Dance & Health: We’re Dancing

Dance & Health: We’re Dancing

Date:
Fri 1 Dec 2017
Time:
14:00 - 15:30
Please Note:
Limited Capacity. Booking essential at info@danceireland.ie
Venue:
DanceHouse
Admission:
FREE

As part of our Dance & Health Project*, Dance Ireland will host an afternoon of reflection on and celebration of the impact of dance on people's lives at DanceHouse on 1st December.  

We will see the effect of dance participation and performance for the older person. This is the individual who has retired from the stage of the work place and now engages in dance on a regular basis. It leaves them enriched, feeling refreshed, more connected to their mind, body and soul.

“You don’t stop dancing because you get older, you get older because you stop dancing”. Mary Doyle, Dance Theatre of Ireland’s Vintage Youth performer.

In addition to the performances of local groups from Dance Theatre of Ireland with Vintage Youth (It's About Time), and Macushla performing Danse Royale, we are delighted to welcome Théogène (Totto) Niwenshuti a multidisciplinary artist, dancer, choreographer, international facilitator and professional coach. Totto is a survivor of the Rwandan genocide and, stemming from this experience in his early life, his work mainly focuses on peace and reconciliation through performance. 

We invite you to stay afterwards for tea/coffee (and cake!) to celebrate not only the performers but the artists working with them on a consistent basis to create these works.

Macushla
Danse Royale
This is a token performance of their upbeat, hip thrusting, booty shaking number called 'Tina', an homage to Tina Turner.  Danse Royale has been created for a performance at The Civic Centre, Tallaght on Saturday the 2nd of December at 4.45pm as part of Unwrapped - Christmas show directed by Tony Fagan and Choreographed/ facilitated by - Olwyn Lyons, Jessie Keenan and Jade O'Connor. 
 
Dance Theatre of Ireland, Vintage Youth
It’s About Time…
This inspiring performance by Vintage Youth, Dance Theatre of Ireland’s 17-member Seniors Dance Ensemble, expresses memories and reflections on life and aging and shares stories common to us all. Created through written text and movement drawn from the participants' experience, it explores the changes, challenges and rewards of aging and the discoveries of delving into the creative well in the “Third age”.  Choreographed by DTI Artistic Directors Robert Connor & Loretta Yurick in collaboration with the performers. 
 
Vintage Youth Ensemble is a Seniors Dance performance group formed by participants in Dance Theatre of Ireland’s Well-Dance for Seniors classes who wanted share the joy and importance of re-discovering dancing.
 
Supported by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, the Arts Council & the Ireland Funds

Théogène Niwenshuti
Théogène Niwenshuti was born in Rwanda, in the Great Lakes - East African Regions. He is a multidisciplinary artist, dancer, choreographer, international facilitator and professional coach. He is trained in Applied Arts Facilitation and Community Art Counselling, and he has got numerous Certificates of competence including a facilitator training in Race, Diversity, Social Justice and Transformation in Organizations he got from the Wits University Schoo­l of Social Sciences.

­­For over 25 years, Théogène has facilitated workshops, delivered lectures, performed, designed and led interventions for young, adults and specific groups across Africa a­nd Europe. He survived genocide and has dedicated himself to peace and human right activism, conflict resolution and genocide awareness, transformation, healing, prevention, education and research.

In recognition of his academic, creative and community achievements, he has received awards and medals including the Rector's Excellence Award for Best Innovator in research in 2009 from National University of Rwanda (NUR), NUR Award for Best Artist and Promoter of Arts and Culture, he was twice nominated for the prestigious Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellowship Award, three times for the Freedom to Create Prize, he has received prestige, merit and honorary awards from East and South African Institutions.

His experiences and work, including the following papers and articles will inform his lectures and creative interventions in Ireland this coming December 2017.

Niwenshuti, T. 2012, Bringing colour into life again, In Lien Heidenreich-Seleme and Sean O’Toole (eds.),Über(W)unden: Art in Troubled Times, pp.70-79, Jacana Media, Auckland Park, South Africa.

Niwenshuti, T. 2013, Dance as a communication tool to address intergenerational trauma for a healthier psychosocial environment in Rwanda and the Great Lakes of Africa. In Hazel Barnes (ed), Arts Activism, Education and Therapies. Transforming Communities across Africa, pp. 29-37, RODOPI.

Niwenshuti, T. 2014, Journey to Healing: The Poetics of Body Space and Memory in Translation. A Case Study of Re/naissance & Witness, an Autoethnographic Physical Theatre Performance [Masters Research], Wits University, Johannesburg

MAT OPUT: Ritual performance for healing and conflict resolution in Northern Uganda [conference paper, 2012- 2013]

This project is funded under the Arts Council’s Invitation to Collaboration Scheme 2017

This project is a partnership between Kildare, Kerry and Tipperary County Councils, and Dance Ireland.   

Thanks to our event partners:
Tipperary Dance Platform, TOCHT Festival of Dance, and Kildare Dance and Movement Summer School.  Also to our venue partners, Nenagh Arts Centre, Siamsa Tíre and Maynooth University.

 

For further information:

  • Telephone: 01 855 8800
  • Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)