Originate – Platform for New Irish Work 2026

Supported by Culture Ireland and Dance Ireland, DDF is delighted to host international programmers at the Festival in May, offering key opportunities to witness new full-length works available for touring, experience a showcase of works-in-development, and hear from artists about their latest choreographies in a pitching session.

The programme also includes moments to meet local artists in a relaxed networking environment.

Included in this year’s programme:

Soft God
Emma Martin
Thurs 14 – Sat 16
Abbey Theatre

Nine performers gather as if at a wake – but for who, or what? Shifting between ritual, dream and folk dance, they cry, sing, sweat and sway in search of a way to keep hope, meaning and dreams alive. A powerful yet tender celebration of life, Soft God offers ceremony as an act of quiet defiance.

The Fifth Sun
Mufutau Yusuf | Luail
Thurs 14 – Sat 16 May, 7:30pm
Samuel Beckett Theatre

Inspired by the tradition of Irish keening, The Fifth Sun is both a eulogy and a renewal. Merging dance and lament, the performers move to mourn, honour and listen, responding to the grief at our planetary crisis. It offers a space to witness, share and reshape loss, inviting audiences to ask: what kind of ancestors do we choose to become?

Work-in-Development Showcase

• Leather Jacket by Oona Doherty
• Racket by Magdalena Hylak

Artist Pitches:

• For The Record by Colin Dunne
• Offspring by Emily Terndrup
• BPM: Barney’s Parties & Melters by Eileen McClory