Dublin Dance Festival will be entertaining the city from 2nd-20th May with incredible dance from around the world and across Ireland.
The programme also includes an amazing selection of outdoor and family-friendly events, from a high-energy Street Dance Battle to a dreamlike adventure for young audiences.
Outdoor family fun
The bank holiday weekend at the start of May sees Meeting House Square come alive with dance.
Commissioned by Bealtaine and presented as part of Bealtaine @Temple Bar, Emma O’Kane‘s A Life of Play is a participative dance and play project for children aged 5 – 10 and grandparents and other older family members.
Three days of workshops (3, 4 and 5 May at Project Arts Centre) will culminate in an invitation to everyone to play outdoors together in Meeting House Square on Sunday 6 May.
This fun, free, CoisCéim BROADREACH project is open to all (no dance experience necessary!).
Sunday 6th May, 2pm-3:30pm, Meeting House Square, Admission free (limited capacity; first-come, first-served)
Also taking place over the long weekend, the Top 8 Street Dance Battle is back after a storming, sold-out show last year. This adrenaline-rush of an event will showcase the best Irish and international street dancers as they show off their talents in Breaking, Hip-Hop and Krump in Meeting House Square on Sunday 6 May. This celebration of street dance culture will also feature special performances by the competition judges, guest turntable and beatbox artists and live painting by Irish graffiti artists in an exhilarating experience for the whole family.
Sunday 6 May, 7pm-10pm, Meeting House Square, Cost: €12
Street Dance Workshops
For those wanting to pick up some jaw-dropping street dance moves, Top 8’s Tobi Omoteso has put together exciting Hip-Hop (Party & Social Dance) and Breakin’ (Break-Dance) workshops taught by international street dance masters Kamilė Karpalovaite (Real Strict Flow Crew) and Xisco Riboch (HustleKidz). These classes are suitable for all levels, ages 10 and up.
Saturday 5 May, 3pm-4:30pm (Hip-Hop) & 4:30pm-6pm (Breakin’), DanceHouse Cost: €10 per workshop
For Young Audiences
At The Ark, Philippe Saire‘s magical Hocus Pocus will be taking audiences 7+ on a fantastical voyage, exploring how images can conjure vivid emotions and experiences.
Hocus Pocus creates a playful game of appearance and disappearance, suspending our disbelief as two brothers dive into dreamlike adventures – a contortionist’s escape from a spider’s web; a journey in a damaged flying machine; and underwater encounters with fabulous aquatic creatures.
Dates & Times: Friday 18 May, 10:15am & 12:15pm; Saturday 19 May, 2pm & 4pm; Sunday 20 May, 2pm, Location: The Ark, Cost: €12.50 full price / €9.50 conc.
This year’s programme will feature a first – an Artificial Intelligence Artist. ‘Born’ in 2017, Dancing Artificial Intelligence (DAI) is more than a robot– it learns through experience. DAI is learning how to move by exploring its body and its environment, and by observing the gestures of the people it encounters, including visitors to the Science Gallery during DAI’s time in Dublin as part of the Festival. Ultimately, it is hoped that DAI will learn how to dance.
Dates & Times: Wed 9-Fri 11 May, 1pm-7pm; Sat 12-Sun 13 May, 1pm-5pm
Duration: 15 mins, on the hour every hour
Location: Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin
Cost: Admission free (limited capacity; first-come, first-served)
To find out more about DDF2018, please check out www.dublindancefestival.ie
