16th January 2025

We were incredibly pleased to receive funding from Arts Council Northern Ireland to support Alternative Energies – our community-based arts project benefitting older people.  The funding received is part of the National Lottery Arts and Older People Programme, a pioneering initiative funded by The National Lottery and Public Health Agency, which aims to tackle loneliness as-well as promote positive mental health and well-being among older people, through engagement with the arts.

The National Lottery Arts and Older People Programme was established by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland in 2010 and is now a cross-governmental partnership with funding also from the Public Health Agency. The programme has been designed to challenge perceptions of what it means to be an older person, empower participants, and give older people a voice. To date the programme has provided over £2m funding to community organisations and voluntary groups across Northern Ireland in the delivery of over 272 arts projects to older people.

Alternative Energies is an intergenerational dance project which brings together young people aged 15-18 years with elders 65+ in Ballycastle, County Antrim, to meet, create and have fun.  By taking part in dance workshops and performances, older and young people from the same community are given an important opportunity to engage in the arts.

Alternative Energies is free to join and sessions take place weekly on a Wednesday from 4pm to 5:30pm starting again on Wednesday 22nd January 2025.  They take place in Sheskburn Recreation Centre, 7 Mary St, Ballycastle BT54 6QH.   For more information, please contact deborah@dudanceni.com.

We are looking forward to seeing you all there and if you haven’t been before, come along and give it a go! 

Thanks to National Lottery Players and money raised for good causes for the continued support for this programme.

15th January 2025

On Friday 10th January, Artistic Director Mags Byrne was invited to talk at the AHRC Critical Dance Pedagogy Network: Symposium 4: Leadership and Futures in the Drama and Film Centre at Queen’s University Belfast.

The network has been established to foster networking, collaboration, knowledge exchange, and exploration of some transformative practices in Critical Dance Pedagogy.  At these events practitioners and academics from the field of dance engage in discussions and workshops around addressing social assumptions, structural power relations, and inequities within dance and dance education.

Asked to reflect upon her career in the sector, Mags spoke of her experience working in a variety of settings, including internationally and in conflict zones.  Of particular note was her exploration of how dance sits within the cultural landscape in Northern Ireland and the differences compared to other contexts.

The day finished aptly with DU Dance’s Belfast Boys who gave an upbeat and fun-filled performance about which Aoife McGrath, Professor of Dance at Queen’s University Belfast, said:

“…the performance by the Belfast Boys was just a fantastic way to bring some joy and hope to the space.”

Thank you Aoife for inviting DU Dance to be part of this key event.

18th December 2024

Did you know between April 2023 and March 2024 we delivered 31 performance events and 6 film screenings?

Read all about those, and what else we were up to, in our brand new Annual Report by clicking on the link below:

Annual Report 2023-24

16th December 2024

Eight dancers from our Youth Engagement project Sutemos were in Limerick for the weekend with partner organisation Youth Dance Limerick. The group is part of the Youth Dance Matters research, a collaboration between Queens University Belfast and University College Dublin.

Hosted by Dance Limerick in their wonderful studio in John’s Square, the dancers worked with Prof. Aoife McGrath and Dr. Victoria Durrer. They had a ball and loved the work, the city and even the 8 hour bus journey, which became an extended chance for a sing song!

Thank you to all for treating us so wonderfully.

12th December 2024

On Sunday we all came together for our annual Day of Dance at the Crescent Arts Centre.

It was a really special afternoon as all our Youth Engagement Projects had an opportunity to share their work, took part in short workshops and created a short piece together.

Here is just a snapshot of the fantastic audience feedback:

“Great to see everyone working together!  

“Brilliant day, cracking energy from everyone.”

“Great day, lots of energy, positivity and Christmas cheer!”

“Today’s performance was excellent and really well put together,  loved how the young people expressed themselves through movement.”

“Fabulous work, brilliantly organised, total engagement.”

Thank you to everyone who performed, who joined the enthusiastic audience, who served the festive treats and a BIG pat on the back for Debs who pulled it all together! And just check out these stunning photos by Jim Corr Photography.

Enjoy your well earned Christmas break and see you all in January!

2nd December 2024

….Christmas!

Our annual Day of Dance 2024 takes place this Sunday 8th December at the Crescent Arts Centre. It is always a magical event as all our Youth Engagement groups come together to share what they have been working on this term with much joy and laughter.

Families join us later to enjoy the showcases, the festive treats and, of course, the annual dance-off.

What a lovely way to end a busy year!

21st November 2024

Our Sutemos and Suteminis are just one of the important projects in Northern Ireland funded by BBC Children in Need.  Thanks to their on-going support, we can continue to work with this fantastic group of young people and share performances that always reflect upon, and celebrate, diversity.

Last Friday, we were really pleased to be invited to attend the Appeal Day Thank you Event at the BBC Blackstaff Studios.

