Space-age ballet takes Belfast audiences on a journey of self-discovery

Music, dance and video collide in this space-age dance journey of reflection and resilience in Six Dance Collective’s latest work The View From Mars.

The one-act dance piece follows a lone space traveller cast adrift from earth navigating a void of memories, regrets, and nostalgia.

In a highly physical and demanding performance, dancer Dominic Harrison (Ballet Ireland, Northern Ballet, Scottish Ballet, English National Ballet) performs new choreography by Six Dance Collective artistic director Ruaidhrí Maguire.

The immersive performance is also brought to life by space-age visuals by artist Conan McIvor and live music by composer Amelia Clarkson.

Donaghadee-born Clarkson primarily creates music for concert hall and dance and describes her music as “a juxtaposition of folk influences with contemporary sounds”.

It was whilst studying music at Cardiff University she fell in love with composing. “I obviously grew up knowing there are living composers in the film world, but the idea of having a career composing music for dance and stage never came to me until university,” says the 29-year-old.

A Masters of Music in Composition at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance followed. Her notable works include Ephemera for the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company which had a 2023 national tour of the Netherlands.

Last month she had new work premiere with Ireland’s National Symphony Orchestra and recorded a new commission with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra for BBC Sounds.

It was after working with Maguire in 2019 on Dear Frances, her one act ballet for chamber orchestra which explored issues of mental health, abuse and consent, that she particularly fell in love with composing for ballet.

“It wasn’t really what I was expecting when I started writing music, but it’s become my niche and is definitely the most rewarding.

“The fluidity of movement takes a very different approach to compose for. Even thinking about a dancer’s breath and the physicality required to move across the space, impacts the shape and the structure of the music.

“Compared to concert music, the visual element of dance translates the music into an encompassing performing and I like contributing to that singular experience,” she explains.

In 2023 Clarkson and Moneymore-born Maguire co-founded Six Dance Collective, with their inaugural show, White Doves, bringing 28 young dancers together for Belfast’s first newly created ballet.

The company is dedicated to expanding the boundaries of ballet as a bold, adventurous art form, offering audiences a unique experience which is of contemporary relevance.

Produced in association with Ballet Ireland, the pair are excited to bring the world premiere of their second production, The View From Mars, to Belfast’s Lyric theatre - marking the long-awaited return of dance to the theatre after eight years.

“Bringing local dance back to the Lyric feels monumental,” says Six Dance Collective artistic director Maguire The View from Mars explores what it means to feel cast adrift yet still search for purpose.

“With new choreography, music, and visuals created here in Belfast, we’re excited to push the boundaries of what dance can communicate and share something fresh with our local audiences.”

Hailing from Mid-Ulster, Conan McIvor is is an award-winning artist, who tells stories across and in-between cinema, theatre, and visual art.

Thinking about a dancer’s breath and the physicality required to move across the space, impacts the shape and the structure of the music

—  Amelia Clarkson

Clarkson finds cross-discipline collaboration with other artists hugely motivational to her creative practice.

“I think you’re always learning, especially with collaboration. I think every collaborative thing I do with someone is incredibly messy. Not in a bad way, just a lot of files and sketches going back and forth.”

“It’s very much a team of three on this one creatively. The form is dance, the visuals are a real part of this immersive experience and just as important as the music and the dance,” says Clarkson, encouraging those who have never attended a ballet before to give this contemporary new form a go.

“The themes and how you experience it is very different. It’s for everyone,” she enthuses.

An abstract work, The View from Mars uses a solo male dancer and a solo cellist, featuring the live music of celloist David McCann to explore themes of mental health, masculinity and memory.

“The cello is such a great instrument. It’s so versatile, yet quite a dominant instrument which is going an to be combined with some electronic elements and sound design,” teases Clarkson.

The View from Mars runs from February 20–22 in the Naughton Studio at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast. Suitable for 14+ Tickets from Lyrictheatre.co.uk