Dublin-based company, CoisCéim Dance Theatre, is gearing up to mark its 30th year with a special programme of events throughout 2024.
The company’s co-founder and Artistic Director David Bolger writes for RTÉ Culture about their anniversary programme and forthcoming show, Palimpsest.
This is such an exciting year for us at CoisCéim, as we celebrate 30 years of making dance theatre and sharing it with audiences near and far. It all started with an invitation to the Dancetime’95 festival in Belfast and sitting down at Pasta Fresca after going to see Pulp Fiction.
An Arts Council application followed and CoisCéim was established in January 1995, becoming a charity soon after – exploding onto the scene with Dances with Intent at the Old Museum Arts Centre (OMAC), an action packed cocktail of humour - we still have the sofa!
Born as the independent sector in Ireland began to flourish, our rapid and continued growth has been made possible thanks to the generosity of the thousands of artists, technicians and production teams who have shared their energy and talent with us in conjunction with the belief and investment of our funders and stakeholders. As they say… it takes a village, and we wouldn’t be thriving without you. Thank you.
From South Great Georges St, through Sackville Place, we are now firmly rooted in our new home in the north city - and our anniversary programme kicks off with two projects that have harnessed the creative energy of the landmark building on Fairview Strand that we sensitively refurbished together with our landlord.
(Pic: Ros Kavanagh)
Breakin' Brothers, our collaboration with Wildfire Films is the first dance film to receive Coimisiún na Meán (formerly Broadcast Authority of Ireland) funding. The film will have its premiere at the Lighthouse Cinema, Dublin on 29th February as part of the Dublin International Film Festival. The piece was shot on location in our studio and the surrounding neighbourhood.
Next up, we have a major collaboration with this year’s St Patrick’s Festival that spans the festival's entire programme of events. The collaboration includes the world premiere of our new show Palimpsest at The Complex Dublin, on the corner of Mary’s Abbey and Capel Street, from 13th - 17th March.
Expect quintessential CoisCéim, an exhilarating kaleidoscope of dance, live music, and panoramic projections, woven together to create an unforgettable experience performed by a cast of 15 exceptional dancers, singers and actors. The show brings together new and familiar faces, including the Wolf from the groundbreaking The Wolf And Peter that graced stages from Sligo to the iconic Sydney Opera House in a first for Irish dance theatre.
In parallel with Palimpsest, CoisCéim Broadreach will present Sparking Debate, working with over 70 young people who will perform in the parade and a series of high octane physical debates on 18 March at TU, Grangegorman. Our festival line-up is rounded off by two special screenings of the 180 degree virtual reality dance theatre production Francis Footwork, as part of Festival Quarter on 16 March.
We’ve loads more coming up in April and beyond, including a new series of BENCH commissions coming to Dublin’s canals and a six-week all-island tour of The Piece With Drums.
We can’t wait to welcome audiences and work with over 200 creative professionals to shape, realise and share this special anniversary programme.
Find out more about CoisCéim's anniversary programme here.
