Dance Limerick

Dance Limerick is delighted to announce the Step Up Dance Project 2026 team

This year, Step Up welcomes choreographer Mufutau Yusuf to work on a performance project with the five dancers, which will give them the opportunity to perform in different locations nationally, including Limerick and Dublin.

The programme is curated by Director of Dance Limerick, Mary Wycherley, and delivered under the guidance of Rehearsal Director, Lucia Kickham.

Ella Daly returns to her role as costume designer and project manager, which she will share with Gill NicConmara, who will also act as stage manager. We also have the pleasure of having Composer Tom Lane and Lighting Designer Gavin Byrne on board this year.

The Dance Limerick team will be working closely with the Step Up team throughout the six weeks of the programme. Production Manager Seán Murray; Production Assistant Liz O’Connell; Company & Operations Manager Catherine Ireton, Community Engagement Producer Katy Hewison and Communications Coordinator Leonor Miralles complete the team that will help deliver Step Up 2026.

Read more about the team at dancelimerick.ie/news/meet-the-step-up-2026-team/

Step Up Dance Project is a partnership between The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon, Dance Limerick, the Irish World Academy at the University of Limerick and Dance Ireland. Step Up’s participation in the placement programme is possible thanks to a partnership with LuailDance - Ireland’s National Dance Company.

At Dance Limerick we are currently curating a series of 2-day professional practice gatherings for experienced dance practitioners. These artist-led working spaces are aimed at sharing, testing and reflecting on dance practice in an open, enquiring environment with peers.

The focus is on engaging with questions, methods and approaches that feel necessary to move dance practices forward in these times and for the future.
If you are an experienced dance artists interested in hosting a session, we'd love to hear from you.

Sessions might be movement or discussion based or another format but rooted in a specific aspect of your practice. Sessions could be 2-3 hours in length and will be paid at professional rates. These days will be co-curated by Dance Limerick Director Mary Wycherley and Associate Artist Magdalena Hylak.

If you're interested in hosting a session or would like to hear more, please drop a short email to Mary, [email protected] and we can arrange a conversation.

📸 Maurice Gunning

One night only! Book your tickets for 'For the Record' this July 9th

A bold new live concert from Colin Dunne, created in collaboration with Becky Ní Éallaithe (concertina/vocals) and Ultan O’Brien (fiddle/viola).

Directed by Kellie Hughes and drawing on music, voice, electronics, spoken word and movement, three performers meet in a shape-shifting encounter where roles blur, and no two nights unfold in exactly the same way.

Rooted in tradition while pushing beyond its boundaries, 'For the Record' creates a richly layered live experience that is both intimate and unpredictable.

📅 Thursday 9 July, 8 pm - Dance Limerick Performance Space
🎟 Tickets at dancelimerick.ie/event/for-the-record/

For the Record is produced by Once Off Productions, commissioned by LuailDance – Ireland’s National Dance Company, and co-produced by Luail, glór, and Dance Limerick

Created by Colin Dunne with Becky Ní Éallaithe & Ultan O’Brien, with Hugh Clery Ward and Kellie Hughes
Performed by Colin Dunne, Becky Ní Éallaithe & Ultan O’Brien
Directed by Kellie Hughes
Sound Engineering by Hugh Clery Ward
Lighting Design by Eoin Winning

Picture Maurice Gunning

Upcoming dance artist in residence Charly Santagado is seeking a dramaturg to work with this September. Contact Charly directly on Instagram for more information!

Loads of opportunities for artists in Limerick at the moment, check it out!!

Limerick's oldest building is looking again for artist engagement

Full story in the comments 👇👇

ℹ️ Planning an event for Culture Night 2026?

We are hosting a series of webinars in June & July aimed at Culture Night coordinators, participating venues and event organisers.

The webinars will help you plan for the night and make the most of opportunities that Culture Night presents.

Topics include:

🔸EDI & accessibility
🔸Sustainability & climate
🔸Audience development

➡️ Find out more and book your place: https://artscouncil.ie/developing-the-arts/events/?_events_filter=culture-night

📷 Joleen Cronin

Don't miss this opportunity - deadline closes on 30th July

📣 OPPORTUNITY 📣

Are you an artist interested in socially engaged or public art?

Limerick Arts Office and Limerick City and County Council, in collaboration with The GAFF, invites expressions of interest from artists who wish to be considered for creating, fabricating and installing an artwork at the new entrance to The GAFF building at 29–30 Lord Edward Street, Limerick City.

