moving and the way in which to perform.” Choosing her core company of dancers is occupying a lot of head space. If Luail were an existing arts organisation, and Roche a new artistic director, she would pick repertoire to match the skills of the dancers within the company. Right now she is picking dancers to match repertoire that she has planned on paper for the next few years.
“We talked a lot beforehand about what we needed to see from the applicants. We threw a lot of different things at them and then, after an hour, changed to something else. We really wanted people to be flexible but also bring their creativity into the auditions. Two days later we return to movements again to see how well they remember.”
Another feature to set Luail apart is its revival of older repertoire. Historically, Irish dance companies have constantly created new work, a trait not helped by funding schemes. Many important works have disappeared just after their premiere.
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