Gathering Three - 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.

Aneta Dortová – Bolero (Choreography and performance); live bandoneon: Agustina Taborda – 13 minutes

BBOYALEON – BBOYALEON Solo (Choreography and performance) 

Josué Reis – ABIIM: A Body in Internal Motion (Choreography); dancers: Talita Lima, Ikaro Cavalcante and Josué Reis – 8 minutes 

Subhashini Goda Mallari Iteration 2 – 7 minutes 

Oona Doherty – Almost Blue (Choreography and performance) – 15 minutes 

James Grennan Finding my Feet – 4 minutes 

intermission 

Rory Fitzgerald – CROSS Contamination – 13 minutes 

Tobi Balogun – Di:Aspira (Choreography and performance) – 7 minutes 

Justine Doswell – Monologue II (Choreographer, in collaboration with Axelle Sechao); text: Marina Carr; performers: Axelle Sechao and Justine Doswell – 8 minutes 

Cristian Emmanuel Dirocie – Balance  – 5 minutes 

Jessie Thompson – Bench – 15 minutes 

Programme Description 

Aneta Dortová, Boléro  

Choreography and dance: Aneta Dortová, Bandoneon: Agustina Taborda 

Description: Boléro is Aneta Dortová and Agustina Taborda’s response to Ravel’s legendary score, reimagining the iconic score as a dialogue between live music and dance. Featuring a layered arrangement for bandoneon, the choreography explores patterns, repetition, dynamics, detail, spontaneity, and humour through an honest conversation between two performers. 

Aneta Dortová, a dance artist, choreographer, and musician. Her artistic practice focuses on the relationship between live music and dance and traditional and contemporary dance. She co-organizes a folk music and dance festival FolCon Brno. 

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. 

Oona Doherty, Almost Blue  

Choreography and performance Oona Doherty 

Commissioned by Cork Midsummer Festival, Almost Blue is a goodbye dance, a farewell. An attempt to move what has come before and expand through chaos back to the gentle hum that came before the beginning. It is a waltz of the inner solar system. 

Oona Doherty, is a choreographer, dancer known for work that fuses raw physicality with social observation. Based in Belfast, she draws deeply on the landscapes, tensions, and working-class communities of Northern Ireland, creating performances that are both confrontational and tender. Her choreography often explores masculinity, power, ritual, and identity, blending street movement, contemporary dance, and theatrical intensity. Her internationally acclaimed works include Hope Hunt and the Ascension into Lazarus, Hard to Be Soft – A Belfast Prayer, Navy Blue, Specky Clarke and Leather Jacket. In 2021, she was awarded the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale for Dance, recognising her distinctive voice and impact on contemporary performance worldwide.
 

Josué Reis, ABIIM: A Body in Internal Motion 

ABIIM blends Krump, funk (passinho), and contemporary dance. The work follows the physical and emotional journey of a body shaped by memory, survival, and transformation. Through pure movement without words; 3 dancers explore identity, exile, community, and resistance. The choreography emerges from personal experience and fuses Afro-Brazilian urban styles with the intensity and depth of contemporary dance. 

Josué dos Reis is a Brazilian dancer, choreographer, and dance researcher from Salvador, Bahia. a city celebrated for its rich Afro-Brazilian culture and the largest African diaspora population in the world. He began his dance journey at the age of 13, performing professionally on the streets alongside his father in a theatrical setup that ignited his passion for artistic expression. Dance quickly became a transformative force in his life, leading him to collaborate with street choreographers, perform in popular music shows, and establish himself in the world of commercial dance from his teenage years. 

Subhashini Goda:  Mallari – Iteration 2. Choreography and Performance Subhashini Goda 

Reflecting on the changing aesthetics of the dance form, and also the individual body, the two pieces are an insight into how bharatanatyam is and can be practised in different contexts, ‘traditional’ and contemporary. 

Subhashini Goda is a multidisciplinary artist and an academic specialising in Bharatanatyam. Her interdisciplinary works are informed by Indian dance-theatre traditions, and are grounded in reconsidering how Bharatanatyam is perceived, practised, and performed in varied translocal contexts. She has also just completed a PhD in dance anthropology. @subhashinigoda.dance 

James Greenan Finding my Feet. 

Rooted in percussive play, Finding My Feet follows a growing sense of attunement, tracing a path from uncertainty towards trust. 

James Greenan, an Irish dance artist, choreographer and movement practitioner from Co Cavan. Former World Champion and Riverdance Principal Dancer, he is Creative Director of Rhythm of the Dance and completing an MA in Irish Traditional Dance Performance at the Irish World Academy. His current practice explores relationships between rhythm, movement and human connection through contemporary Irish dance. 

Rory Fitzgerald: 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. 

Tobi Balogun: Di:Aspira  

Choreography and performance by Tobi Balogun 

A drift, a breath, a bounce.   

A work in progress addressing themes of masculinity, ethnicity, storytelling and belonging. Drawing from the rich traditions of Yoruba culture and afrofuturism.   

This evocative piece positions the body as a transitory state, a vessel awash across waters to new shores.   

Tobi Balogun is a multidisciplinary artist working across Dance, Theatre, Performance, Fashion and Visual Art . His practice explores themes of identity, memory, cultural heritage, and human connection through surreal and process-led approaches to making. Centering community, decolonialism and sustainability as core values.  

Justine Doswell, Monologue II 

Monologue II Choreographer: Justine Doswell in collaboration with Axelle Sechao, text by Marina Carr – performers Axelle Sechao and Justine Doswell 

Who Calls the Wind?… Monologue II. A play for dancers, exploring what is passed down through the female line. Terpsichore remembers her mother, Mnemosyne, goddess of memory and mother of the Muses. The forgotten lineage with its old truths and old lies. 

Justine Doswell is a Dublin-based dance artist and choreographer whose collaborative practice spans dance and theatre. An Arts Council of Ireland Next Generation recipient, her recent works include Messier 45, DYADand Is There Balm in Gilead?. She is currently developing Who Calls the Wind, Silvers the Wave and Lulls the Manchild to Sleep? with Marina Carr 

Jessie Thompson: BENCH 

BENCH is a solo commission created by Jessie Thompson which takes place in Spencer Dock in collaboration with the surrounding environments and stories, zooming in on the ways in which the water moves through the city and is staple while the landscape continuously changes. Jessie will perform an extract of this solo for Dancer From the Dance.    

Jessie Thompson is a Dublin-based dance artist, choreographer, performer, and curator whose practice bridges hip-hop and contemporary dance. Her work explores embodiment, collective energy, and live collaboration with music and space, spanning theatre, film, and community contexts. She is the founder of Battle of Zen, Ireland’s leading street dance and experimental battle platform, and has created works including CRAWLER and AUTOMATA: A Myth Reawakened. Jessie is supported by the Arts Council of Ireland and regularly works across performance, education, and large-scale participatory projects. 

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