16th February 2023
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
5th January 2023
At the end of last year, DU Dance NI were pleased to be granted approval by the Education Authority as an authorised Body of Persons, in accordance with Article 137(3)(b) of the Children (NI) Order 1995.
Body of Persons Approval (BOPA) can be granted to an organisation for a single OR series of activities and performances within a specified time providing no payment is made to the child or to anyone else in respect of the child taking part in the performance and the child does not require absence from school.
A BOPA removes the need to apply for an individual licence for each child invited to, for example, annual DU Dance events such as UNANIMOUS as the license is granted to the organisation that is responsible for the performance.
This will significantly reduce the administrative burden for all parties and we’d like to thank the Education Authority for their support in this matter.
22nd December 2022
Please note that the DU Dance (NI) office will be closed from Wednesday 21st December to Wednesday 4th January. See you in 2023!