I met Michael Keegan-Dolan in 2012. Thanks to an Individual Artist Career Development grant from Creative Australia (then The Australia Council), in 2019 I devoted my artistic energy to his international project MÁM.

• Mám 1 : Mountain pass. 
• Mám 2 : Yoke. Faoi mhám an pheaca, under the yoke of sin. 2. Lit: Obligation, duty, function. 
• Mám 3 : Handful. ~ mhilseán, of sweets. Scaipeann sé ina mhámanna é, he throws it away in handfuls.

"Bringing together the virtuoso, Irish traditional concertina player Cormac Begley, the European classical, contemporary collective, s t a r g a z e and twelve international dancers from the Teaċ Daṁsa company, MÁM is a meeting place between soloist and ensemble, classical and traditional, the local and universal. Following the success of his acclaimed re-imagining of the world-famous ballet, Swan Lake/Loch na hEala (2016) Michael Keegan-Dolan and Teaċ Daṁsa have created another mythic yet timely production that acknowledges how life’s polarities can on occasion come together and find resolution."

I spent 6 weeks in Aotearoa and 10 weeks in Ireland deeply engaged in the creation and premiere of Keegan-Dolan’s masterpiece. I was a collaborative dance artist in the early devising process, an understudy and a contributor to choreographic / community dialogue. I wrote poetry and supported cast and child performers as needed. An essential part of the project was staying at the Tapu Te Ranga Marae with Maori elders, ancestors and wisdom. Tanemahuta Grey of Tāwhiri provided potent insight and leadership. I spent long hours wandering the wild landscapes of Breaker Bay, Aotearoa (New Zealand) and An Daingean (Dingle) in West Kerry, Ireland.

Dancing on these two powerful lands with Teać Damsa was life changing.