There has not been an appeal since before covid, and this year CiN NI decided to bring it back to celebrate and say thank you to the projects they fund.

Two members of Sutemos, Nikita and Julia, travelled from Dungannon to join Mags and Morag for the evening and share what we do and how we work.  The dancers must be commended for their efforts at entertaining the younger guests too!

It was a wonderful evening of celebration and a great opportunity to meet the lovely team at Children in Need, members of the board, CiN supporters and representatives from other projects.

Thank you to everyone involved.

2nd October 2024

This August we were proud to bring SHIFT to the stage at BBC Blackstaff Studios, Belfast.  Through dance and music, this immersive event explored young people’s perspectives on the climate crisis, migration, and human resilience.

The impetus for SHIFT came from the DU Dance (NI) Youth Steering Group whose members were outspoken in their opinion that much more needs to be done publicly to address the environmental crisis.   A call to action across the island of Ireland resulted in 70 young people and 16 children from companies in Belfast, Dungannon, Omagh, Laois, Limerick, Moira, Roscommon and Wicklow coming together.  It started with a digital rehearsal period in July, workshops in the community and a seven-day rehearsal programme whilst staying in Stranmillis University College.

The experience of meeting, creating and performing has made a real impact on the lives of everyone involved in the project:

“It’s been an amazing experience to make new friends and bond over something we all care about, everyone has been so sweet and I hope to get to experience something like this again as it has made my summer the best one ever.”

“It was really fun and eye opening.”

“It was really fun to get to work with different people from different places and different dance backgrounds! Thanks so much for the opportunity to do this project.”

“I really enjoyed working with and meeting different people. As a dancer I specifically appreciated the musicians and thought it really added to the experience.”

“It’s been very exciting and inspiring seeing the range of different talents.”

The artistic, creative and collaborative approach of SHIFT was underpinned by an exploration of the climate crisis and feedback from the young participants shows the real impact of the project:

“The visuals of the performance and the text made me more aware of issues involving climate displacement. I thought I was more knowledgeable about this but was surprised to learn more which was great.”

“While I was already very aware of the severity of the climate crisis, this project reinforced the urgency of the situation and how quickly we need to take action.”

Watch a 2 minute film on the background to SHIFT and hear from those involved: HERE

The audiences who came to the three sell-out performances also felt better informed and really inspired to do more. They were awed by how SHIFT brought the climate crisis into sharp focus:

“SHIFT was the most electrifying and moving experience I’ve ever witnessed on examining the climate crisis.” James Orr, Head of Friends of the Earth NI

“It was so moving from start to finish, I shed several tears! The music was beautiful, the dancing so emotive and the visual projections were incredible!” Eve Shearer, Belfast City Council

You can hear more from the audience in this 2 minute film: WHAT DID YOU THINK?

If you have been inspired to DO MORE, check out our guide on sustainability with tips and ideas on how you can make the world a greener, cleaner, fairer and more creative place.  Learn how easy it is to DO MORE!!

SHIFT was presented in partnership with Music Generation Roscommon and Queen’s University and creative direction and choreography was by Robby Graham of Southpaw Dance Company.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council for their core funding and the trusts and foundations who support our on-going programme.

We were delighted to be part of the 35th annual Cinemagic Film Festival when ‘Tough to Calm’ preceded the main billing on September 29th at Queen’s Film Theatre.

This short dance film features the Belfast Boys and is centred on issues the group wanted to explore;  hyperactivity, emotional wellbeing and anxiety.

Deborah Hamilton, Programme Director for the Youth Engagement Projects, said: “The boys and their families had a wonderful time and it was lovely to see their film on a big screen again.”

Many thanks to Cinemagic for inviting us to be part of this great event.

25th July 2024

You are invited to join us on August 21st and 22nd for SHIFT, an immersive event exploring young people’s perspective on the climate crisis, migration, and human resilience through breathtaking dance, music, and visual projections.

Join us as 70 young dancers and musicians from companies across Belfast, Dungannon, Omagh, Laois, Limerick, Moira, Roscommon and Wicklow unite to voice their fears and hopes for the future in an epic dance theatre performance.

This will be a mesmerizing 45-minute showcase of talent and creativity and is suitable for all ages.

We are absolutely delighted to present SHIFT in partnership with Music Generation and Queens University, and with creative direction and choreography by the renowned Robby Graham of Southpaw Dance Company.

Dates & Times:

August 21st: 3pm & 7pm
August 22nd: 1pm

Venue: 

BBC Blackstaff House, 62-66 Great Victoria Street, Belfast BT2 7BB

Tickets are only £5!  You can book now via Eventbrite: HERE

We have a special rate for groups of 8+.  Just contact info@dudanceni.com or 02890 230877.

See you there!