Trailblazing dancer and choreographer Oona Doherty, in collaboration with renowned DJ and composer David Holmes and designer Ciaran Bagnall, presents Hard To Be Soft – A Belfast Prayer. A reflection on their hometown, this four-part dance work is based on the experiences and realities of living in today’s Belfast.

Exploring masculinity, sectarianism, culture, class and sexuality, Doherty abstracts the memories of her youth to create a physical prayer; a celebration of all that we have and an invocation for all that we are missing. This powerful new piece features a unique cast of performers, including nine Hip-Hop dancers from Belfast’s Ajendance Youth Dance Company.

A prodigious talent, Doherty has garnered international attention as one of Europe’s most gifted and promising dance artists, most recently winning the Total Theatre Award for Dance at the 2017 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and receiving rave reviews for her standout performance in Enda Walsh’s Arlington.

Parental Advisory: This performance contains strong language.

Produced by Prime Cut Productions. Co-commissioned by Dublin Dance Festival, the Abbey Theatre, Prime Cut Productions and Belfast International Arts Festival. Supported through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s Support for the Individual Artist Major Award, the British Council and La Briqueterie – CDCN du Val-de-Marne.

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Trailer 

Video © Luca Truffarelli

Images 

Photography © Luca Truffarelli