Becky Namgauds in residence

Dance artists Becky Namgauds and Bea C. Bidault will be in residence at Dance Limerick for two weeks starting April 17. They will be developing Namgauds’ new work Dog Women (working title).

With an original style which is raw, grounded and highly physical, Namgauds’ independent works are motivated by feminist and environmental themes. Taking inspiration from iconic artist Paula Rego‘s paintings which depict women as beasts, Dog Women aims to explore themes of longing, grief, desire and connection in a place free from the male gaze. Building on themes already explored in previous works Exhibit F and Like Honey, female and non-binary experiences will be explored in relation to domesticity and the barriers placed on their authentic, primal expressions.

How might we turn to the natural world to express our deepest longings and primal fantasies?

‘This show is from the gut
It’s all I’ve wanted to say but don’t know how
Women wait and anticipate
Nothing arrives
This is a rage
This is all I wish someone had told me, shown me”

Since creating her first professional choreographic work in 2013, Becky has created multiple small-scale solo work for outdoor and theatre audiences. In August 2021, she was awarded a residency at Sadler’s Wells, where she began developing the movement vocabulary of Dog Women. The Percolate residency will allow the space, support and time to further develop relationships between artistic collaborators and will act as a springboard to gain a bigger production value for the piece, with views to premiering the full-length work towards the end of 2023 / beginning of 2024.

Being in residence at Dance Limerick will provide an inspiring and creative space to focus on the work thematically and physically, allowing the new surroundings to inspire the creative process. Becky will be opening up her work to the wider artistic community in Limerick through professional classes and a sharing of her work in progress on Thurs 27 April at 4pm.

BECKY NAMGAUDS is a London-based dance artist and choreographer creating intense, powerful work that sits between dance, performance art and installation. She has danced with Marion Motin (FR), Company Decalage, Holly Blakey, Ragner Kjartansson; Eddie Peake, Brigel Gjoka (IT), and Jigsaw Collective among others. She has worked with brands such as Dior, Klyne, Margot Bowman X River Island and Hermès.

As a choreographer, she has collaborated with Hofesh Schecter for East Wall at the Tower of London. Her show Like Honey was part of the British Council Edinburgh showcase 2019, her outdoor work Rodadoras is still being performed internationally since premiering in 2018. Her solo Exhibit F premiered at Dance Umbrella 2019, London’s annual festival of dance. Becky has been commissioned to choreograph work for London Contemporary Dance School, Salford University and the Centre for Advanced Training in Birmingham. She has been a guest lecturer at London Contemporary Dance School since 2020 and she has been working with Scarabeus Aerial Theatre Company.