The Dublin Dance Festival (DDF) kicks off this week, with Irish and international dancers celebrating this year's theme of 'Dance Out Loud'.
The opening show features Asia’s leading contemporary dance company - Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan - and its show '13 Tongues' at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, where their performers promise to show the sights, sounds and energy of their local street life on stage.
Over the next two weeks, the festival programme offers a wide range of events from showcasing exciting international companies, to creating opportunities for emerging Irish dancers to work with visiting dance companies.
Jessie Thompson is a hip hop artist, choreographer and content creator from Dublin, who has been involved in DDF for the last few years.
She is one-to-watch in the hip hop scene here and spoke to RTÉ News about her busy plans for the next two weeks.
On Saturday night, working with French hip hop artists, Jessie will take part in a busy, loud and flamboyant production, DanceScapes which offers the ultimate hip hop experience at the Project Arts Centre.
She will also perform with Emma Martin in the show 'Night Dances', which mixes dance and live music.
"Dancing connects us all," Jessie said as she prepared for a few busy days ahead.
Meanwhile, organisers want to encourage people to enjoy this year's theme 'Dance Out Loud'.
Artistic Director Jazmin Chiodi said dance is "a way we can all communicate with each other" and she is enthusiastic about the opportunities that the festival offers audiences and performers.
She said everyone at the festival team pushes themselves to organise an adventurous programme for everyone involved.
