What do Selena Gomez, Ang Lee, Cate Blanchett, Tim Burton, Kylie Minogue, George Clooney, Kazuo Ishiguro, Philip Glass, Rudolf Nureyev, Yohji Yamamoto, William S Burroughs, Dirk Bogarde and Jazmin Chiodi have in common? They are all recipients of the French cultural award, the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, recognizing significant contributions to the arts, literature, or the propagation of these fields and to have significantly contributed to the enrichment of the French cultural inheritance. A nice accolade for sure but you get the sense that while Jazmin Chiodi, the co-director of the Dublin Dance Festival, is suitably honoured – “an incredible acknowledgement to the work that I had done all of these years” – her greatest privilege right now is the cut and thrust of Festival programming, a position she has held since 2021.
Jazmin has been living in Ireland for the last twenty years after dancing professionally in France but her personal journey began in Tandil, a small town outside Buenos Aires. “It looks a little bit like Connemara, very rocky and a little bit hilly. It’s where I was born, and then I moved to Buenos Aires city when I was very little. I think my mother understood very quickly when she saw me dancing in the living room every day at the age of five, to music like Tchaikovsky and Vivaldi, that I wanted to become a dancer. She sent me to the studio of María Fux, a pioneering dancer who developed a life changing dance therapy system. I wanted to be a ballerina and that was the beginning. I discovered dance as a way of expression. It was very important at the time, because it was the time of the dictatorship; dark years. For me, dance was a refuge, a place where I could definitely express who I was at the age of 12.”
She received a bursary to travel to France where she trained and turned professional at 23. After five years in France the birth of her daughter brought her to Ireland where she started as a freelance dancer. “Liz Roche was the first company who hired me as a dancer. I lived in various places around Cork but always in the countryside. The choice at the beginning was more economical than anything else. But then it was an actual choice to be in the countryside.
Now I live near Cashel and the house is in the middle of nowhere. I think that there is something quite strong for me in Ireland, this sense of land. The feeling of being in a place manifests itself more powerfully when I am in its geographical space more than in the cities. But then Dublin gives me this buzz and this multiculturalism. It has changed so much in the last 20 years. So I actually have the best of both worlds, because I have this little refuge in the countryside and then my work makes me travel a lot so I have my dose of city culture.
The relationship with Liz – who is now Artistic Director & head choreographer of Luail, Ireland’s brand new national dance company – was, in the very beginning, as an interpreter, as a dancer. And then I created a project, Tipperary Dance. That was the 14 years of my experimentation, my professional experimentation. At the same time Liz continued her career, growing her company. Incredibly, I would say, internationally and nationally. And now it’s interesting how we both are head of these big organisations and important, leading organisations for dance in Ireland. It’s a very important moment for dance in Ireland to have this national company and for us to present their inaugural performance, Chora, in The Bord Gais Theatre. We are delighted to be able to do this together.”
She smiles when I ask her thoughts on the dance scene in Ireland when she arrived twenty years ago. “I was coming from France. France is such an indulgent space. It was a very different path in terms of how contemporary dance developed in Ireland. My initial feeling was one of fear, what exactly is going to happen with my career as a professional dancer here? But very quickly, what was very interesting was this openness to people who come with a certain energy, creativity, innovation, ideas. I mean, I, together with Alexandre Iseli, created this huge project, Tipperary Dance. Tipp is probably one of the least likely places that you can imagine developing an international programme of contemporary dance. It was very interesting how this energy and this passion and these connections – because we were both very connected to continental Europe – were very welcome and appreciated. We actually created quite a lot of different and innovative programmes to dance in schools and for elderly, creating residencies, and that’s why I started the international festival there. I saw Ireland growing with me and me growing with Ireland.
She became director of the Dublin Dance Festival in 2021. Was that something she strove for? “When you are doing this career as an interpreter, then you are a choreographer, you’re making your work with communities. You are in the land. You take it as a challenge. So at the time I was like, okay, this is a good challenge that I can put to myself. And if it doesn’t work, it’s okay. I can get it at 50, because the terms are four years. I think it was a good moment. I was expanding the programme of Tipperary Dance in a way that I needed it more, more land of expression. I knew that there was something that I could bring in terms of artistic views and when the call was out there, I wanted to admire the next person. I want to work with the next person that directs this festival. I want to be inspired by programming. I am one of these people, constantly thirsty to receive and to be nourished and to be also supported as an artist. I realised that I would be a good candidate for the role! I was well supported by Karina McGrail, who is the co-director of the festival, she has been a very important partner in crime. It was a big jump in terms of scale and responsibility. But I was ready and I was prepared.
