5th March 2025

We are back on May 20th and 21st with our 16th annual Primary School Dance Festival!  Once again it will take place in the Belvoir Studio Theatre and is a wonderful opportunity for children to perform in a professional theatre and in a non-competitive environment. The feedback is always great: “I loved getting to dance. Can we go back?”

If you know a school in the Greater Belfast area who might want to get involved we still have a some spaces.

Please drop us an email to info@dudanceni.com or phone 02890 230877 to find out more.

4th March 2025

On Friday it was great to meet and chat with our youth dance colleagues from across the island of Ireland at Youth Dance Matters: A Research Sharing and Feedback Session. Particularly heartening was hearing from young people on how significant being involved in dance is for them.

There were interesting conversations regarding partnerships between dance and sports organisations in Cork, where they are helping address the recognised decline in teenage participation in physical sports.

Tori and Aoife from Queen’s University Belfast are to be applauded for giving youth dance a place at the table and conducting this research with empathy and rigour. The Youth Dance Matters research is particularly important in the present climate when resources and morale are low.

28th February 2025

Tickets for Unanimous 2025 on Thursday 17th April at 7pm are live!

Visit The MAC Belfast or phone the box office on 028 9023 5053.

Tickets are £10, £6 for concessions and Under 16s. Please get in touch for information on our special group booking offer.

Eleven of the best youth dance theatre groups from across the island of Ireland will perform in this celebratory, non-competitive event. This year we are delighted to include the National Youth Dance Company of Scotland and for the first time, Mannin Youth Dance Company from the Isle of Man.

Lots more information on the groups coming your way over the next few weeks!

Photo is of Ohr Dance Company, Laois at Unanimous 2024. Credit: Jim Kerr Photography

We are delighted to spread the word about our intergenerational project Alternative Energies with a brand new leaflet.  Aimed at encouraging new faces to join the weekly sessions, the leaflets will be available for people to pick up in community centres and businesses in and around Ballycastle.  If you know of any opportunities to share just how important the group is, please let us know at info@dudanceni.com.

21st February 2025

On Saturday 1st March, Mags, with DU Dance board member Marie O’Donoghue, hosted a workshop session at the New Visions Symposium.

The event was part of a wider project, supported by the Freelands Foundation, which will explores the current challenges facing post-primary arts education in Northern Ireland and imagines possible solutions.

The symposium took place at The MAC, Belfast, and was designed for people who are passionate about rethinking arts education including head teachers, art teachers, artists, academics, and policymakers. The day featured panels and discussions focused on the key educational issues identified by those working in the field.

In their popular session, Mags and Marie examined the Creative Schools Partnership programme. It is a cross-government programme that Marie runs and that targets schools located within the Urban Village areas of Northern Ireland, encouraging them to think outside of traditional learning approaches and introduce professional artists into classrooms in order to build student confidence, make community connections and develop new skills. DU Dance (NI) has been involved in the programme for a number of years delivering workshops and intergenerational community dance projects. Through informative and practical fun activities, Mags and Marie demonstrated the role of the creative arts in education and advocated the arts as an invaluable tool for facilitating personal and social development.

The Creative Schools Programme is funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Education Authority and the Urban Villages Initiative.

(Marie O’Donoghue is Creative Schools Manager School Improvement, School Development Service at Education Authority NI)

18th February 2025

At the end of half term the Youth Steering Group met for a weekend at Crawfordsburn Country Park.  For some members of the group it was their first YSG residential, for others it was a welcome return to a favourite place.  Indeed during the pandemic, the activity centre hosted many a Belfast Boy session, residential stays and even two chilly outdoor Days of Dance!

During this stay the group worked with Cheryl O’Dwyer who, among many talents, is an experienced  drama teacher and youth worker.  The group will be compering our annual dance platform Unanimous on 17th April 2025 and Cheryl’s practical session explored effective communication, presenting with clarity, and how to inject energy and enthusiasm.

Bringing all they had learnt together, the group started writing their introduction which we look forward to seeing at Unanimous soon.   Other workshops over the weekend included creating content for social media which introduces the Youth Steering Group.  You can watch these videos on our Instagram and Facebook pages.

In between all the hard work, lots of fun was had including a spooky midnight walk! The centre, with access to the beach and woods, friendly staff and fun things to do is always a big hit with the group. Thank you for hosting us again.

17th February 2025

5th February 2025

On Sunday 2nd February, on behalf of DU Dance, Mags attended Belfast Cathedral’s annual Good Samaritans’ Service to receive a very welcome donation from The 2024 Black Santa Sit Out Appeal.

Mags enjoyed meeting special guest Lady Mary Peters and took great delight in hearing Peter Corry sing during the service.

This year’s Sit Out raised over £200,000, all of which has been shared out among over 107 local charities. Representatives of The Belfast Charitable Society marked the 250th anniversary of the opening of Clifton House on Christmas Eve 1774 by contributing an amazing £73,600 to this year’s total.

This generous donation will immensely benefit Alternative Energies, our intergenerational dance programme in Ballycastle.

4th February 2025

It is the last opportunity to see the stunning photography exhibition produced by our Sutemos group with the support and guidance of professional photographer Jim Corr.

The exhibition ‘Seen / Unseen’ will be at Hill of The O’Neill and Ranfurly House Arts & Visitor Centre in Dungannon until 27 February.  Do call in if you are in the area.

The idea for the exhibition originated from the young people experiencing first hand how social media can mask the reality of peoples lives.

Thanks to funders BBC Children in Need for their support.

31st January 2025

We were excited to embark on an exciting new project with members of the Newtownabbey Women’s Group in Rathcoole this week.

The dance workshop was the first of a series that will take place in women’s centres across North Belfast and is called ‘Journeys’.  It was lovely to meet some new and friendly faces and we look forward to dancing and learning together.

This spring, as well as working with our women’s group CARE based at Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich, we will be working with:

• Listening Ear Women’s Group, Rathcoole
• Newtownabbey Women’s Group
• Barron Hall Women’s Group, Glengormley

This project is funded by Clanmil Housing Association.