Gathering One - Dancer From The Dance Festival of Irish Choreography 2026

Dancer from the Dance Festival of Irish Choreography is a series of mixed programmes or gatherings of Irish and Irish-identifying choreographers, crossing borders of ethnicity, dance practices, generations, genders and dance styles from Contemporary to sean nós to classical ballet. Now in its 8th year, the festival features over 22 choreographers performing short exciting dance works celebrating the strength and diversity of the Irish identity and the Irish dance landscape.

Rory Fitzgerald – CROSS Contamination; dancers: Santiago Novo, Raphael Lacombe, Rory Fitzgerald, Natalie Fabiola Gustavsen, Giacomo Liam Durante 13 minutes 

Julie Lockett – Landgut (Choreography, performance and text) 12 mins 

Magdalena Hylak – Standing (Choreographer); dancers: Roberta Ceginskaite and Magdalena Hylak 20 minutes 

Favour Odusola – Way (Choreography and performance) 10 mins 

Intermission 15 minutes 

Rosie Mullin, God Love Her (Choreography and performance) 20 minutes 

Ruaidhri Maguire – Nocte Angelli Dancer Callum McGregor 7 minutes  

Grace Cuny – SPACE CADET (Choreography and performance) 15 mins  

BBOYALEON – BBOYALEON Solo (Choreography and performance) 5 mins 

CROSS Contamination 

Choreographer: Rory Fitzgerald,  

Dancers Santiago Novo, Raphael Lacombe, Rory Fitzgerald, Natalie Fabiola Gustavsen, Giacomo Liam Durante 

CROSS Contamination explores how culture transforms across generations — using Ireland’s Angelus as a lens through which five dancers from five countries examine what their homelands have lost, gained, or buried over time. 

Rory Fitzgerald is a contemporary dancer and choreographer based between Dublin and the Netherlands. He is currently studying at Codarts University, at their esteemed Bachelor of Dance Program. Rory has trained in Ballet, Laban and Graham technique as well as participating in Gaga and Hofesh based classes. He has worked with international artists and choreographers such as; Nnamdi Nwagwu, Dunja Jocic, Lai Hung Chung and Samuel Van der Veer. Rory is ecstatic about showing ‘CROSS contamination’ at this year’s Dancer from the Dance Festival. 

Landgut 

Choreography, Dance and text Julie Lockett 

Director: Jason Byrne, Movement Director: Ella Clarke  

constant native  

inflated with ease, she is bereft of nothing 

part of the whole, she can never be missing         

Julie Lockett is a ‘dancelander’ based in Cloughjordan Ecovillage. She works interchangeably with the land and in the studio as Artist-in-Residence at Instant Dissidence’s Eco Dance Space. Julie has presented work nationally and internationally over the last 26 years and has trained in dance, permaculture, languages and international relations. 

Standing 

Choreographer: Magdalena Hylak 

Dancers: Roberta Ceginskaite and Magdalena Hylak 

After a year of shared exploration, a journey emerges – unspoken, undefined, yet deeply felt. Dance Limerick’s Associated Artist, Magdalena Hylak, and Galway-based dancer, Roberta Ceginskaite, invite you into a space where movement unfolds beyond technique, style, or genre. Their duet is an instinctive dialogue between two bodies coexisting, responding, and redefining connection in real time. With an evocative sound score by Brussels based composer Lionel Kasparian, whose experimental compositions have intertwined with Hylak’s work since 2022, the performance becomes a meeting ground – an interplay of sound and motion, tension and release. A visceral exploration of presence and the silent negotiations between moving bodies. 

Magdalena Hylak is a dance artist based in Ireland. She is currently touring nationally and internationally with John Scott-IMDT (IE) and Nacera Belaza (FR), as a core collaborator with over 220 performances across 14 countries. Since 2021, she is developing her own body of work, where she questions the notion of performance. At the core of her research is the movement and sound outside of the question of style/genre or technique. She has been the Galway Dance Artist in Residence since 2023. She is Dance Limerick’s Associate Artist for 2026 

Way 

Choreography and performance: Favour Odusola.  

Favour describes Way as “basically as born from my questioning what kind of dancer am I and do I want to be”. Way explores the journey of finding one’s own direction. It weaves together dance styles from multiple cultural traditions, highlighting the adaptability and resilience of humanity, in dance, in art, and in everyday life. The piece reflects how we navigate uncertainty, absorb influence, and ultimately carve out identities that feel authentic to us.  

Favour Odusola is a Nigerian-Irish multidisciplinary artist, and youth educator based in Dublin, Ireland. Working across Afro-contemporary dance, theatre, and live performance, Favour approaches storytelling through blending African traditional movement, Afro-diasporic dance forms, and contemporary practices to create work that is culturally emotionally resonant, and deeply human. Performance history includes: Irish Modern Dance Theatre, CoisCeim Dance Theatre, 5 Lamps Festival, Mother Tongues Festival, Irish Youth Dance Festival, St. Patrick Festival, and Dublin Culture Night. 

Ruaidhrí Maguire: Nocte Angelli. 

Choreography by Ruaidhrí Maguire, dance Callum McGregor  

Nocte Angeli is a neoclassical solo exploring male mental health through fallen grace, tracing an angel’s struggle with identity, loss, and redemption, reflecting the pressure between societal ideals and inner reality. 

Ruaidhrí Maguire is an Irish choreographer creating neoclassical works driven by musicality, physicality, and emotional nuance, with choreography that blends classical form and contemporary intention across international stages. 

Rosie Mullin: God Love Her

Choreography and Performance Rosie Mullin 

Woven with monologue and movement, this short chapter questions the matriarchy within Irish homes and the influence of Catholic upbringings, absent men, and alcoholism.  the farcical catholic rituals concealed growing up in Donegal within rural Ireland’s domestic walls. A celebration of womanhood, and the search for what is sacred and what has been suppressed. 

Rosie Mullin has been an integral part of the dance community in the north of Ireland, creatively 

contributing to performances with Off The Rails, Maiden Voyage Dance and O.D works. Her artistic practice questions the farcical catholic rituals concealed within rural Ireland’s domestic walls. Rosie also recently danced with Irish Modern Dance Theatre is Abby Zbikowski’s ‘The Future Is On The Way’ as part of  HYPERPHYSICAL 

Grace Cuny: SPACE CADET 

Choreography and performance: Grace Cuny 

How do we emerge from periods of mental and physical stagnation? Can we push ourselves to the point of unlocking our potential without burning up? In the final section of SPACE CADET, Grace Cuny tackles these questions through a marathon of repetition. 

Grace Cuny is a Dublin-based dance artist. She’s previously worked with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Liz Roche, Catherine Young, and Siobhán Ní Dhuinnín. In her work, Grace enjoys using personal roadblocks as raw creative material. In SPACE CADET, she asks how we can emerge from periods of prolonged stagnation. 

BBOYALEON 

Solo Choreography and performance by BBOYLEON (Leon Dwyer) 

A powerful solo by BBOYALEON, the first-ever Irish Bboy to qualify in any Olympic qualifier, multiple award winner of Redbull BC, known for his explosive moves and smooth transitions, Leon has made a significant mark on the international breaking scene. 

Partners include Dance Ireland, Project Arts Centre, IFI Irish Film Institute, Dublin City Council, Galway Dance and Millenium, Année européenne des Normands