Kiera Martin – MAP dance company- Between the Lines  

written by Hannah Mulligan

Kiera Martin’s ‘Between the Lines’ is a beautiful and poignant contemporary piece about individuality, community and togetherness. Reflected in all elements of the production down to the costumes: the dancers are adorned in calf length handmade skirts made by Rosalind Noctor, each in different patterns illustrating the individuality of the dancer. Yet they are all unified by the style and colour scheme. Martin’s choreography uses spoken word and verbatim to convey each dancer’s sense of belonging and how they feel they fit in community. The piece starts with a monologue spoken in a soft Liverpudlian voice by one of the dancers as he walks across the stage, supported on top of the rest of the ensemble, that sets the mood and tone for the entire piece: “Can we know each other’s journeys? Where are we now, where we have been, where we are going? We know not what we cannot see or are always told, in-between the lines a story untold”. We as an audience are taken on a heartwarming journey of self-discovery and exploration through Martin’s unique ability to connect an audience and its dancers. Martin also uses lots of percussion through movement, with dancers creating rhythms with their feet, as a collective whilst individuals break free from the group and explore individualism and using the spoken word mentioned earlier: ‘I have two parents, that itself is a privilege’, ‘I am Romanian, and I’m also gay’. The piece switches its pace towards the end and embraces a traditional Irish Ceilidh style dance, where dancers travel across the stage in duets, creating physically challenging and impressive lifts and partner works. Dancers radiate energy, happiness and joy towards both the audience and each other as the performance shifts into full scale celebrations, aided by the upbeat Irish music.