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Summer 2021 Edition 2 weeks of fresh, daring and courageous dance online 18 May—30 May

From 18 – 30 May, we celebrated our Summer 2021 Edition with two weeks of dance performances, documentaries, workshops, behind-the-scenes content and discussions online.

The Summer Edition gathered an audience of 3,199 attendees from Ireland and around the world, generating over €10K in ticket sales. All events were presented on our online broadcasting platform (DDF Home Stage) hosted by Eventive, with interactive workshops and events taking place on Zoom.

As part of the Summer 2021 Edition, we were delighted to commission 6 new digital works created in 6 different countries for presentation online. In Week One, we invited people to discover pioneering dance performances from Ireland and around the world with a collection of new and recent dance works. Two new works from Irish artists were created and filmed for broadcast in level 5 restrictions. Filmed on the Abbey stage, Liz Roche Company created a series of films in collaboration with David Coonan and Crash Ensemble. The full work, commissioned by DDF and the Abbey Theatre, will be presented live on stage as part of our Winter Edition later this year. We were also delighted to premiere Justine Doswell’s beautiful new duet, dyad, filmed in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral by Luca Truffarelli.

International highlights from Week 1 included a new mixed bill of four works performed by Ballet national de Marseille by four exceptional artists: Lucinda Childs, Tânia Carvalho, Lasseindra Ninja and Oona Doherty (DDF Artist in Residence). Lyon Opera Ballet presented a programme of 3 recent works and the creators of the Olivier Award-winning Betroffenheit, Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young, brought us their latest critically acclaimed dance-theatre piece Revisor. Both commissioned by DDF, Lebanese choreographer Ali Chahrour premiered the deeply affecting The Love Behind My Eyes, while Italian artistic duo Ginevra Panzetti & Enrico Ticconi brought us their new video work Silver Veiled, with both works garnering excellent reviews.

Weekend One invited dance makers and collaborators to participate in a weekend of activity, events and connection for dance makers and collaborators, centred around the popular Modes of Capture Symposium presented by The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance (UL), Liz Roche Company and DDF.

Week Two of the Summer Edition explored the inner worlds and behind the scenes of celebrated artists and works with a programme of films and documentaries that offered insight into the creative process. Highlights included the stunning Dancing at Dusk, which documented the last rehearsal of Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring performed by a specially assembled cast of 38 dancers from 14 African countries on a beach in Senegal as well as an intimate documentary on the revolutionary flamenco star Rocío Molina. Two DDF commissions also premiered during this week by French choreographer Eric Minh Cuong Castaing and Belgian choreographer Cassiel Gaube.

For the Final Weekend of the Summer Edition, everyone was invited to get moving with family, friends and community. Together with our longstanding strategic partner The Ark, DDF presented a film and workshop package for schools and families free of charge exploring themes of nature and sustainability. We were also delighted to work with arts charity That’s Life again to develop a digital version of Bounce – their live dance and music club for adults with intellectual disabilities. Supported by the ESB Energy for Generations Fund and Northern Trust, DDF presented a live streamed version of the club via Zoom. Participants reported that this created an important social and communal moment at a time when they had not been able to attend their usual services and had not seen friends and colleagues in many months.

Our Summer Edition allowed us to continue to support dance artists and the creation of new dance work and connect with audiences, communities and friends at home and abroad during our festival month of May. It challenged audiences to try new ways of experiencing dance and it challenged us and the incredible artists we work with to learn new ways of working in order to present works digitally. Artists reported that they were happy with the work they presented and that they will continue to present work both online and for in-person audiences, even when larger live audiences are possible.

We are grateful to all of you who tuned in to the Summer 2021 Edition, to the artists, contributors and collaborators who made the Edition possible, and to our supporters, friends, sponsors and our principal funder The Arts Council for their continued support.

We cannot wait to present live work as part of our Winter 2021 Edition this November. Stay tuned for more details!

The Story of Summer 2021 Edition
Download the Programme

Video Trailers

Get a taste of the performances and documentaries that were part of the Summer 2021 lineup.

Summer 2021 Edition Playlist ↗

Summer Edition in Pictures

Browse the Summer 2021 Edition image gallery to catch a glimpse of artists and audiences who took part in the Festival.

Oona Doherty in conversation with Dr Aoife Mc Grath
Oona Doherty in conversation with Dr Aoife Mc Grath
Master Class with Carolyn Carlson and her company dancers
Master Class with Carolyn Carlson and her company dancers
Master Class with Carolyn Carlson and her company dancers
Master Class with Carolyn Carlson and her company dancers
Liz Roche discussing working on "dēmos"
Liz Roche discussing working on "dēmos"
Justine Cooper discussing working on "dēmos" by Liz Roche Company
Justine Cooper discussing working on "dēmos" by Liz Roche Company
In the rehearsal room of "dyad" by Justine Doswell
In the rehearsal room of "dyad" by Justine Doswell
In the rehearsal room of "dyad" by Justine Doswell
In the rehearsal room of "dyad" by Justine Doswell
In conversation with the creative team behind "dyad" by Justine Doswell
In conversation with the creative team behind "dyad" by Justine Doswell
Carolyn Carlson in conversation with DDF Artistic Director Benjamin Perchet
Carolyn Carlson in conversation with DDF Artistic Director Benjamin Perchet
Bounce DJs at Bounce Live Stream
Bounce DJs at Bounce Live Stream
Bounce Live Stream
Bounce Live Stream

The Word About Town

Read news and reviews from the Summer 2021 Edition

Summer 2021 Edition - News & Reviews

#DDF2021

Discover the buzz about the Summer Edition online...

The Summer 2021 Edition on Social