Many people ask me sometimes if I miss the practice of dancing, which is a very strong practice to leave behind. How can you maintain both? I’m not currently dancing at the same level anymore, but the idea of maintaining a very strong connection on the programming of how the body is present and is acting, and bringing that sensation of being on call, it’s very important in the way that I’m thinking about the programming all the time. How dance today can impact our lives.”
Just as the Argentine Dirty War military junta made the young dancer find her mode of expression, I wonder if she believes there is a space for dance to impact lives in these troubled times. “Dance is one of those spaces that bring us together. It’s very connected to communities, very connected to the bodies. It’s connected to life and to movement, to resilience, to learning. I think learning is something that is part of dance. If we learn what the art form is, and we get close to what the art form is by either practising it or coming to shows or attending discussions or listening to the artists, we get closer, and that proximity can create empathy and a relationship that is effective, which you enjoy more. So I think that there is something about the role of the festival as well, to bring dance as a space to as an invitation to learn more about this art form, to grow with this art form, to love this art form, and then with it, to start observing the world in a different way.
The body is a place of resistance and also a place of poetry, and it’s a place of imagination, and a place of curiosity, a place of surprise. So people coming to the festival can have all of those different feelings and sensations and hopefully new ways of reflecting and seeing the world. That means our our artists are very engaged and committed to bring a different lens to maintain that expression, that dance can be a place where we can re-calibrate a little bit what is happening and to reconnect with values that they are close to humanity, empathy, being together, revisit history, and then imagine a new future. So this relationship, and the incredible thing about dances is the universal language, in a way that can go beyond frontiers and so the history of one can be the history of many.
As someone who has danced on the streets of Trinidad in Cuba and, more regularly (a lot more regularly), in a sweaty basement at some choice Dublin raves in the 90’s and 00’s I wondered if we’re losing a little bit of that kind of communal dance experience, especially since dance clubs in Dublin at the moment are kind of struggling. “For this year’s festival, we are actually bringing not only shows to the theatres, but we are bringing this sense of gathering to dance. We have Donal Dineen’s Backstory and Qudus Onikeku will DJ in the Abbey Bar after his performance on Tuesday 21st.
Byron Vincent is bringing his brilliant Disco Nuerotico to the Project Arts Centre. It focuses on inclusivity, individuality and sensory-friendly experiences and there are sensory-friendly areas, gaming and UV art as well as a DJ set by Byron, which will have a ‘silent disco’ vibe, dual channels for different moods and needs.
We are trying to bring that sensation that dance can be something shared in a safe environment. I think people want to dare again, to release something, to let go of something. COVID did restrict a lot of things but I always have this wonderful feeling with Irish audiences that there is a sense of curiosity and openness that is rare. Because when you travel a lot and you see other audiences’ behaviour, sometimes they are, do you know, a little bit more judgemental or cold so there is something very wonderful about the Irish reactions.”
The programme is dazzling in its breadth and diversity and for the uninitiated I ask Jazmin for her recommendations, fully prepared for the “everything” answer. In good spirit she manages to whittle it down to four for the purpose of editorial space constraints.
“Re:INCARNATION is a fantastic show to discover the energy of dance because it is the Nigerian spirit coming to stage. Oona Doherty’s show Specky Clark is very much about our history, is very dramatic and features the music of Lankum. I’m hoping their involvement will open us up to new audiences.
For the ones that want to discover something quite intimate and very different I recommend SOMNOLE by Boris Charmatz. He’s a choreographer and director of the renowned Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch and he brings a very dynamic, very skilled and intimate performance. It’s something a bit more challenging in a way, but also very human.
Luke Murphy’s Scorched Earth will finish up the Festival and it’s one I’m really looking forward to. Luke’s journey so far has been incredible – the multi award winning Volcano being a particular standout – and I think this could be a real hit. It’s very accessible in terms of the language and it will be perfect on the iconic Abbey stage.”
Words: John Brereton
