From February to March 2022, the international choreographer and dance artist, and previous National Dance Company of Wales Artistic Director, Fearghus Ó Conchúir joins us as the #PethauBychain curator.
Looking forward to his curatorship, he said “Though I don’t work in Wales at the moment, the connections I’ve made there have continued and developed since I left Cardiff in March 2020. It’s this idea of a Wales connected beyond its geographical borders that has been in my mind as I’ve thought about work to share on the Pethau Bychain platform. This idea of Wales in the world and the world in Wales is one of the most progressive elements of the Well-Being of Future Generations Act. It shows an understanding that local flourishing is interdependent with the flourishing of others elsewhere. I hope to share with you instances of artistic practice that models the value of bringing different perspectives together and of finding commonalities across apparent differences.
“I’m a choreographer so I’m going to share with you a lot of dancing. Dance is an art form that helps us understand ourselves individually and collectively. It shows us new ways of arranging ourselves and of being together. Recent research in neuroscience proposes that one of the reasons that dance is so important for human development is that it helps us coordinate different parts of the brain and body. And it helps us coordinate ourselves with other bodies, teaching us consciously and unconsciously how to be in relation. And even if I didn’t have neuroscience to back me up, I’d argue that dance is a necessary component of well-being.
“As someone born in Ireland, I’ll be using these months when we celebrate the patron saints of Ireland and Wales to highlight some of the artistic connections between the two countries. I was always struck by the the myths of the Fianna whose heroes would travel to Wales from Ireland for conversations and consultations. They traveled with the ease of someone driving up the motorway. The sea was a connection rather than boundary. It’s important that we are reminded that the borders and differences that seem to separate us are also the channels of our encounter.”
Fearghus Ó Conchúir is a choreographer and dance artist. Brought up in the Ring Gaeltacht in Ireland, he collaborates with experts from across and beyond the arts. He makes film and live performances that help audiences and artists to build communities together. His multi-platform work, The Casement Project, was one of the Arts Council of Ireland's National Projects for Ireland 2016, part of the Ireland 2016 International Programme and of the 14-18NOW WWI Centenary Art Commissions.
He’s currently co-leading a dance programme with Micro Rainbow International that he initiated as part of The Casement Project to support LGBT refugees and asylum seekers. From 2018-2020, he was Artistic Director of National Dance Company Wales. His work for the Company toured across Wales as well as being presented in Japan as part of Wales’ cultural programme for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. He was appointed to the Arts Council of Ireland in 2018 and became Deputy Chair in 2019. He is Chair of the UK Dance Network.
Visit Fearghus Ó Conchúir’s website
Pethau Bychain | Small Things: Doing the small things can make a difference in our communities across Wales, to our planet, and our own wellbeing. #PethauBychain is the campaign to amplify the wellbeing messages of Wales' cultural sector on a global stage.