Open Arts Dance Development Day - 3rd FebEcho Echo Dance Theatre Company is delighted to host Open Arts next Wednesday 3rd February 2010. The following press release provides more information on the first Derry Dance Development Day of the Luminous Soul project...
Press Release from Open Arts
Belfast based arts and disability company Open Arts will host a Dance Development Day in Derry as part of Luminous Soul, a three year dance development project, funded by the Legacy Trust UK's Connections programme, on Wednesday 3rd February 2010.
The Derry workshop is part of the first stage of the Luminous Soul Dance Project and Open Arts are keen to hear from people interested in taking part. Devised by Open Arts as part of Connections, the programme has been set up to help build a cultural and sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.
This new dance programme provides opportunities for disabled people from all around Northern Ireland to work with professional disabled tutors from across the UK.
Kate Ingram from Open Arts explained: "Through Luminous Soul we hope to identify and train disabled people who have real potential to dance in a professional company or to be dance teachers. This is the first time disabled people in Northern Ireland have been offered an opportunity of this sort. The inclusive Blue Eyed Soul Dance Company from Shropshire in England will facilitate our Derry- Londonderry dance development day."
Blue Eyed Soul Dance Company is an innovator of inclusive dance with disabled and non disabled artists and will be leading the Derry workshop.
Open Arts is one of six organisations to have received funding through Legacy Trust UK, managed by the Arts Council. The £1.78 million Connections programme will see a series of sport and arts linked events taking place across Northern Ireland over the course of the next three years.
Marion Clark de Monreal, Legacy Trust UK Programme Co-ordinator, commented: "The Luminous Soul programme focuses on developing aspirations and achieving excellence in the medium of dance. This exciting programme encourages disabled people to build their dance skills, helping them achieve their full artistic potential."
Dugald Mackie, Chair of the Legacy Trust, said: "The Games are about more than sport. They are a once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase Northern Ireland to millions of people across the world. We believe that these projects will inspire and encourage people throughout Northern Ireland to get involved and will leave a lasting legacy for the region."
How to get involved: To launch the first step in Derry's involvement with Luminous Soul, Open Arts is hosting a dance development day on Wednesday the 3rd of February at the Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company, Waterside Theatre, Glendermott Rd, Derry- Londonderry.
Further dance days and a residential course will follow around the region.
For more information about Dance Development Days and for Registration Forms go to www.openarts.net and look for Luminous Soul Dance Project.
Guest International dancers to visit Echo Echo this term
Echo Echo is delighted to welcome several international dancers to work with the company over the coming months.
January 2010
Andjela Doni is a dance improviser, choreographer and a teacher of contact improvisation and contemporary dance. She is also the organiser of the internationally renowned Annual Moscow Contact Improvisation and Performance Festival.
She has created a remarkably warm and creative dance and movement improvisation scene in Moscow, drawing on all her experience as a modern dancer and choreographer, as well as many years as a fearless explorer into the more unusual areas of movement.
For more information on Andjela's performance work with the company click here
For information on her teaching work, specialising in Contact Improvisation click here
February 2010
Leilani Weis is originally from Chile but now lives and works in Italy. She teaches, experiments and performs Contact Improvisation and Tango. Echo Echo is delighted to welcome her back to teach her Authentic Tango this month.
Leilani will continue to cover some introductory groundwork in the first sessions meaning that newcomers can attend whilst this will be a refresher for those who came in November. The second sessions will then deepen the work with the group, taking it further than her previous workshops.
Leilani Weis is a long time friend and colleague of Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company and will return to Ireland again in May to perform with the company's production of Ripple Affect.
Shahar Dor is a movement and performance artist, a teacher and director of Artness. He explores, perform and teach the art of improvisational performance through movement, theatre, music live still photography and video.
Echo Echo's Artistic Director Steve Batts has invited Shahar to work with him over 10 days to create a performance. Steve and Shahar will perform on Sunday 21st February in the Echo Echo Studio.
National Campaign for the Arts
Many friends of Echo Echo will be aware of the current economic difficulties in the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Government is faced with some very difficult decisions in deciding the Budget for 2010 over the coming weeks. Public funding for every sector is under threat, including arts and culture, and contemporary dance.
Echo Echo has many ongoing links with cultural organisations, dance companies, schools, venues and individual artists in the Republic of Ireland. Through valuable support from Culture Ireland, Echo Echo has performed at several strategic international arts festivals in recent years. Domestic touring in the Republic of Ireland has also been partly funded by the Arts Council of Ireland.
Echo Echo therefore has a strong rationale for expressing its solidarity with the arts and dance sectors in Ireland at this time.
The National Campiagn for the Arts has been established to promote the value of the arts in Irish society and to petition for retention of state funding to key grant-distributing institutions.
Further information on the National Campaign goals and the Campaign Petition at the links below:
National Campaign for the Arts website
Online Campaign Petition website
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