Sean Nós class with Stephanie Keane

Sean nós dance workshop by Stephanie Keane with live Seaboard music by Jason Turk

Come and learn the rhythms and steps of this ancient improvised Irish dance, accompanied by live Seaboard music. Sean nós is an improvised solo dance, combining percussive rhythms and steps danced to traditional Irish music. Stephanie Keane will teach some sean nós steps and rhythms for dancing to reels, and tools to improvise and make up your own steps. Jason Turk will play live Seaboard music for the workshop.

Stephanie Keane is an Irish dance artist from Limerick, working as a performer, choreographer, filmmaker, and theatre maker. With over 40 years of experience, she began in competitive Irish step dancing, reaching world championship level, and then discovered the older form of Irish dance, Sean Nós. Her dance practice is rooted in developing her own style and sound of Irish dance. Her work blends dance with sound, film, and contemporary practices, with a strong focus on musicality. Stephanie has performed all over Ireland and internationally, including at Carnegie Hall in New York and the National Concert Hall in Dublin, and continues to create and collaborate across dance, film, and theatre.

Jason Turk is a full-time professional musician and composer specialising in Irish Traditional Music (ITM), a multiple All-Ireland medalist, and a respected touring performer. He has toured extensively across Ireland, Europe and the United States with his own projects and with groups including The Young Irelanders and The Kilkennys.

His work explores the intersection of traditional Irish music and emerging technology, most notably through the Seaboard, a Multi-Polyphonic Expression MIDI instrument. His “Seaboard Sundays” series has received national and international attention, and his Irish music arrangements feature in a global Seaboard advertising campaign and in the Junior Cycle Music Maker syllabus.

With inspiration from the Sliabh Luachra tradition, his compositions draw on traditional dance forms while incorporating influences from classical and contemporary music. He is currently developing this work further through new performance and composition projects integrating live electronics with Irish traditional music.