Navy Blue

Mood Swings

Oona Doherty, the brilliant choreographer from Belfast, is shaking up the world of contemporary dance with her visceral honesty and her works haunted by Northern Ireland’s past—a legacy of violence, patriarchy, and religion. Navy Blue, her most ambitious piece to date, brings together a group of enigmatic dancers in blue work overalls – a monumental performance that is no less than a powerful antidote to the insignificance of the individual.

A dozen performers of different ages and body histories dance in splendid unison to Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 2. It’s the choreographer’s version of grand ballet, flamboyant and sublime—until it all comes crashing to a halt. Bodies crumple to the ground. If the whole world is feeling down, are we in free fall? Oona Doherty’s own voice conjures up a vision of a devastated landscape. But in the face of society’s unraveling, nothing makes more sense than the hypnotic grace of this furiously vital dance.

Read the poem that can be heard during the show

Produced by OD Works
Choreographed by Oona Doherty
Created with and performed by Arno Brys + Kevin Coquelard + Thibaut Eiferman + Amancio Gonzalez Miñon + Kinda Gozo + Hilde Ingeborg Sandvold + Zoé Lecorgne + Andréa Moufounda + Magdalena Öttl + Tomer Pistiner + Mathilde Roussin + Joseph Simon + Sati Veyrunes
Original Music Jamie xx © Universal Music Publishing Ltd.
Music production William Smith
Additional music Sergueï Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto n°2
Text Oona Doherty + Bush Moukarzel
Read the full text here
Set Design and Projections Nadir Bouassria
Lighting Design and Technical Director John Gunning
Costume Design Oona Doherty + Lisa Marie Barry
Management and production Gabrielle Veyssiere

Production and administration Jenny Suarez

Co-produced by Kampnagel International Summer Festival (Hamburg) + Sadler’s Wells (London) + Théâtre National de Chaillot (Paris) + La Biennale di Venezia + Maison de la Danse (Lyon) + Belfast International Arts Festival + The Shed (New York) + Big Pulse Dance Alliance (Dance Umbrella ( 

London) + Dublin Dance Festival + Torinodanza Festival (Turin) + Julidans (Amsterdam)) + MC2 : Grenoble — scène nationale

With the support of Centre national de la danse (Pantin) + Pavillon Noir (Aix en Provence) + KLAP, Maison pour la danse (Marseille) + Direction régionale des affaires culturelles d’Ile-de-France – Ministère de la culture

Touring with the support of Culture Ireland

Presented by La Presse with the support of Institut Français in association with Place des Arts

Premiered at Kampnagel International Summerfestival, Hamburg, on August 10, 2022

Written by Catherine Girardin
Translated by David Dalgleish