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Please accept this friendly reminder that you are cordially invited to Quorum's second event of 2024 on Wednesday 21 February, online and in person. We will be joined by Dr. Aoife Monks, who will present a paper titled: Virtuosity is Ordinary – and Interesting.

Abstract:

This paper explores the fantasy of the virtuoso performer through the figure of Irish dancer Michael Flatley. Virtuosity is a category of performance that emerged in the eighteenth century and centres on the fantasy of the exceptional performer who is lauded for their technical mastery – and is often imagined to be capable of transcending human capability onstage. However, while Flatley is an often-mocked and simultaneously undisputed virtuoso, his performances have spawned multiple copies, parodies, and a worldwide increase in the uptake of amateur Irish dance practice. This paper explores why and how virtuosity might generate imitation, impersonation and mimicry in such profusion. I ask: if virtuosity makes the always contested claim to originality, why does it seem to be such a fertile ground for copying? Borrowing from Raymond Williams, how might the category of the ordinary – itself a disputed and unstable concept – illuminate the edges and underpinnings of virtuosity? And what does it mean when virtuosity makes audiences skilful? Finally, I will investigate the critical stakes in studying a virtuoso like Flatley, asking what it means to describe his work as ‘interesting’.

Speaker Bio:

Dr Aoife Monks is Director of the Queen Mary Centre for Arts, Culture and Creative Collaboration and Reader in Theatre and Performance Studies in the Department of Drama. She is the author of two books on costume – one co-authored with the costume designer Ali Maclaurin – and was the curator of the exhibition ‘Costume at the National Theatre’ in 2019.

This hybrid event takes place in person at Queen Mary University of London's Arts One Building in Mile End, room RR2, and simultaneously online. For those attending online, we will send you a Zoom link on the day of the event. For those joining in person, you are welcome in ArtsOne from 17:30.

The talk begins promptly at 18:00 and wraps up around 19:00 when in-person attendees are cordially invited to stay and chat over drinks and nibbles.

To join us, please book a free ticket at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/quorum-aoife-monks-tickets-807641376097

Find Quorum’s full list of upcoming events at: https://quorumqmul.wordpress.com

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