The dancing twins with a French twist
How the Kennedys lit up the Irish College in Paris
Saturday December 05 2009
The most entertaining performance I've seen in a long time came from a pair of Irish twins -- but I'm not talking about Jedward. Sisters Jessica and Megan Kennedy, two very talented dancers who co-founded dance group Junk Ensemble in 2004, directed and performed a dance theatre piece titled Drinking Dust at the Irish College in Paris.
I was last in the City of Light for the opening of the college (or, to give it its official title, the Centre Culturel Irlandais) in October of 2002. Now I was eager to see how this hidden jewel of the 5th Arrondissement of Paris had been getting on in my absence. I climbed the steps out of the stuffy Metro station. To my left were the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens, and around the corner the impressive Pantheon. A little further up this street, I saw the familiar sign for the Rue des Irlandais.
I looked down this quiet little street, and there was the Tricolour flying above the door of the Irish College. Inside its beautiful old courtyard are the names of the counties of Ireland.
The Irish College has quite a fascinating history. It began life as an academic and ecclesiastical institution that welcomed Irish seminaries training for the priesthood who could not pursue their vocation in Ireland due to the spread of Protestantism and the subsequent persecution of Catholics. It also accepted secular students. Founded in 1578 by the Reverend John Lee, it was both a place of residence and a place of study since classes were taught there. Threatened with closure several times, particularly during the French Revolution, the Irish College in Paris survived and was the last active Irish college in France. The college closed for renovations in the 1990s and re-opened as the Centre Culturel Irlandais in 2002.
So how is life in the college in 2009? I met with Sheila Pratschke who has settled into her job as director of the Irish College since taking over from her predecessor Helen Carey in 2007.
Sheila's primary role as director is to create the cultural programme for the college, to bring Irish performers and artists to the city and to make them known to the French public. For the director of the college this means looking mainly at contemporary Ireland, although traditional music concerts are always popular.
There is a constant flow of Irish cultural events on display for Parisians and Irish ex-pats, 52 weeks a year. Highlights this year have included 80th birthday celebrations for Brian Friel, during which extracts from six of his plays were performed, and a literary festival which honoured the poet John Montague.
Sheila Pratschke feels strongly about the promotion of Irish arts in Paris. "I think it is critical," says Sheila. "There are things for which Ireland is really well known, and people are very affectionate about Ireland, but it is a little bit misty -- it tends to verge on the traditional, traditional music and the very well known writers.
"I think it is a real challenge which I hope we are rising to -- to bring contemporary dance, contemporary music as well as performers and theatre here. So to bring all these things to Paris and to get a French audience is the big job for me in the coming years."
The Irish College, with the valuable support of Culture Ireland, plays an important role in sustaining the international reputation currently enjoyed by Irish artists. Culture Ireland has been under threat of late, though, and Sheila feels that it would be disastrous if this organisation ceased to exist.
"First of all, it would give such a negative message," says Sheila, "that the Irish Government is not serious about promoting Irish arts abroad. Audiences are growing and the professionalism of all the performers is growing. The more international exposure you get, the more you raise your act to meet the expectations of various audiences."
This is a view shared by the aforementioned twins who performed in the college on the night I was there. Megan and Jessica Kennedy brought their dance piece Drinking Dust to Paris after winning the Culture Ireland Touring Award 2008. The production has already travelled to Ireland, Scotland and Poland. It is a wonderful example of an independent Irish production that has taken the spirit of Culture Ireland to heart and worked hard to make its statement on the international stage.
After the show, I asked the performers if they felt a slight weight of responsibility as contemporary dancers representing Ireland? "We try to make it work for an international audience; we don't think of a pure Irish audience when we make it," says Jessica. "We think of work that will tour. The level and bar shouldn't stop in any particular country, it should be accessible and it should reach out to all audiences."
The Irish College is more than just a cultural centre; it's like a small hotel. It houses 45 bedrooms, two libraries, a chapel, an exhibition space, and numerous meeting rooms and classrooms. The old library in the college is a must-see for any visitor. It contains works from the 15th-19th century -- largely a collection of works of philosophy, theology, and history. There are also Bibles, the first known edition of an Irish/English dictionary, and a small collection of music. The library also has three large and very beautiful illuminated books which are comparable to the beauty of the Book of Kells. A big conservation project has been undertaken and there is another year's work still to do.
The other side of being director of the college is looking after the buildings and the residents -- who are a mixture of students, artists-in-residence and people just passing through. Artists-in-residence have been appointed on an annual basis since the Irish College re-opened. Residency gives the recipient the chance to spend time in Paris and engage with one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world.
Artists-in-residence arriving in 2010 for a three-month stay in the college include writer and director Conall Morrison, Cork poet Leanne O'Sullivan, artist Sean Lynch and composer Irene Buckley. For a residency between September 2010 and July 2011, applications are now being accepted and the deadline is January 29 2010. Would you be tempted? Either way, if you are in Paris, the doors of the Centre Culturel Irlandais are open every afternoon. More often than not, they will have an exhibition in the gallery space or an Irish film will be screened.
The arts in Ireland remain something to be proud of and something at which we continue to thrive. In these harsh economic times, we need to support our artists both at home and abroad. "The arts cement our reputation abroad," stated the National Campaign for the Arts recently. The Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris is certainly helping the cause and giving a French audience a taste of what we do best.
Aedin Gormley presents Arts News Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 18.05; and Movies and Musicals, Monday and Friday at 19.00; on RTE Lyric FM Aedin travelled to Paris courtesy of CityJet
Irish Independent
