Dance Ireland Tyrone Guthrie Residencies Announcement
Dance Ireland and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre continue their partnership to offer an opportunity to dance artists to undertake a two-week residency in Annaghmakerrig in 2023.
This award was open to Professional members of Dance Ireland to apply for; it is an opportunity to give dedicated time and space to focus on the development of a new performance work, either alone or in collaboration.
Dance Ireland are delighted to announce the receipients for this year; artists Alessandra Azevedo and Jean Butler have both been awarded residencies, following a competitive open call.
Alessandra Azevedo
Residency Research
Alessandra will be working on a new piece, entitled 'Terra' (meaning ‘earth’ in Portuguese and across Latin languages) which draws from dance, movement and rhythm. A dance-theatre performance narrative through story-telling, video & music, the work connects Afro-diaspora traditions from around the world and attempts to remove the artificial borders that divide our true nature to mimic, share, connect and protect each other.
Inspired by Alessandra's work as an Afro-Brazilian dancer & choreographer, Terra connects allegorical performance scenes that deal with large themes like patriarchy, immigration and intersections of race & sexuality with personal vignettes and experiences as an immigrant black artist expressing in a white, male world.
About Alessandra
Alessandra Azevedo is an Afro-Brazilian dancer, Capoeira performer & instructor from Salvador, Bahia – home to the largest African diaspora population & Afro-Brazilian culture.
Her practice is rooted in body movement to promote connections and cultural education, driven by the potential of her African Brazilian heritage and using dance as a tool to achieve it.
Since moving to Ireland in 2015, she has worked with Catherine Young, John Scott, Selma Daniel, Andreia Williams, Barra O’Flannaigh, Yves Lorrhan, Tatiana Campelo, Shiv Ross, Vivian Brodie Hayes, Justine Doswell, Deirdre Murphy, Simeon Smith and other artists since coming to Ireland
Image by MoFitz
Read more about Alessandra here
Jean Butler
Residency Research
''As a dance artist my work to date has always been generative in origin, starting not with words, but with a kinetic impulse, idea, gesture, or need. This residency will allow me to explore a dramatic text as the genesis and starting point for movement and to invite collaborator and dance artist Laura Murphy to co -author a movement practice exploring modes of female ecstasy, repression, and liberation. This research places the female body, expression, and historical representation at the centre of my enquiry.'
About Jean
Dancer, choreographer, and Our Steps Artistic Director, Jean Butler, is a leading figure in the world of contemporary Irish dance performance.
Her most recent production, a site -specific promenade piece entitled ‘What We Hold’ premiered at the Dublin Theatre Festival in October to critical acclaim.
Past works has been supported and presented by The Arts Council (Ireland), Abbey Theatre (Dublin), Baryshnikov Arts Center (N.Y.), Danspace Project (N.Y.), Dublin Dance Festival, Dublin Theatre Festival, Irish Arts Center (N.Y.), Jacobs Pillow (MA), The Joyce (N.Y.), Kennedy Center (D.C.), Project Arts Centre (Dublin), and Seamus Heaney Homeplace (Northern Ireland).
In 2018 Butler founded Our Steps, a not- for-profit organization committed to expanding the way we think about history, practice and performance of Irish dance.
Image by Ste Murray
Check out the Our Steps website: https://www.our-steps.com/