We are proud to occupy one of the buildings which once formed part of the famous Limerick Clothing Factory. To commemorate the historic factory and remember the people who worked there, we will utilise the Per Cent for Art Scheme to commission an artwork at the centre’s new entrance to give visitors a brief overview of the story of the building and its people.

The new artwork will, ideally, link the building’s past history to its present use and will be a welcome addition to The GAFF’s new development.

Total funding of €𝟱,𝟬𝟬𝟬 is being provided for this project.

The deadline is 𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟯𝟬𝘁𝗵 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 at 𝟱𝗽𝗺. Send your Expression of Interest to [email protected]. You can find full details via the Linktree in our bio.

This project is made possible by Limerick Arts Office and the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport through the Per Cent for Art Scheme.

Image description: A graphic with the text 'Open Call', 'Deadline 30th of July', 'Per Cent for Art Commission' over a green illustration of the archway of the GAFF building. At the top-right, there are the logos for Limerick Arts Office and The GAFF. At the bottom, there are the logos for The Arts Council of Ireland, Limerick City and County Council, the JP McManus Benevolent Fund, and the Department of Culture, Communication and Sport

Limerick! Dust off your dancing shoes. Dance Artist Siobhán Ní Dhuinnín invites you to join a taster workshop for her project Country OK, inspired by the body-bopping, hip-twisting, heart-wrenching songs of Country music - a live celebration of the spirit of social dances, dance halls and dancing bodies.

The workshop will take place on 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟰 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟲.𝟭𝟱-𝟳.𝟯𝟬 𝗽𝗺 𝗮𝘁 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲

After this taster, those who want to participate in the final project in September-October will collaborate with Siobhán to create original choreography, learn new styles, and dance in the final performance with a professional cast.

Country OK is free to all participants; ages 12+. Dance experience of any kind is useful, but not essential - a love of dance and full commitment to the project are the most important ingredients!

Register for free at dancelimerick.ie/event/country-ok-taster-workshop/

We are proud to announce the artists participating in our new international residency programme, Atlas, born out of a partnership between Dance Limerick (IE), Bora Bora (DK) and O Espaço do Tempo (PT)

Atlas is a meeting ground for six artists working across dance, performance, dramaturgy, design, music & sound, visual arts and hybrid practices. Their shared work starts with a question: How can thinking through dance, in conversation with other disciplines, chart fresh ground for meeting the challenges of our time?

Through a series of residency encounters in the studios and local contexts of Bora Bora - Dans og visuelt teater, Dance Limerick, and O Espaço Do Tempo, the Atlas artists, Kristian Hverring & Tone Lorenzen, Aoibhinn O'Dea & Jessie Thompson and Bernardo Chatillon & Silvana Ivaldi, will explore this question through shared research, dialogue, collaboration and experimentation. The residency programme will be facilitated internationally by artists Laura Murphy Dance, Pedro Barreiro and Mirko Guido.

The project focuses on artistic practice, dialogue and international exchange, without an emphasis on production.

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Visit the dancelimerick.ie website for more information on the Atlas artists, and stay tuned for updates on residencies and ways to engage.

Atlas is an international residency programme partnership between Dance Limerick, Bora Bora and O Espaço do Tempo. The programme has been funded through the International Residency Initiatives Scheme from The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon

We are delighted to have Limerick-based dance artist Colin Dunne back in residence at Dance Limerick with musicians Becky Ní Éallaithe and Ultan O'Brien, director Kellie Hughes and sound engineer Hugh Clery Ward.

The four will enjoy a production residency towards the development of ‘For The Record’, a bold new live concert where music, dance and sound continually shape one another.

This residency continues to bring together artistic exploration and technical experimentation, looking at how music and sound travel between instruments, bodies, movement and technology. From sound mixing to the testing of a new portable dance board, the team is focusing on those moments of connection and responsiveness that make live performance unique, while shaping the concert experience of the work.

Lighting designer Eoin Winning and costume designer Ana Goodman also join the process as the work moves closer to its first shows this summer.

📅 ‘For the Record’ at Dance Limerick - Thursday 9 July, 8pm
🎟 Book your tickets now at dancelimerick.ie/event/for-the-record/

Dance Limerick’s production residency programme Ignite, supports artists through a creation residency and public performance, connecting new work with our audiences and community. For further information on our Ignite production residency programme contact [email protected]

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Dance Limerick is funded by The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon and Limerick City and County Council.

Photo by Maurice Gunning