Artist Pass 2025

Seeing a broad range of work and engaging with fellow artists is vital for the development of any artist's practice. So, this year, DDF is collaborating with dance organisations across the country to give seven artists an exciting opportunity to gain inspiration, delve deeper into their own practice, and network with local and international artists.

Artist Pass is aimed at emerging, early career dance artists. It offers the chance to attend a curated selection of events in the 2025 Festival, including leading Irish and international dance productions, masterclasses, roundtable discussions, peer networking sessions and festival receptions. We hope the initiative offers artists the opportunity to see work they may not otherwise get to see within a festival context and to make new connections with peers and colleagues.

Partner Organisations:

Dance Ireland
Dance Limerick
Dance Cork Firkin Crane
Galway Dance
Theatre and Dance NI
Tipperary Dance

Meet the Artists

Luke Maziarek
With over four years of professional experience in live performances and dance, Luke specialises in commercial, jazz funk, contemporary fusion, and hip-hop, captivating audiences through dynamic stage presence and exceptional artistry. Luke has performed at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin for the Europa League 2024. Luke is also a proud member of Savage X, a well-established and popular dance crew featured on S NATION Official's YouTube channel. In addition to performing, Luke dedicates his time as a dance instructor at Dance Yourself Fit, where he brings energy, expertise, and a passion for movement to students of all levels. Luke has been selected to be among the five participants of the 15th edition of Step Up Dance Project in 2025.

Rocío Dominguez
Rocío is an Argentinean dance artist based in Dublin. She has worked as dancer, choreographer, assistant choreographer and teacher with Junk Ensemble, Tipperary Dance, Luke Murphy – Attic Projects, Loosysmokes, Anna Newell Theatre Company, BrokenCrow Theatre Company, Croí Glan Integrated Dance, Polina Kremasta and Joclecio Azevedo among others, in Ireland, Portugal, France, Greece and Argentina. Rocío is the founder and co-curator of the Irish platform for international training Train With One/TW1. Rocio has been supported by The Arts Council of Ireland, Dublin City Council, Dance Ireland, Shawbrook, Tipperary Dance, Tenerife Lav, Dance Limerick, Galway Dance, Dance Cork Firkin Crane, and Ensimismados (Costa Rica). Her choreographic works include MANY MEs (Project Arts Centre, What Next Festival, Black Box Theatre Galway and Trois-CL Luxembourg, 2025 and 2024), Don't Stop And You Won't Notice (Hatch Creation Award 2023, Dance Ireland), War (Faculty of Architecture of Porto 2018), and Mental Make-Up (co-created with Catarina Garcia, Teatro Campo Alegre

Melanin Tee
Melanin is a passionate and multitalented dance instructor specialising in Afrobeat and urban hip-hop. As the founder of Colorful Collaborations, Melanin’s dance school, she has created a vibrant space for people to come together, learn dynamic routines, upskill, and build confidence through the power of dance. With over a year of running her dance school and a growing a reputation for delivering high-energy classes, she continues to inspire students of all levels. Melanin believes that being a dance teacher means constantly stepping out of her comfort zone. Over the years, she has attended classes across a variety of styles, blending techniques from hip-hop and Afrobeat with other genres to refine her practice and stay innovative. This commitment to growth enables her to motivate her students to challenge themselves and embrace their full potential. Beyond the studio, Melanin is dedicated to using dance as a medium for connection, self-expression, and empowerment. Her teaching philosophy centres on inclusivity, creativity, and the belief that dance is for everyone. As an advocate for holistic well-being, she combines movement with mindfulness to help students not only master choreography but also feel emotionally and spiritually balanced. Whether through her classes or her growing online presence, Melanin is on a mission to inspire others to move with purpose, confidence, and joy.

Andrea Williams
Andrea is a multidisciplinary artist born in Cape Verde who has made Ireland her home. Coming from a diverse cultural background, she was greatly influenced by various art forms, including music, dance, film, and visual arts. She is also a community and youth leader, developing dance and music-based art projects with migrants and teenagers living in Direct Provision, through the Cork Migrant Centre. She is currently performing in Tara Brandel/Croí Glan’s new work, Change, a work that envisions a hopeful reimagining of the world, featuring diverse bodies from diverse lands and centred on the theme of climate action. Her own work, Undefined, was seen as a work in progress during the 2023 Cork Midsummer Festival; she is continuing to develop the work with the support of Dance Cork Firkin Crane and The Everyman Theatre.

Ciara Hannon
Ciara is a contemporary dance artist from Mayo. She began her training in ballet at the age of five, transitioning into contemporary dance after joining the Dublin Youth Dance Company in 2021. She completed her dance degree in the Scottish School of Contemporary Dance in 2023 and last year continued her professional training in Bologna, Italy. This summer she will take part in the Step Up Dance Programme run by Dance Limerick.

Janie Doherty
Janie is a movement based artist as well as working as a massage therapist and doula. After graduating with a first class honours in dance, Janie has been working in Northern Ireland as a community facilitator and performer. Janie is interested in helping people connect to an embodied state of being through movement, storytelling and performance. She has over 15 years' experience working in the community as a dance artist and is currently collaborating with women’s centres to support new mothers by reflecting on our lived experience in an embodied and artistic way.

Sarah Flavelle
Sarah is a dance artist from Belfast. Sarah graduated from The Institute of the Arts Barcelona with a First Class BA(Hons)Dance. She continued her training at DART Studios Professional Training Intensive in Berlin. Sarah is currently working with The National Gallery and The Playhouse as part of The Triumph of Music. Sarah has performed in projects with Off the Rails Dance Company, Fidget Feet Aerial Dance, Maiden Voyage Dance and at Shawbrook Dance Company Space with Róisín Whelan Dance. She has performed in music videos for Jamie Duffy and And So I Watch You From Afar. Recently Sarah shared an extract of her new work Flood at Creative Holywood’s an Afternoon of Dance. She has also presented her work at Six Dance Collective’s Dance in Motion.