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Benefit Screening of Jockey by Emma O'Kane and Willfredd Theatre
Emma O’Kane Bursary
4 December 2025
Horse Racing is in the blood. As Emma O’Kane discovered.
Join the team behind Willfredd Theatre’s extraordinary JOCKEY collaboration for a special benefit event for the Emma O’Kane Bursary at Project Arts Centre on 4th December. Come and see a film of the performance work, followed by a panel discussion with key creative voices – Sophie Motley & Sarah Jane Shiels of WillFredd Theatre, Jack Cawley and Kilian Waters. Moderated by Shane O’Reilly, the conversation will explore the development process of a work that saw Emma delve deep into the history of her grandfather, and learn to ride a racehorse.
Photo Credit: Leon Farrell for Photocall Ireland
About Jockey
Willfredd Theatre’s JOCKEY, co-created with Emma O’Kane for the 2015 Dublin Dance Festival, was borne from a year long collaboration between the company, lead artist and the Irish Racing Community. Emma’s grandfather, Phillip de Burgh O’Brien, was a bloodstock agent and a racing journalist from the 1940s–70s. He died before she was born but through his writings and her own experience of learning to ride a racehorse, JOCKEY explored the physical relationship between dancer, jockey and Irish thoroughbred horse. Featuring original racing footage and commentary, the project also included a weekly blog by Emma for the Irish Racing Post.
About the Bursary
The Emma O’Kane Bursary is an award for independent artists who want to think beyond the boundaries of their art form and practice and to explore dance or a physical language in their work. It honours the exceptional ethos and artistic practice of artist Emma O’Kane who died in 2021.
The Emma O’Kane Bursary is open to artists of all types and talents. Whatever your background, lived experience or artistic practice, if you have the CURIOSITY to explore and integrate dance, movement or other forms of physical language in your work, the COURAGE to push art form boundaries and to challenge norms and the AMBITION to be the best that you can be as an artist, they would love to hear from you.
Find out more about the bursary and how to apply here.
Bursary Partners and Support
Bursary partners
Anu Productions
CoisCéim Dance Theatre
Crash Ensemble
Dublin Dance Festival
Fishamble: The New Play Company
Pavilion Theatre
Project Arts Centre
The Ark, Dublin
The bursary was set up with a Collaborative Capacity Building Award from the The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon in 2021 and is funded entirely by donation.
Date
4 December
Time
8pm
Tickets
€20/ €30/ €100 / €250 / €1000
Space
Cube
Duration
50 minutes
Note
Please note that all proceeds will go towards the bursary. The proceeds equals the total income after the standard deductions of 5% credit card fees and Project Arts Centre's €2 booking fee, which is included in the ticket price. Thank you for your generous donation!
Genres
DanceFilm
https://vimeo.com/
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