22nd September 2022

In July, nine young people and two leaders representing DU Dance (NI) and Beyond Skin on the exchange project #CulturalBridge, took part in a return visit to Germany.  Great connections had been forged with de VILLA, Leipzig, during their visit to Northern Ireland in April and everybody was looking forward to working together again.

The group flew into Berlin and travelled on by train to Leipzig where they were met by the de VILLA group. After catching up, the young people worked in the studio creating dance and music sequences and generating ideas for the environmental campaign they were collaborating on. The next four days were full of city tours and beautiful mountain walks which created backdrops and inspiration for the campaign film’s visual and audio content.

For most of the young people from DU Dance this was their first time in Germany and for several their first experience of travelling abroad. It gave the young people the opportunity to see, smell, taste and feel the cultural similarities and differences – and this had a very positive impact on both the creative and personal development of everyone involved. “We have new friends now and it feels like we’ve known each other a long time,” said one participant.

For DU Dance working with Beyond Skin and de VILLA has been organisationally very rewarding. Mags Byrne, Artistic Director, explains, “Although we all work slightly differently and with different forms of creative expression, I found our working ethos to be very similar. Both partner organisations were flexible, committed to the development of the young people and the exchange programme, and willing to put in the extra time and work necessary to ensure everything ran smoothly and the experience was positive for all. We are now actively seeking opportunities to work together again and developing future plans.”

The young people are now busy working remotely on editing the film which will explore how environment effects our culture. Once completed it will be released widely as a social media campaign. Watch this space!

20th September 2022

We are excited to welcome back our Suteminis and Sutemos classes in Dungannon tomorrow, Wednesday 21 September, during Good Relations Week 2022.

Involving young people from many different countries and cultural backgrounds in intercultural dance work, this programme of work has successfully used dance to provide a safe environment to build connections and celebrate differences for the past seven years.

New members are always welcome. Visit this page for more information on the classes or to book a place.

#GRW22

The summer term ended with many fun opportunities for participants on our Youth Engagement Projects to perform and celebrate.

Sutemos and Suteminis invited their families to the Hill of The O’Neill and Ranfurly House in Dungannon for a very special Dance Picnic. As well as showcasing some of their favourite dance pieces, the young people enjoyed pizza and cake, games, art and even got their families up for a dance.

Also in June, Belfast Boys popped up at the Belfast Book Festival. In the sunshine outside the Crescent Arts Centre, the boys gave visitors a warm welcome to the festival venue with energetic performances, street dance and carnival props.

Earlier that month the Belfast Boys performed in the Atrium of the Ulster Museum using the iconic willow dragons as inspiration for an explosive battle between Viking clans.  The senior group also devised wonderfully poignant, short solos in response to paintings they chose from the museum’s fine art collection and performed these in the gallery itself.

Summer Sessions for both projects were well-attended and busy with new and familiar faces joining for the week.  As well as trying different dance styles, creating their own dances, having a go at circus skills with our friends at Circusful, the young people took part in a sharing for families at the end.   And, in a blink, we are back at it as the autumn terms starts this week.

In August, we were delighted to bring nine dancers from Palestinian company Diyar Theatre to perform as part of Féile an Phobail 2022.

“This was a huge undertaking”, said DU Dance (NI) Artistic Director Mags Byrne “and we were absolutely delighted they made it here, as were they. The response has been amazing and the dancers were blown away by the welcome they received from the public during the Féile carnival parade and the support from fellow performers.”

During the very hot week commencing 8th August, there were three performances at Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich, Belfast. These started with Debkeh, an exhilarating Arabic folk dance combining line and circle dance often performed at weddings and other joyous occasions.

After the interval, a moving contemporary dance performance called ‘Taken’ followed, based on the testimonies of Palestinian children who had been held or are being held (usually without any charges) in Israeli prisons.    The audience feedback says it all, “very brave and talented young people”, “so moving and emotional”, “worth watching twice”, “visually stunning”, “inspirational, powerful, beautiful” and “We need more of this to help cultures understand one another.”

Two Arabic Cultural Family Celebrations also took place hosted by the dancers, with short performances of debkeh dance, music, food, storytelling and conversation. There was fantastic audience participation and much laughter.

