Contemporary dancer Lucia Kickham: “I have to move or else I can’t think properly.”

The acclaimed dancer is making her return to Wexford in June.

Lucia Kickham is on a much needed break when I give her a call. The acclaimed dancer is in rehearsals all day for her upcoming show, The Here Trio with the Liz Roche Company, and I've managed to nab her at lunchtime to gain an insight into the world of contemporary dance, a scene in Ireland, that, she tells me, is growing. Wexford-born Lucia grew up attending all sorts of dance classes in Ireland - ballet, disco, Latin American - and she had her first introduction to contemporary dance when she was around 11 or 12. The practice wasn't something that she considered to be a professional possibility until she joined the dance society of UCC. Afterwards, she pursued dance more fully under the direction of Joanna Banks at the College of Dance in Dublin. Once she graduated, she studied further at a dance college in the Netherlands, and she has been dancing professionally ever since. [caption id="attachment_556702" align="alignnone" width="2048"] Photo by Steve O'Connor[/caption] For Lucia, what drew her to contemporary dance was its range of possibilities, and what it can communicate. "Contemporary dance is such a huge umbrella term, it's really broad," she tells Her. "It depends on who I'm working with as to what type of movement I'll be doing. Depending on who I'm working with, or what other dancers are in the room, different types of movement languages will arise. For me, it is like a language. It's how you communicate." She continues: "I have to move or else I can't think properly. I'd notice if I haven't been moving for a few days." Dance is also, primarily, a source of joy for Lucia. "I didn't start dancing thinking that I could be a professional in it," she says. "I think it was the joy of movement, and its potential, its possibilities." [caption id="attachment_556703" align="alignnone" width="973"] Photo by Luca Trufarelli[/caption] Lucia is anticipating performing The Here Trio, a piece that will see her dance alongside two other dancers at the Wexford Opera House. "It's a really exciting piece," she says. "It looks at borders and how we impact space by being in it, and the borders of ourselves and the borders of the next person. It examines what it means to take up space." With the contemporary dance scene becoming an emerging space for Irish artists, Lucia encourages aspiring dancers to stay open-minded throughout their training. "Don't pigeon-hole yourself," she advises. "You never know when (various dance skills) will come in handy. You never know when that thing you did five years ago will be useful." The Here Trio comes to the Wexford Opera House on 10 June 2022. Feature image by Irene Occhiato.