Kick off October with 'Ham Sandwiches and Discipline' in Longford Backstage

Nóra Ní Anluain Fay is bringing her dance production “Ham Sandwiches and Discipline” to Longford Backstage Theatre on Friday, October 3 at 8pm. From Dublin, and being in the NAF Dance company, Nóra’s connection to Longford is strong as it gave her a new perspective on what dance could be.

She attended Shawbrook Dance Summer School in Longford when she was thirteen, and it was then where she became “mesmerised and overwhelmed” over the national attendance and interest in dance with girls of her age.

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“It was a nice bubble that everyone knew. We had a first day of classes and in the evening, you do choreography workshops,” she said. “This was my first time with contemporary. I was so excited in that moment by it, why or why it was, but there was a shift there. I knew this was something I would like to pursue further.”

Nóra would then attend Fontys University in the Netherlands with the encouragement of Mariam Ribon, who is the owner of Dublin Youth Dance company. Enjoying how it was both dance and choreography that she studied, Nóra explored how to bridge the gap between them, which would lead to the likes of “Ham Sandwiches and Discipline” coming to fruition.

The concept of this production stemmed from her second-to-third year in college, upon seeing a GAA game.

“Watching Pat Spillane, the iconic Kerry footballer, moving his hands when talking looked like a movement language. I jokingly said to my parents that I’d make a piece. My mother said that it should be the first piece I make after college. After my graduation two years ago, I went to Uillinn Arts Centre Skibbereen and Galway Dance and researched what is the physical language of the GAA as well.”

The theme of the piece is Irishness. Nóra acknowledged how the GAA is at the core of many experiences: a first disco, a first sports hall. She called it “intrinsically Irish” and that it is through a “cheeky lens.”

The first showings were in February 2024, with Scene and Heard Festival, and the reaction was “great.” It was then taken to Paris, in the Centre Culturel Irlandais. It then went to the Galway Theatre Festival and the Mermaid Arts Centre.

“Then we brought it to Dublin Fringe, and it got nominated for three awards there. We had a summer tour around west Cork as part of the Fit-Up Festival before heading to the national tour in the autumn.”

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With it being a national tour with full control over production, Nóra says that it is a big shift. Nevertheless, she is excited to be back in Longford to showcase the work. “I was in Longford in June for Shawbrook for a new piece. It was so lovely being back in that same environment. Coming back with my own work feels like a full circle. Knowing that the tour coming there is a stepping stone for a work that I’m so proud of. It makes people really proud that it’s all connected. I love a full circle moment.”