Michael Keegan-Dolan performs onstage in his latest production at Sadler’s Wells

Choreographer and Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Michael Keegan-Dolan comes to Sadler’s Wells East for the first time, alongside his company Teaċ Daṁsa, for the UK premiere of How to be a Dancer in Seventy-two Thousand Easy Lessons from Wednesday 17 September – Saturday 20 September.

How to be a Dancer in Seventy-two Thousand Easy Lessons is a dance theatre production, featuring spoken word, comedy and dance exploring nationality, identity, xenophobia, ancestor worship, shame, death, defiance, love and dance. Created in the COVID lockdown in 2020, the piece is written, choreographed and danced by Michael Keegan-Dolan, invoking stories from his own personal history as well as those of the world around him. How to be a Dancer in Seventy-two Thousand Easy Lessons is directed by life-time collaborators, dancer Rachel Poirier (who performs in the piece alongside Michael Keegan-Dolan) and lighting designer, Adam Silverman.

How to be a Dancer marks Michael Keegan- Dolan and Teaċ Daṁsa’s comeback following the acclaimed Nobodaddy (Tríd an bpoll gan bun),an inventive take on a William Blake poem created from the company’s home of Gaeltacht, in Ireland’s West Kerry, which visited Sadler’s Wells Theatre last November.

A co-production with the Gate Theatre and premiered at the 2022 Dublin Theatre Festival How to be a Dancer in Seventy-two Thousand Easy Lessons has become a worldwide success, with performances at The Galway International Arts Festival; St Ann’s Warehouse, New York; Théâtre de la Ville, Paris; The Everyman Theatre, Cork as part of the SFSH Festival; The Pavillion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire; the Cervantino Festival, Mexico; Teatros del Canal in Madrid; Féile na Bealtaine Arts Festival, Dingle and at Siamsa Tíre, Tralee, County Kerry. It was nominated for a Sky Arts Award in 2024.

Michael Keegan-Dolan said: ‘Getting back on stage, standing in front of people, with all the related pressure is what every middle-aged choreographer or director needs to do. The experience although challenging brings with it a renewed understanding of what it is to be a performer. How to be a Dancer… has made me a better director and choreographer and a better version of myself. Sharing a stage with Rachel Poirier has been a great privilege.’

Teaċ Daṁsa was established by Michael Keegan-Dolan in 2016 when his company, Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre, moved from the midlands of Ireland to the West Kerry Gaeltacht.

Teaċ Daṁsa makes dance and theatre work that nurtures deep and meaningful connections with the traditions, language and music of Ireland. Teaċ Daṁsa creates a place where artists can come together to make dance and theatre work that aspires to transform both artist and audience through the experience of the work. While grounded in Ireland, the company draws upon an international ensemble of performers, artists and collaborators and has created productions that have toured and resonated nationally and internationally.

How to be a Dancer in Seventy-two Thousand Easy Lessons tickets are on sale now from £15 at www.sadlerswells.com

Michael Keegan-Dolan, Photo credit Fiona Morgan