Announcing our winter/spring 2023 programme

Download PDF of the programme here.

Dance Cork Firkin Crane springs into 2023 with a packed programme of performances, residencies, classes and workshops. Running from January – July 2023, the programme presents artists from all over Ireland and international artists from the USA, Spain, France, Scotland, The Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. After a successful Autumn season, Dance Cork Firkin Crane adds Take Off, a new contemporary dance festival to its schedule in February as well as continuing its unique training programme, Inclusive Dance Cork.

The season opens with Take Off Festival from 16th – 18th February, presenting three international choreographers’ works, chosen from the Aerowaves Top 20 selected artists, alongside the work of three Irish choreographers. The featured performances are The Very Last Northern White Rhino by Gaston Core (ES), Can I Have Your Best Move? By Siobhán ní Dhuinnín (IRL), Comme Un Symbole (Forme Courte) by Alexandre Fandard / Cie Al Fa (FR), A Dance by Magdalena Hylak (IRL), the pleasure of stepping of a horse when its moving at full speed by Courtney May Robertson (NE/UK), and Glisten by Isabella Oberländer (IRL). Individual performances continue with ÒWE by Mufutau Yusuf (IRL), The Prometheus Project by Luke Murphy / Attic Projects (IRL), Dance Artist-in-Residence supported by Cork City Council Helga Deasy’s (IRL) new work Built on Bridges which is presented at Dance Cork Firkin Crane as part of Cork Midsummer Festival, and Tempo Rubato by Alexandre Iseli (IRL/CH).

In addition to these performances, seven artists plus collaborators will be hosted for CEIST residences, including a free public work-in-progress sharing at the end of each residency.

Crane Visual, a new visual arts and interdisciplinary social space curated by Dermot Browne, continues with two public exhibitions; New Yin Art and The Beauty of Everyday Things.

Weekly professional classes and special workshops take place with John Scott, director of Irish Modern Dance Theatre, Laura O’Brien, Kate Hilder. Luke Murphy brings his Catch8 series back in June.

Inclusive Dance Cork, a groundbreaking pilot training programme that began in September 2022, open to individuals with and without disabilities interested in learning inclusive dance methods, continues in January 2023. Sessions are led by Artistic Director Rhona Coughlan and Guest Facilitators.

Dance Cork Firkin Crane partners with University College Cork, the Environmental Research Institute, and the Crespo Foundation (Frankfurt am Main, Germany) to develop two pilot residencies for Irish / Irish-based dance artists in collaboration with plant scientists from University College Cork in response to Glenkeen Garden in West Cork. Following a competitive open call earlier in 2022, dance artists Grainne
O Carroll and Isabella Oberländer were selected to take part in the project. They will present the results of their research later in 2023.

Dance Cork Firkin Crane’s Executive Artistic Director Laurie Uprichard said: Launching the Take Off Festival is a thrilling moment for Dance Cork Firkin Crane. Offering audiences, the opportunity to meet international artists both on and off stage is one of our primary goals. Providing a forum in which these artists from abroad will work through the week, sharing practices with Irish artists and getting to know Cork, is a great investment for everyone involved. We invite you to have fun, take a chance, and be curious.

Dance Cork Firkin Crane would like to acknowledge the support of Cork City Council, the Arts Council and The Community Foundation for Ireland.

Image: Òwe at Dublin Fringe Festival 2022, Photo by Simon Lazewski