Tara Brandel
Professional

Tara Brandel is an award winning choreographer, contemporary dancer, aerial dancer and contact improviser originally from West Cork. She has been choreographing extensively since 1990. She trained in Contact Improvisation with CI pioneer Steve Paxton when she was 15, and in aerial dance with pioneers Terry Sedgraff, Jo Krieter and Genevieve Mazin. Tara holds a Masters in Interdisciplinary Performance from UC Davis, where she was awarded the Della Davidson Choreography Award 2019, the Mondavi Fellowship, the Provost Fellowship, and the Women's Research Center Fellowship for her show Circus, which toured to San Francisco International Arts Festival, Seattle International Dance Festival, Cork Midsummer Festival, Dublin Fringe Festival (nominated Best Performer) and FRESH San Francisco 2020. Her dance film CAR was Director's Choice at the CDIFF in Toronto 2017. Tara is also Artistic Director of Croí Glan Integarted Dance and for Croí Glan has most recently created TILT an integrated aerial dance show which has toured to Cork Midsummer, Tipperary Dance Festival and Dancer from the Dance Festival; In Place a site specific performance made at IMMA; and Unseen a multidisciplinary performance about plankton. Tara's is currently developing an Environmental Dance training and a project focusing on climate resileince called The Hope Project.