When not on stage, the group enjoyed sampling the local cuisine with fish and chips and pizza being a firm favourite. There were outings to the bowling alley, St George’s Market, city centre shops, a black taxi tour and a trip to the north coast and the Giant’s Causeway.

In this short film made by NVTV, you can hear directly from three of the young dancers on; how and why they became dancers, what it means to them to perform these pieces and what they enjoyed most about their stay in Belfast. It might involve something black, white and malty!

We look forward to further collaboration with our friends in Palestine in the future.

13th September 2022

Alternative Energies – our intergenerational dance project – starts back this autumn on Tuesday 20th September and is welcoming new participants from the Ballycastle area.

Meeting once a week on a Tuesday from 4pm to 5:30pm, the group is led by Dr Philip Johnson and meets at the Ramoan Centre, 3 Station Street, Ballycastle.

This project brings young people aged 15 to 18 years together with the elders of the Ballycastle area to meet, move, share ideas and create dance performances and events that resonate with people of different ages. Of course, there is always time to chat over a cup of tea too!

For young people, the experience of being involved in this unique project supports personal development and a range of youth leadership programmes.   As one young person already involved in the project, said:

“Throughout my time dancing and performing with the group, it really helped us all get back interacting with people after covid. It helped to develop my confidence and self-esteem as well as helping others with their own. The impact of working with older people helped me to grow my teamwork and the ability to help others that were in difficulty. I enjoyed interacting with the older group and looked forward to being in their company. The impact of having a mixed-age group allowed me to develop my communication skills also. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Phillip and DU Dance!“

At DU Dance (NI) we firmly believe that age is no barrier to dance and if this project is of interest to you, or someone you know, please email Debs to find out more and get involved: deborah@dudanceni.com

This project is supported by The Arts & Older People Programme, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and The Baring Foundation.

7th September 2022

We are so excited to share how ‘Little Stranger’, a dance-theatre film about a refugee child, co-produced by Powerstone, Tinderbox and DU Dance (NI), has been selected by the 33rd Cinemagic International Film Festival for Young People in Belfast.

It will compete in the official festival competition for Best Short Film for a Children’s Audience, to be judged by a youth jury on Saturday 8 October at 1.00pm on the Belfast Barge.

Book your tickets here!

The catalyst for the project was a conversation between Jane Coyle, creator of the film, and a homeless Syrian family on a Paris street in the winter of 2018. Jane’s storyline starkly underlines how this anonymous little stranger is one of thousands who arrive alone and friendless into our communities – a global human experience which is becoming increasingly urgent. Read the press release here:

The short film is performed by dancers aged eight to sixteen from our Sutemos and Suteminis groups who are based in Dungannon, a town which has welcomed families from many countries and encouraged them to build new lives, and choreographed by our very own Sheena Kelly.

We can’t wait for our red carpet moment next month!

Thanks to Community Foundation for Northern Ireland and Community Relations Council NI for their support.

(Photo credit: Neil Ritchie)

2nd September 2022

September means it’s back to school AND back to dance as our classes begin again in Dungannon & Belfast. The sessions include learning different dance styles, creating your very own dances and working towards a performance. No experience is necessary, new members are always welcome and making new friends is guaranteed!

All the details are below. You can email deborah@dudanceni.com or phone the team on 028 9023 0877 to register or find out more.

Belfast Boys

• Starts Saturday 17th September 2022
• 2pm – 3pm for 7-11 year olds
• 3:30pm – 5:00pm for 12-16 year olds
• Meet at Crescent Arts Centre, 2-4 University Rd, Belfast BT7 1NH
• £5 membership fee; £1 subs per session
• The group is led by dance artist Sean O’Neill
• (Please note that currently there is a waiting list for the Junior group.)

Sutemos & Suteminis

• Starts Wednesday 21st September 2022
• 6pm – 7pm for 7 to 11 year olds
• 7pm – 8:30pm for Y8 and above
• Dungannon Youth Resource Centre, 2 Savings Street, Dungannon BT70 1DT
• £5 enrolment fee; £1 per session 
• Led by dance artist Sheena Kelly

29th July 2022

We are delighted to share that the dancers from Palestinian company Diyar Theatre will be performing at Féile an Phobail 2022. Combining folklore with contemporary dance – in a way that conveys not only a passion for dance but a commitment to revitalising a national heritage – the performances will take place this August at Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich, Falls Road, Belfast. This is a special opportunity for audiences to enjoy debkeh dance in Belfast, to learn more about this part of the world and meet the dancers who have travelled to be at the festival.

