20th February 2023

We are excited to announce the first of our community dance training events will take place on 14th & 15th April 2023 with no other than the Gary Clarke Dance Company! Join Artistic Director Gary Clarke himself and GCC dancer Shelley Eva Haden as they share their toolkit for working within communities.

Gary Clarke has developed a wealth of choreographic experience in creating site-specific works (in pubs, clubs, graveyards and galleries) as well as full-length productions for stage.  He is currently regarded as one of the UK’s leading independent dance artists who has received great appreciation for his work as a Choreographer, Director, Performer, Mentor, Teacher and Facilitator.

These events form the start of an on-going relationship with the Yorkshire-based project highly renown for producing contemporary dance theatre that comments on both popular and political culture.

The workshops are aimed at Northern Ireland based community dance artists looking to enhance their practice in sharing skills in a community context.  It will be a great opportunity to network too.

They will take place in The Factory at the MAC Belfast at 10am-4pm on 14th April and 10am-2pm on 15th April

If you are working with community groups using dance and are interested in attending please get in touch with sheena@dudanceni.com.

Gary Clarke

16th February 2023

Last year, we shared news of the Young Carers Information Pack called ‘They Care. Do you?’ developed with Barnardo’s NI and sent to every school in Northern Ireland.

The pack was been created as a practical and straight-talking resource for teachers and included a USB stick with the six short dance films giving both voice and emotional expression to Young Carers.

In response to receiving the packs a number of schools have been in contact with DU Dance (NI).  So next month we are delighted that Mags and Sheena will be working with five primary schools to deliver the last stage of our Young Carers Project.   In these workshops Mags and Sheena will use dance to explore the issues of Young Carers with the aim of raising awareness and understanding of what is like to be a Young Carer.

The schools they will visit in March are:

St Caolans P.S, Ballynahinch
Parkhill P.S, Antrim
Ballymacccricket, Glenavy
Victoria College, Belfast
Ballyoran P.S, Portadown

Have a look at the pack here and keep an eye on our social media this Young Carers Day (15 March) to see how the young people in the schools respond to the workshops.

We are looking for backstage volunteers to help run Unanimous, our annual youth dance performance showcase with groups from across Ireland.

Join us for the day on Sunday 16th April at The MAC, Belfast and gain event experience, see the show, get a t-shirt. Refreshments will be provided.

To have a chat about this opportunity, please contact Louise on +44 (0)28 9023 0877 or email info@dudanceni.com!

8th February 2023

Following on from the success of last year’s Creative Schools project with Blessed Trinity in North Belfast, Sheena and Sean are delighted to be back with a new group of Year 9s. This time the project called “Dancing Together” is an intergenerational project working with Newington Day Centre. After 3 weeks of separate workshops the groups have come together to create a short dance film with film artist Graham from Bounce Culture. There has been lots of sharing about the role of dance for both generations, memories the dance halls of Belfast and life as a teen now and in the past.

The Creative Schools project is delivered by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Urban Villages and Education Authority.

After delivering a really groundbreaking dance film project with women in West Belfast last November and December, we are delighted to have received funding from Community Relations Council Cultural Diversity Fund to continue this work.

Every Thursday women living in West Belfast come together to dance, create, share and celebrate.  The women come from a diverse range of backgrounds including local women, and women from places such as Iraq, Syria, West Bank, Gaza, Pakistan and Egypt.

On Thursday 9th March, in celebration of International Women’s Day, DU Dance (NI) and Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich invite women across Belfast to watch the first public sharing of the new women’s film “Ode to Gaia”, followed by an opportunity to dance, chat over a coffee and enjoy delicious homemade Arabic food.  This event is part of Féile an Earraigh.  It will take place 12:30pm – 1:30pm and is free to attend.

If you would like to join us, please get in touch with sheena@dudanceni.com  by Friday 3rd March at 5pm.  As the women come from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds, the event is for strictly for women only.

This project meets at, and is run in partnership with, Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich.

Please RSVP to sheena@dudanceni.com

On Holocaust Memorial Day 2023, the short dance-theatre film ‘Little Stranger’ screened at the Dungannon Youth Resource Centre. Focused on unaccompanied refugee children fleeing war, persecution, famine, violence and seeking safety in countries far from their homelands, the film – co-produced by Tinderbox Theatre Company and Powerstone Entertainment – featured our Sutemos youth dance group from Dungannon.

After the screening of the film, 30 young people from our the Sutemos group and DYRC well-being group actively participated in explorative discussions around the issues raised in the film.  It was really insightful to hear from these young people whose families come from a range of countries.  Thank you to Sean Henry, Good Relations Officer at Mid Ulster District Council for joining us.

Last month, Samridhi Saini, a postgraduate student at Queen’s University, joined us for her course placement whilst she pursues the MA in Arts Management.  Coming from both a marketing and dance background, Samridhi is keen to learn about marketing in the arts and creative industries and is looking forward to the chance to observe our current programme of work.

Samridhi has already shared several new perspectives and says ‘Dance is like water, let it flow from within you’.  The team are excited to work with Samridhi and share the nuances of marketing in the arts sector!

19th January 2023

We are delighted to announce DU Dance (NI) have been awarded funding through the Cultural Bridge programme for 2023 – 2024 to continue to develop the Ode to Earth project!

The aim of the Cultural Bridge programme is to act as a platform of artistic exchange, enabling others to discuss social issues, strengthen the exchange between the UK and Germany and foster collaboration and cultural democracy.

With Beyond Skin and VILLA Leipzig (Germany) we are now in a position develop phase 2 of the Ode to Earth project which allows for cultural engagement on multiple levels, including engagement with young people from another country, travel and new cultural experiences, as well as interaction with music, dance, theatre and civic engagement as cultural mediums. The result is that young people will build a global network, feel more connected to the global community and other countries, and experience art as a medium for creative and cultural political expression and activism.

Thank you to the Arts Council of Northern Ireland for their continued support of this important initiative.

For more information: CLICK HERE

Young people from Beyond Skin, DU Dance and VILLA Leipzig in County Antrim, Summer 2022

10th January 2023