Saturday, June 25, 2011

Dance Career (Ireland)

Dance is an Art Form that formally started in the French court ballets of the 16th and 17th centuries and can be taken today in a recreational, Therapeutic, educational or/and performing level. If you are confident, dedicated, hard worker, have self-discipline and love dance and the performing Arts, you may have the skills to engage in the dance industry (which can be larger than a lot people think it is).
To start this beautiful and hard career is important that you dedicate few years of your life in the dance training. If you had or not the opportunity to take some classes as a kid, to go on full time vocational training is recommendable to go deeper and understand what kind of artist you are or who you would like to be: a dancer, a choreographer, an administrative dance staff or a dance Practitioner (teaching for the community, educational schools, dance schools or in therapy programmes).
If you want to become a professional dancer in Ireland, here are some tips that you may follow to achieve your goals:

1) Take full time vocational dance training. The options available in Ireland are:

College of Dance - www.collegeofdance.com
Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa - www.csn.ie
Inchicore College of Further Education - www.inchicorecollege.ie
Sallynoggin College of Further Education - www.scs.dife.ie 
University of Limerick  (Certificate in Dance & Music; BA Irish Music and Dance or BA Voice and Dance) - www.ul.ie 
University of Ulster (BA Hons Dance) - www.ulster.ac.uk

       2)       After taking step number 1, you may apply for full time training in UK to be more challenged and to get in touch with stronger choreographers and professional dancers. This means also more opportunities to get into the professional dance and to achieve a successful career. Some options that you may take is:

Bird College
London Studio Centre
Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
Performers College
Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance
Scottish School of Contemporary Dance
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
      Urdang Academy

3) If you don’t have much money to stay abroad for a while, you may go to the University of Limerick. The options there are:

MA Dance Performance: Contemporary Dance
MA Dance Performance: Irish Traditional Dance

4) During your training years, is recommendable that you also take part of extracurricular dance activities that offers you opportunities to perform in a pre-professional level. The opportunities in Ireland are:

Dance House / Artist Opportunities - www.danceireland.ie
Dublin Youth Dance Company - www.dublinyouthdancecompany.com
Irish National Youth Ballet Company - www.inybco.com
Irish Youth Russian Balletwww.ballerina.ie
Shawbrook Youth Dance - www.shawbrook.org
  
       Even if you want to become anything else in dance that does not involve performing on stage, is important that you go on dance training. If you cannot afford full time, take regular classes that can challenge you. Search on your local directory for private dance schools/classes and attend workshops related to the Performing Arts as much as you can. Once you feel confident on the way that you move and find what kind of professional that you are, you must take it more seriously and study dance.  The courses in Ireland that offers qualification to teach dance are:

Offered by Inchicore College of Further Education (www.inchicorecollege.ie):

·         DDI / DDE (Diploma in Dance Instruction and Education) full time


Offered by University of Limerick (www.ul.ie):

·         MA Ethnochoreology: University of Limerick  full time
·         MA Dance Performance: Contemporary Dance  full time
·         MA Dance Performance: Irish Traditional Dance full time
·         Graduate Diploma in Dance / MA in Dance part time

Offered by University of Ulster (www.ulster.ac.uk):

·         Dance [BA Hons]
·         Dance [BA Hons]
·         Dance [Modular Programme]
·         Dance with Drama [BA Hons]
·         Dance with Irish [BA Hons]
·         Dance with Music [BA Hons]

Offered by Kildare County Council Arts Service:

· The Laban Guild Dance Leaders Course (internationally renowned for its expertise in community dance training)                       part time

          During your ‘studying years’, is recommendable that you also take part of extracurricular dance activities in a pre-professional level that offers you opportunities to develop your skills and gets you in touch to stronger choreographers and professional dancers. This means also more opportunities to get into the professional dance world and a successful career. To access regulary www.danceireland.ie is a good idea to find out what is going on.

             Once you are trained, understanding fully what dance is and can be, knowing who you are as dance artist, be open to every good opportunity that comes across in your life. Be enthusiastic, honest and generous to yourself and others, not losing the vision that you have for your career, remembering always that a true artist influences people and allows the self to get inspired by the others! Good luck!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Behind the Scene - Blog's editor:



Erica Borges
Graduate Diploma in Dance with honours, University of Limerick
Certificate in Dance/Drama, Inchicore College Dublin
Certificate in Community Dance, Laban Guild
           
I am an Irish-based dance Artist whom likes to engage with my cultural background to what is current, aiming to create spaces where the body may tell its own story. I believe dance encourages us to stay rooted in our bodies as we act, decide, and participate in the world, so my art transpires from the personal.
I am principal and dance teacher of Laois Dance Academy, artistic director of Laois Youth Dance Ensemble and have been honoured to be funded by Laois Arts Office in the past 4 years to teach dance in Laois  primary and secondary schools.
Since 2013 I have been working as director of Laois Dance Platform. An event to celebrate and promote dance in County Laois.
In October 2014 I was in dance residency as part of Tipperary Dance Platform with Iseli-Chiodi Dance Company, under the mentorship of the French choreographer Hélène Cathala.