Performer to Choreographer... It's Rob Heaslip



Rob Heaslip -photo by Marie Liden

Siamsa is a place of duality – it both preserves memories and creates them. The friendships that began for me in Siamsa are everlasting, and no amount of distance will ever change that.
My first memories of Siamsa are filled with the lawn at Finuge, the smokey fire, and the concrete floor. Needless to say, you upgraded with you came to the main building in Tralee. I had been brought by my grandmother who expected the Heaslip tradition of performers to be upheld!  

Rob on the left with fellow performer Leonard Casey in Siamsa Tíre's 2004 production "Tobar na Scéalta" - photo by Valerie O'Sullivan

 When I joined the company in 1997 the real memories started - my nerves at performing as a swan in Clann Lir in my very first season with the company. In my career to date, nothing has ever compared, and I doubt anything ever will! I remember trawling sets with Des, tea with Irene, choral rehearsals always trying to figure out what note I was supposed to be on, spending evenings learning steps, spending nights rubbing calf muscles, the Siamsa day out, the compulsory amusements on stage between the cast, the mistakes, the tours, the rehearsals, the costumes, the songs, the dancing – all for us to be ambassadors for our heritage. 
With the company I performed San Ám Fado, Oileán, Clann Lir, Samhain, Óisín, Sean agus Nua re-Evolution and Tobar na Scéalta.

Performing in MEITHEAL, which was made with the support of Dance Base, Edinburgh, Dance House, Glasgow and The Space, Dundee.  - photo Istvan Magyar


But there came a time when I needed to move on. I travelled to Scotland to complete my contemporary dance training, and to this date I am still based there, running my dance company and performing both internationally and internationally. I wouldn’t be here if Oliver Hurley (prev. Artistic Director) hadn’t seen something in me as a shy, quiet teenager, and believed in me. It was through the ranks of the performance company that I climbed, to eventually join the professional company. Many of these memories range from high to low – hard work mixed with rewarding research into Irish Culture, preserving the steps, the customs, the language, as well as suffering injury, pain, happy times as well as sad. The well-known Siamsa mass can be sung with both a light and heavy heart.
I know that Siamsa’s reach extends far and wide, with many talented performers across the world share their origins in Siamsa Tíre, and I am very proud to count myself amongst them – tis a grand auld Siamsa indeed. 


"Wunderbar" - image by Clare Keogh http://www.clarekeogh.ie/.


 Today Rob is the artistic director of max.IMEALLdance Company based in Edinburgh, Scotland.  For more information on his works check out his website http://www.robheaslip.com/ and Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rob-Heaslip-maxIMEALLdance-Company/

Biography:
Prior to beginning his contemporary training, Rob, as a professional Irish dancer, was a member of Siamsa Tíre, The National Folk Theatre of Ireland and earned a BA in Languages and Cultural Studies as well as an MA in Contemporary Performance from The Irish World Music Academy of Music and Dance at The University of Limerick, Ireland. He later completed 3 years of professional training at The Scottish School of Contemporary Dance and founded max.IMEALLdance in 2010.
The company is made up of artists with extensive and diverse backgrounds, with works performed in Dublin Dance Festival, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival (2010 & 2012), The Merchant City Festival Glasgow, Dance Live Aberdeen (2012 & 2013) and Resolution!2010 London. Throughout his career Rob has worked and toured both nationally and internationally with companies such as Irish Modern Dance Theatre, Marc Brew Company and David Hughes Dance Productions Ltd. He has also performed in works by Flesh Collective, Oliver Hurley, Mary Nunan, Michael Scott, Charles Lenihan, Vanessa Haska, Cindy Cummings, Kylie Walters, Tanja Liedtke and Ian Spink. Collaborations he has been involved with include Marie Lidén, Keren Rosenberg, Laura Murphy, Ailish Claffey and Irene Buckley. 
He was also selected to serve as an Assistant Choreographer for The Common Wealth Games Hand-Over Ceremony 2010 in Delhi, India and was a teacher on the Edinburgh Branch for Dance For People with Parkinsons during 2011 and 2012.
His performances and works can be seen throughout Ireland and Great Britain, and he is in constant search of fresh collaborations, as well as nurturing those already embraced. Heritage and cultural preservation are prominent themes in his process; owing to his time spent with Siamsa Tíre, The National Folk Theatre of Ireland. 
Rob acknowledges the kind support (past and present) of his work. Many thanks to Creative Scotland, Dance Ireland, Dance Base Edinburgh, Dance House Glasgow, Dance House Dublin, The Firkin Crane Cork and The Work Room Glasgow.