Twirls On Film

Happy feet…

atest press release from the Wicklow ScreenDance Laboratory gang, who are unleashing their annual dance festival programme in April…

The Wicklow ScreenDance Laboratory Festival 2023 is here!

From April 3rd to 7th, WSL will be offering a live in-person and virtual programme. This Irish festival focuses on the Art of Dance through training, performance, screenings, discussion, and craft.

Offering unique opportunities for communities of artists, participants, audiences and curious bystanders, WSL features both local and international artists in a five-day exploration into the art of movement through live performances and film. The films screened in the festival focus onmovement of all types, whether it be nature, machinery, or the human form.

Continuing its focus on the legendary choreographer Martha Graham, WSL 2023 offers the opportunity for dancers to study her pioneering repertoire with former Martha Graham second company members, Jean-Baptiste Ferreira and Rafael Molina in a three-day dance intensive presented in partnership with Dance Ireland from April 3rd to April 5th. Tickets here.

On Thursday April 6th, a full-day workshop with Screendance experts Marisa Hayes and Franck Boulègue titled So You Want to Make a Dance Film? will explore the art of merging cinematography and choreography. In addition to these training workshops, a series of live performances, live-streamed screenings, and collaborative conversations with both up-and-coming and established artists will take place throughout the week. Tickets here.

Martha Graham by Yousuf Karsh 1948

Centring on Dance in Ireland
We are very excited to debut our fully-curated live dance show in the Wicklow Screendance Festival! The festival main event takes place in the Mermaid Theatre and features Irish-based dance artists and choreographers, with special performances of Graham extracts by Jean-Baptiste and Rafael. Tickets here.

Located in Bray, Co. Wicklow, an area of Ireland known for filmmaking, WSL is the only screendance festival in the east of the country, and one of just two film festivals in Ireland that focus exclusively on dance. Tickets here.

WSL is designed to incorporate disciplines of dance and film under laboratory conditions, and to develop this model within the growing field of dance activity in Ireland, and abroad. Wicklow Screendance Laboratory strives to connect established and emerging artists and encourage conversations among the public and practitioners alike.

Fostering a spirit of collaboration, it embraces local arts and community initiatives as well as the educational sector, inviting submissions from and showing the work of dance students, school-goers and community arts projects. As part of our ongoing mission, we encourage inclusion and offer outreach to rural youth, disadvantaged people and marginalised groups.

Yowsa! You can find out more about the Wicklow ScreenDance Laboratory – and book tickets for April’s festival – here, and discover member Hannah Slattery’s inspirations right over here.