Helen is a multidisciplinary artist based in Co. Offaly, with a passion for creating innovative, dynamic and high-octane performance.
She is greatly influenced and inspired by dynamic, ensemble theatre, and the cross section between dance and circus. Helen is deeply interested in how these disciplines can co-exist, support and transform storytelling within movement based performance.
She has a great love for fusing live multidisciplinary performance with elements of both pre-recorded media and interactive technology, including use of biosonification.
Originally trained in Drama, Physical Theatre and Dance, Helen is now penetrating the world of street and circus, and is grateful to Arts Council Ireland who has funded her time to upskill in aerial straps, and to Dance Ireland and Dublin Circus Project who have awarded her an ‘Ignition 2022’ residency to upskill in cyr wheel.
Helen is one half of the multidisciplinary circus duo ‘House of Freedom’.
House of Freedom is a ground based, multidisciplinary-circus duo (Safire Hikari and Helen Keenan), who invite their audience to come home to themselves, to come as they are and to share moments of freedom together.
Through multidisciplinary storytelling, drawing on cyr wheel, dance, text and interactive technologies, House of Freedom holds space for shared human experience, stripped of constriction and social norms, suspending judgment, and welcoming all.
Their practice is strongly influenced by themes of freedom, play, nature and belonging.