For me dance is about communication. It is a dialogue between movement, an audience and a choreographer, conversations that involve listening to the body and responding to the body. As the major form of non-verbal communication, choreography teaches us about ourselves and, in the process, about our potential for continued human interaction. Live dance performance leads us into a world where the body does not lie - telling stories, offering thoughts or capturing through imagery the human form in motion, along the way presenting kinetic experiences that transcend the limitations of words.
As physical beings, our possibility for movement is endless. But this is something that is not frequently acknowledged in Ireland. Or if it is, it is not willingly accepted. Live dance performance is doubly burdened within an Irish context. The obvious burden is our growing dependence on information technologies. As we enter the 21st century, live performance seems to be less important or relevant to our lives. Overtaken by the computer, video and satellite television, audiences seem less able to engage with dance as a theatrical medium for communication.
More important, and unique to this island, is our dominant literary tradition. All creativity outside the verbal is important, especially in a culture obsessed by language and a literary tradition. Contemporary dance sets its own agenda. It is an art form that employs the body to articulate and express ideas. It demands a particular eye. This is not an apology. It is simply an observation - the terms of reference for engaging with a choreographic work are different from the sensibilities employed in engaging with verbal work.
I am tired (as are many other dance practitioners) with the hackneyed excuses used about the "esoteric nature of dance". Nonsense! As human beings, movement is one of our fundamental and essential features. We all move. We all express ourselves through gesture. We all interact physically with each other - every day of our lives. Choreography simply develops these ideas with the aim of telling us something about humanity. Irish audiences are reluctant to engage with dance because the aims and expectations of a theatrical history haunt them. It has nothing to do with a lack of understanding.
As Choreographer in Residence at Project Arts Centre, I am often occupied with these issues. This residency is the first of its kind in Ireland. My job is to concentrate on choreographic craft and process through experimentation and collaboration. Over the past two years, by taking risks and making mistakes, these investigations have contributed to a radical shift in my work. Half-way through, and with many lessons learnt, I look forward to completing the process with the premiere of Without Hope or Fear. This attention to developing a dance work is essential if we are to sustain a relevant dance culture.
My dance work has always concerned itself with theatrical explorations of masculinity. Previously under the banner, MaNDaNCE, I looked exclusively to myself for information, focusing on issues about gender, identity, sexuality and age. As part of my residency, I have revisited these issues. Now, working with an array of national and international male dancers, the parameters are widened. Through work-in-progress and research and development projects, a new understanding and movement vocabulary have emerged. The investigations undertaken have attempted to question prevalent stereotypes. Working in an Irish context, these issues have raised a number of points for me, revealing a rather schizophrenic attitude to being male in contemporary Ireland.
In a society obsessed with labels and money and success, I do feel isolated. The current yardsticks cannot measure how I see myself. Or indeed how I want to see myself. We are living in a period of contradictions, and invisibility for some. As a gay, 36-year-old dance artist, mature student and Irishman, I live the contradiction every day. For me, traditional values no longer hold or indeed have any relevance. At the same time, there is nothing to replace them. I still have to fight for my right to my place in this society.
My definition of myself is fluid and not bound by conventions. My concerns encompass personal and artistic goals, not financial gain or status. No longer is it possible to pigeonhole what defines being male in Ireland. Dance can play a role in addressing what it means to be male by challenging the preconceptions and proposing alternatives.
In this time of mass communication and the globalisation of culture, I do not feel very Irish. In fact I do not know what being Irish means. Given our history and recent constitutional changes, is a clear-cut definition of national identity possible? On the one hand I am Dublin-born and bred, yet all my formative dance and life experiences were abroad. I implicitly understand, all too clearly, the cultural and social references inherent in this tiny island. Yet I do not have a strong connection to any of the traditional art forms. Nevertheless I choose to live here, and I am proud to live here because the potential for real inclusion and development is within our grasp.
If I had to place myself within any context it would be to suggest that I am closer in mentality and sensibility to a European dance theatre tradition. I am the sum of my past diverse experiences. As a dancer, I am part of a larger cultural environment - a community, dance being a universal language. This is a unique feature of dance. But like many art forms, dance is also culturally specific. It needs to be if it is to find its own place in the artistic fabric of this country. Contemporary dance in particular is a hybrid, born from many sources. This is its strength and its weakness.
As such, choreography can flavour and contribute to a rich, culturally diverse society. It has something valuable to teach us. It comes without baggage and with the potential to creatively engage us all. As a dance artist, my interest is to make sense of our unique position, history and traditions, while looking to the future.
Paul Johnson is choreographer-in-residence at the Project Arts Centre. Fine lines on shifting ground, a choreographer's notebook will be published in the New Year. Without Hope or Fear will premiere at the Project in the summer 2000
