12th January 2020

Our Youth Engagement Projects joined forces in December for 2019’s Day of Dance. Held for the first time in Belfast’s magnificent City Hall, this celebration event saw young people from Ballymoney, Belfast and Dungannon take part in a series of energetic workshops and technical rehearsals, where they had fun and worked creatively together. The day culminated in a performance in front of an audience of very appreciative family and friends.

What People Are Saying About Day of Dance 2019

Photo Gallery

Thanks to Belfast City Council for providing the City Hall venue and a tour of the building for the families who came along.

The groups are supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Belfast Boys has received start-up funding through Belfast City Council – Sports Development and are supported in-kind by The Crescent Arts Centre; Sutemos & Suteminis receive funding from BBC Children in Need and are supported in-kind by Dungannon Youth Resource Centre; Alternative Energies and Alternatives are supported in-kind by Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council.

Northern Visions Video

Relive the Day of Dance with this video produced by Northern Visions (NvTv):

Seamus Heaney HomePlace in Bellaghy was the venue for the premiere of Through Our Eyes on 13th December 2019. Through Our Eyes is a short dance film featuring young carers from the Magherafelt area. It was produced in partnership with Barnardo’s NI and SlackPress, with project funding provided by BBC Children in Need.

Over eight thousand children in Northern Ireland have the role of providing significant care for a family member. The average age for a young carer is 12 years old. This dance and film project explored how some of those young people feel.

Well done to all of the incredible young people who took part in the project.

What People Are Saying About Through Our Eyes:

On 26th October 2019, as part of Belfast International Arts Festival (BIAF) members of our youth engagement projects got the opportunity to dance on the stage of Belfast’s Grand Opera House in a workshop with French art collective (LA) HORDE. The professional dancers running the workshop could not have been nicer or more supportive. Our young people loved the energetic jumpstyle work and, afterwards, they attended the wonderful evening performance – ‘To Da Bone’. They were dancing in the foyer, on the bus and in the streets going home.

Thanks to Richard Wakely (BIAF) and (LA) HORDE for providing this wonderful opportunity.

On 21st November 2019 Sutemos dancers hopped onto a bus from Dungannon to the Burnavon Theatre, Cookstown to perform at the Take 5 Health Gala. Their dance piece explored the impact social media has on young people’s mental health and it was very well received by an audience of 330 people from across the mid-Ulster area.

The gala, the first joint venture by the Northern and Southern Health and Social Care Trusts and Mid Ulster Council, illustrated the benefits of arts for health and wellbeing.

11th January 2020

The BBC is running an ‘IN Person’ event for young people aged 18-24 in BBC Northern Ireland on Thursday 13 February (12:15-17:00).

It will be an interesting and interactive afternoon which will help the BBC to understand the tastes and interests young people have, what they value from media and what more they would like from the BBC. All refreshments will be provided free of charge and participants will receive a personalised certificate and a £25 Love2Shop voucher to thank people for giving up their time.

The majority of the session will be focused on table discussions (with the help of a facilitator) and there will also be a creative task (about ideas for improvements to BBC content, products and services) which will include each table ‘pitching’ their ideas to the wider group (but no-one will be asked to present unless they want to).

If you are a young person aged 18-24 from Northern Ireland who is available on this date and would be happy to give your opinions, you can sign up here.

Places are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

The Crescent Arts Centre has a range of dance classes beginning in 2020. A wide variety of styles is on offer – including contemporary, Argentine tango, ballet and more.

Visit The Crescent’s website for the full list of classes.

7 February – 8 February 2020, The MAC, Belfast
12 February 2020, The Marketplace Theatre, Armagh

Boundaries and belonging are at the forefront of this Double Bill of dance commissioned and presented by Maiden Voyage Dance.

Brink
A new duet from choreographer Eileen McClory. Brink negotiates the fragile balance for survival when our future is entrusted to another. Brink is performed by Ryan O’Neill and Vasiliki Stasinaki with original music by Katie Richardson and lighting by Stephen Dodd.

The Here Trio
When all around is changing, all we have is now…

This is a new piece from acclaimed choreographer, Liz Roche, challenges preconceived ideas about site, history and the right to belong in a place. The Here Trio is performed by Ryan O’Neill, Sarah Cerneaux and Gloria Ros Abellana with lighting by Stephen Dodd, original music by drummer Bryan O’Connell and sound design and visuals by Luca Truffarelli. The Here Trio is co-produced in partnership with Liz Roche Company.

To find out more, visit Maiden Voyage Dance’s website here.

On 25th & 26th October 2019, Ireland’s first all-island dance conference took place at The Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast. This was an opportunity for the wider dance sector to get together, network and just simply catch up with all that is going on. The conference featured some interesting seminars, workshops and performances and our artistic director, Mags Byrne, was part of the closing roundtable.

We look forward to hearing the developments and legacy of this important event. Well done to all involved.

Hot off the press… there is an exciting follow-up event planned for October 2020 to further explore some of the themes raised at the conference with another all-island conference planned for 2021. Look forward to it!

To read more about the conference click here.

23rd September 2019

Sutemos and Suteminis teamed up to deliver an energetic performance as part of Mid Ulster Culture Night on Friday 20th September.

The pop-up performance took place at sunset outside Ranfurly House Arts & Visitor Centre in Dungannon and followed on from two multicultural dance workshops earlier in the day.

Our short dance film ‘Relocate’ has been screened as part of the Community Relations Council Good Relations Week – “People Making Change for Peace” 2019.

The first screening took place on Wednesday 18th September at Dungannon Youth Resource Centre followed by two screenings for a combined audience of 90 pupils and staff of St Patrick’s College, Dungannon – with the film’s exploration of migration and settlement resonating with the viewers.