Our good friends at Mother has released a powerful new video, We Will Dance Again, and describe it as their “love letter to the dance floor”. The video has been made in collaboration with Irish videographer Joe McGovern & Irish electronic powerhouse, Daithí. Actor Shaun Dunne provided his dulcet tones for the voice over and the words themselves were penned by our sequinned sister and Mother co-founder, Cormac Cashman.

The Mother crew explain that We Will Dance Again is “an ode to our nighttime culture, to queer spaces and to the artistry and creativity of all of the talented professionals that make club nights, live experiences and gigs happen. It’s a promise that we’ll be together again and an acknowledgement of all that we miss about not seeing our communities.”

“That’s what we miss most during these strange, solitary times and it’s what keeps us focused on getting things back to the way they were when it’s safe to do so. We wanted this video to be a virtual hug to our extended clubbing family, and to everyone really.”

I think it’s fair to say that Mother has been a firm favourite queer space for the LGBTQ+ community since its inception in 2010, a vibrant and part of the rich fabric of our capital’s night-time culture. For the past decade, Mother has been a key source of fundraising for GCN and those vital funds have allowed us to weather many storms across that time.

The Mother team launched a range of new merch raising funds for GCN in November. One of the new designs is a t-shirt and jumper with the quintessential Mother triangle and the hopeful words “We Will Dance Again”. That message kept resonating with Cashman and so when Joe McGovern approached him with the footage, he was inspired to pen the piece as a homage to night culture.  

 

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Mother co-founder and author of the piece, Cormac Cashman explained:

“There is something magic about people being together on a dance floor. It unites us. Club culture is about a shared experience with like-minded people through music, dance and a shared sense of community.

“I wanted to write a love letter to the dance floor. This piece was a shout out to everyone on stage, everyone behind the scenes and for those who miss having a dance together.  It’s for everyone, whatever your dance floor is. It’s about hope and reassurance. We will be together again in a meaningful way and we will dance again.”

Joe Mc Govern is a videographer who started his career filming Dublin nightlife at Mother and other clubs in the city. He explains that he “had a collection of shots from Mother, beautiful moments of people being free on the dance floor, being happy, being together. Moments captured back in that different world we used to inhabit on a Saturday night. When we put Cormac’s words and Daithi’s soundtrack over the video, it turned into what feels like an anthem for hope. We will dance again and I can’t wait to be there to capture every moment.”

Queer favourite Daithí shares how he got involved:

When I read Cormacs piece I could hear the music in my head immediately, it was all I could do to compose it as fast as possible and send it to him. Since then, it’s been a mantra I’ve kept in my head: We will dance again.” 

“Mother is a perfect example of the thing I’ve missed most this year, the sheer power of an amazing party, the connection that is felt between people dancing in a club.”

The inimitable Phillip McMahon,  Director of THISISPOPBABY, said of the piece:

 “With this film the Mother family gift us a heady mix of art, spoken word and dance music, calling us back to the dance floor, giving us a glimpse of nights out new, reminding us that we make our families and build our communities on the sacred tiles of Ireland’s nightclubs. Those magic spaces where everything is possible. At THISISPOPBABY, we’re ready to answer Mother’s call. We can’t wait to dance again.” 

Andrea Horan, co-host of United Ireland and fellow event promoter (No More Hotels) had this to say:

“We’ve all been yearning for the dancefloor this year. And hard as that loss is, what makes it harder is when that loss is dismissed as frivolous and simply hedonistic. But clubbing is culture, a culture that we need to protect and nurture because of the community, the connection, the sense of belonging, the release and the respite that culture provides. 

Clubbing helps people survive and thrive and has been the catalyst for some of fashion, art, theatre and music’s most iconic moments. We Will Dance Again because we HAVE to dance again.”

Watch We Will Dance Again online now.

The We Will Dance Again merch is on sale now and is available by clicking here.