Dance Ireland Residency: Lapree Lala

Date:

Mon 19 Aug 2024 - Fri 23 Aug 2024

Time:

10:00 - 18:00

Venue:

DanceHouse

Lapree Lala is the recipient of a Dance Ireland residency. 

Lapree Ncube, a professional Afro dancer, takes on an innovative residency project, Afro-Modern Fusion, to elevate her artistic practice. Building on her transformative experience from Dance Ireland's HATCH award, this residency offers a unique chance for Lapree to delve into cultural fusion and innovative choreography at a pivotal stage in her career.

This residency grants Lapree essential resources for deep creative exploration. Through collaborations with renowned Afro dance instructors and her mentor Tebza Diphehlo, she will expand her movement vocabulary and enhance her choreographic diversity. By blending Afro dance with modern techniques, Lapree aims to pioneer new choreographic methods, forging a distinctive artistic voice. Addressing previous obstacles, the residency provides financial support, alleviating funding constraints, and offers online workshops with international experts, overcoming the limits of in-person training.

Collaborating with socially engaged artist Karen Aguiar, Lapree will explore dance's role in societal change. This partnership will enrich her artistic perspective and promote inclusive practices, ensuring dance benefits diverse communities. Through intensive research, training, and collaboration, this residency marks a crucial step in Lapree Ncube's professional growth, positioning her to make a significant impact in the dance world.

Read about her Collaborators:

Tebza Diphehlo is a dancer, teacher and choreographer from South Africa in Soweto. He was born in 1993 in Johannesburg and began his dance journey in 2000. Ever since then Tebza worked tiredlessly to perfect his dancing and that led to him looking beyond just dancing but teaching, choreographing and researching about Spantsula and other South African urban dance styles. Today Tebza is considered as a pioneer of Pantsula and Amapiano dance styles due to the experience and the knowledge he has acquired over the years of his dancing and researching.

Karen Aguiar is a migrant woman, journalist, former Rhythmic Gymnast and socially engaged artist & producer. Being a native of Brazil and a resident of Ireland since 2016, this has cemented her belief in the importance of celebrating migration, individual and collective cultures. Performing since a young age, body movement has always been her passion. She sees dance and music as common points where different cultures can meet, powerful ways of getting people together, creating connections and embody collective knowledge-making practices. Inspired by this, in 2018 Karen founded Go Dance For Change, a collaborative cross-cultural platform, producing social spaces and connecting people through dance in Ireland. At the end of 2022, Karen was granted the Artist In the Community Scheme Bursary Award in Collaborative Arts and Dance by the Arts Council of Ireland, managed by Create in partnership with Dance Ireland.

 

Read more about Lapree Lala...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lapree Lala is a dynamic dance artist and advocate for change, specializing in Afro and Amapiano styles. As a professional affiliated with Dance Ireland, she uses dance to foster integration, community, and empowerment. Empowering Youth and Communities Lapree led the "Move Your Mood" project with the Irish Refugee Council, teaching Afro dance to displaced youth to help them transition to life in Ireland.

She also conducts workshops with Akidwa, offering free classes to women in Direct Provision, fostering a sense of belonging and community. Corporate and Community Engagement Her influence extends to major corporations like Google, Facebook, and TikTok, where she teaches empowering twerk classes that build self-confidence. Lapree's dance journey includes performances at events like Wellfest, Electric Picnic, and Culture Night Dublin, highlighting her versatile artistry.

Founder of Southside Moves Lapree founded Southside Moves, an initiative that offers dance classes and community engagement sessions. By bringing together international instructors and diverse dance styles, she celebrates unity and connection through dance, enriching the global community with the vibrant tapestry of Afro culture.