This spring, movement and health intersect in a quietly radical collaboration at Humanarium, as Dublin Dance Festival partners with the RCSI’s new public-facing space to present DDF x Humanarium – a series of workshops that place the body, quite literally, at the centre of the conversation.
Overlooking St Stephen’s Green, Humanarium at RCSI is designed as a space for everyone to join conversations about how to live longer, healthier and happier lives. Inspired by the inaugural exhibition, Heart: more than a beat, and rooted in embodied awareness, this programme of workshops shifts the focus from theory to practice, encouraging participants not just to learn about the body, but to feel it, move it and listen to it.
Across two Saturdays in May, four distinct workshops unfold, each opening a different pathway into movement. Meet, Mind, Move, Play by Katherine O’Malley (Sat 2 May, 10am) offers a tender starting point, creating a shared space for parents and babies to connect through gentle motion and presence. Later that day, The Shake, led by Laura Murphy and Siobhán Ní Dhuinnín (Sat 2 May, 1pm), lifts the tempo – an energising, communal release where instinct takes over and the lines between dance floor and workshop begin to dissolve.
The following Saturday shifts gear once more. As We Walk by Mary Nunan (Sat 9 May, 10am) is a gentle, collective walking experience that begins with a grounding session before moving into St Stephen’s Green, transforming a familiar route into a shared, reflective journey. In contrast yet in conversation, Presence and Radiance, with French choreographer Hélène Cathala (Sat 9 May, 1pm), invites a quieter attentiveness, tuning into sensation, touch and subtle shifts in awareness. This workshop is an experience that unfolds slowly, privileging perception over performance.
Threaded throughout is a gentle but persuasive idea: that health might be measured not only in data, but in rhythm, connection and curiosity. Open, accessible and thoughtfully paced, DDF x Humanarium offers a space to recalibrate – a reminder that even in a city in constant motion, there is value in pausing, paying attention and moving with intention.
For the full programme and to plan your festival journey, visit dublindancefestival.ie.
Lead Image: The Shake by Laura Murphy © Pato Cassinoni
