Laois Dance Platform 2014

Laois Dance Platform is looking for original dance works, from dance artists/teachers/dance schools especially in the County Laois to showcase a wide range of dance styles to current and potential dance students and audiences. Aiming to contribute to County Laois community life and culture by promoting dance as a central artform, Laois Dance Platform also has a goal to develop more cultural diversity and the discovery by young people of news dance styles and practice among locally based dance teachers, students and audiences. No matter what your age, style of dance or skill level, you are invited to get involved. This is a great opportunity to watch each dance work, share your feedback, and help shape the future development of what you’ve seen.

 Laois Dance Platform 2014 details: 

* Saturday 10th May, 2pm at Dunamaise Arts Centre
* Each piece should be a maximum of 10 minutes, maximum 10 participants.
* Candidates must submit a completed application form by April, 18th
* Participation fee per school/choreography: € 50
* Forms and application email LaoisYouthDanceEnsemble@hotmail.com
* Each group will have 15mins in the theatre beforehand to clarify their technical requirements (music and simple lighting) and it is unlikely that there will be a dress rehearsal.

Laois Dance Platform

Dunamaise Arts Centre invites you to attend our first Laois Dance Platform, which we hope to make an annual event.

Come and enjoy original dance works, from dance artists/teachers/dance schools from County Laois and beyond, showcasing a wide range of dance styles to current and potential dance students and audiences. 

Aiming to contribute to County Laois community life and culture by promoting dance as a central artform, Laois Dance Platform also has a goal to develop more cultural diversity and the discovery by young people of news dance styles and practice among locally based dance teachers, students and audiences. No matter what your age, style of dance or skill level, you are invited to get involved. This is a great opportunity to watch each dance work, share your feedback, and help shape the future development of what you’ve seen.

Performances by:

  Farrell–Caffrey School of Irish Dance

  Rainbow Castle

  Laois Dance Academy

  Aedeen O’Hagan School of Ballet

  Laois Youth Dance Ensemble

 Nicky Bryson Solo (Legitimates Bodies Company)

Dublin Youth Dance Company

Selma Daniel

 

 http://dunamaise.ticketsolve.com/shows/873505733/events

Achieving Excellence

 

In many cases in my opinion, dance artists are busy worried about fundings etc, forgetting that when we achieve excellence in what we do there's not much to be worried about it.
There's a belief out there that excellence in dance only represents what is aesthetically pleasing with  certain level of difficulty in terms of technique and tricks. To me however, excellence in dance or in any other art form means to make achievements in creating a piece of art that expresses who we are  independently if it is simple as dove or magical and elegant as Toucan. Actually, I often tell my students and dancers that simplicity works! (Took me a while to understand this, but since I did, it became a tool in my creativity and style).
Of course is important to challenge ourselves as artists but that doesn't mean that we should be or do what is not part of us. Excellence is about our honesty in our creativivity and professionalism to explore, investigate and refine our piece of art.
I believe the audience is attracted to what pays off their money and they only will support us when they see in us professional people with vision and purpose that don’t use replication of what is already there but works with innovation and creativity, sharing not only an idea , but what is real in our soul.
In terms of honesty and innovation there are 3 dance companies that I admire. They are brave  professionals and became inspirations to me: The Brazilian Company ‘Deborah Colker’, the English ‘Siobhan Davies Dance Company’ and the Irish led by the Spanish Mariam Ribon ‘Dublin Youth Dance Company’. These are companies strive for excellence not only in their statement, but when they meet together and deal with one another, mirroring to the audience quality in what they do, establishing their space and creating a legacy.

Dance Career (Ireland)

Dance is an Art Form that formally started in the French court ballets of the 16^th and 17^th 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 Ballet – www.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!