Dublin Dance Festival 2008
17th April - 3rd May 2008 in venues across Dublin
International Dance Festival Ireland
presents
Dublin Dance Festival 2008
17th April - 3rd May 2008 in venues across Dublin
Dublin Dance Festival 2008 bringing world-class dance to its audiences
International Dance Festival Ireland is delighted to confirm that they will be offering audiences at Dublin Dance Festival 2008 a spectacular range of work from around the globe, including several pieces from Ireland. The festival has been programmed by new Artistic Programme Director Laurie Uprichard to display contemporary dance as a vital art form that uses a range of approaches to explore current issues and both personal and global concerns. Some of the performances such as William Forsythe’s Three Atmospheric Studies will make a direct political statement while other performances will be seen and experienced as simply dance - a statement that there is a language of the body that can be read and understood on a different plane.
Three Atmospheric Studies at the Abbey Theatre will headline the festival. This performance draws its inspiration from a 16th century painting of the crucifixion and a recent photo from the war in the Middle East. It can be read through the prism of its commentary on the political, whether from a personal or macro point of view. William Forsythe has achieved critical acclaim as an American working internationally for over 30 years and is recognised as one of the world’s foremost choreographers. His choreographic thinking has engaged with and contributed to the most significant international artistic currents of our time, and together with his companies’ performances has won overwhelming audience acclaim and the most prestigious awards the field has to offer. He has also been chosen as Choreographer Of The Year several times by the international critics’ survey, and has an honorary doctorate from the Juilliard School in New York.
The festival will also act as a platform for Irish choreographers to bring their works to national and international audiences. These artists include choreographer Colin Dunne who will premiere a collaboration with sound designer Fionan De Barra that features live electronic manipulation of the rhythms created with his taps. Colin Dunne is probably best known for his live and video performances in Riverdance - The Show, and for his own critically acclaimed production of Dancing on Dangerous Ground, for which he co-produced, choreographed and starred in with Jean Butler. Colin is currently in the running for a Spotlight Award for his performances with Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre.
Another Irish choreographer, Jenny Roche, will present her festival-commissioned work comprising three solos by Rosemary Butcher, John Jasperse and Jodi Melnick. Jenny Roche became an Artist in Residence with IDFI in 2006, when the festival made a commitment to supporting her work, allied to her doctoral research, for a three year period. Jenny is an independent contemporary dancer and has worked with all major dance companies in Ireland, as well as working abroad with Janet Smith and Dancers, English National Opera (UK), Les Carnets Bagouet (France), Christina Gaigg (Austria) and De Vlaamse Opera (Belgium). Jenny co-founded Rex Levitates Dance Company and performed with the company at festivals in China, France, Cyprus and the UK. She has recently been appointed to the position of Dance Advisor to the Arts Council.
Laurie Uprichard, who left her post as Executive Director of the Danspace Project to take up this new role, and who has also been named a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture, has this to say of the forthcoming festival:
“The Dublin Dance Festival 2008 will give local, national, and international audiences the opportunity to see a great range of work from 11 countries, including several from Ireland. The artists’ work runs the full spectrum from abstract to narrative, from humorous to profound (sometimes within the same piece), from personal to political and back again. We anticipate these 16 days as a fantastic opportunity to make introductions and make new friends. We also hope to provide opportunities for everyone and anyone to get up and dance!”
The Festival is supported by The Arts Council, the Goethe-Institut Dublin, and by RTÉ.
Full details of the programme will be announced at a programme launch in March and information will be posted on the website http://www.dancefestivalireland.ie
For updates about the Festival, please email your name and postal address to us using the form below or call the festival on Tel: + 353 (0)1 679 0524 or send your details to: International Dance Festival Ireland, 26 South Frederick Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.
More Information: http://www.dancefestivalireland.ie
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