Visit the venue’s website to book tickets for performances on the following dates:

Wednesday 10th August 7pm – 9pm
Thursday 11th August 3:30pm – 5:00pm
Friday 12th August 7pm – 9pm

The performance will be in two parts and will last approximately an hour. There will then be a short pause before the open discussion with the dancers.

Tickets are £5/£7 per person and group rates apply.

(Please note the performances are suitable for children aged 10+.)

We are also excited to be hosting two FREE cultural events when the dancers are in Belfast:

An Arabic Cultural Family Celebration which will take place on Monday 8 August from 7pm to 8:30pm
This is free social event hosted by the dancers with short performances of debkeh dance, food, storytelling and conversation.

An Arabic Cultural Celebration for Women and Girls only on Saturday 13 August from 10:30am to 12:00pm. This will be hosted by the women from Diyar Theatre and will involve short performances of debkeh dance with an opportunity to join in, food, storytelling and conversation.

These events will also take place at Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich, Falls Road.

Please email mags@dudanceni.com if you are able to join us so we can cater accordingly.

30th June 2022

The Primary School Dance Festival is a flagship event for DU Dance (NI), so after a two-year hiatus, we were delighted to bring back the annual festival in May. We had missed the excitement of the build-up to the festival each year, popping into schools to deliver workshops and then sitting back and watching the creativity, energy and talent of each child performing on stage.

Our 12th festival brought together over 100 young people from Holy Rosary, Finaghy, Glenwood Primary Schools and Penrhyn Prep performing an exciting mix of dance in the professional settings of Belvoir Players Theatre from Disney classics, to Hip Hop and creative and contemporary dance.

There were plenty of nerves that morning when the children arrived as for many of them it was the very first time in a theatre, never mind performing onstage. However it was all made easier through the non-competitive and celebratory approach of the festival which values the input of each child. As one child shared, “I loved when everyone applauded for us as I was so nervous. Then I wasn’t nervous.”

As an art form, dance is rarely part of the school year and for many children their exposure to it is limited and often competitive based. Therefore it is important that our festival gives each child a positive experience of dance and performance which empowers them and breaks down the stereotypes of dance. It was wonderful to hear from one teacher, “Many of the boys commented that dancing is actually really fun.”

Sheena Kelly, DU Dance (NI) Community Engagement Artist explains “It has been a difficult few years for teachers and students alike so for DU Dance (NI) it was important to be able to launch our Primary School Dance Festival again and bring dance and creativity back into schools. The festival is non-competitive and celebrates every individual who takes to the stage aiming to create a safe environment for children to express themselves. For many of the children particularly the younger ones this was their first time inside a professional theatre never mind on the stage so for us it is important that that experience is positive.”

Have a look at these wonderful photos (credit to Jim Corr Photography) which capture the sheer joy at performing. As one of teacher said, “They absolutely loved every minute of it. Developing not only the dance skills but their confidence and self-esteem.”

The festival is funded by The Honourable The Irish Society and Esme Mitchell with support for refreshments from Lidl. Thank you Marie O’Donoghue from the Education Authority for their ongoing support and Belvoir Players Theatre for hosting.

16th June 2022

Following the success of the Summer Dance Sessions last year, DU Dance NI are delighted to be back in Dungannon for a fun filled week of dance. These will take place at the Square Box theatre, Hill of the O’Neill & Ranfurly Arts Centre in Dungannon from the 1st – 5th August 2022.

Suteminis (for those aged 7-11 years) will get together from 10am – 12noon (LIMITED SPACES)

Sutemos (for those aged 12-18) years will meet from 1pm – 4pm

The week will include learning different dance styles, creating your very own dances, a circus skills masterclass by Belfast’s professional circus company Circusful and a sharing for parents at the end of the week.

The week is open to everyone and no experience is necessary.

The fee is £10 for new members; £5 for current members.

Places booked up very quickly last year, so don’t miss out! To book your space click here.

If you have any questions, please email us at info@dudanceni.com

(The Summer Sessions are funded by Children in Need and Mid Ulster District Council.)