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Lighting Design for Dance

The Lighting Design for Dance Project pairs professional choreographers with MFA students in Lighting Design from The Lir Academy, offering a series of structured supports.

Photo by Luca Truffarelli

The project caters for choreographers who wish to learn more about the lighting design process, as well as provide experimental time for experienced choreographers who wish to realise a specific idea in advance of a creative process.

Contemporary dance choreographer Liz Roche mentors the choreographers as part of the professional development process and lighting designer Sinead Wallace from The Lir Academy oversees the design students.

These supports include:

  • Rehearsal space at Dance House to devise work
  • Guidance and mentoring throughout the process
  • Use of The Lir Academy theatre space
  • Technical support and expertise throughout the process
  • Stipend for participation

With mentoring by Liz Roche and Lighting Designer Sinead Wallace, this project caters for choreographers who wish to learn more about the lighting design process for theatre based and live broadcast choreographies. We encourage participation from choreographers who wish to use this opportunity to engage in exploring process, rather than developing new work.

"Lighting Design for Dance has given me a new consideration and fresh inspiration into work I create for theatre and stage. I have more confidence to ask for what I envision with work I create or am involved in and also more understanding and patience of what people I work with might be offering. I have gained more understanding of the great impact lighting can make on the audience’s experience of a performance. I have begun to know what individual lights do and how they work together to create different states. I have also begun to develop a taste as to what kind of lighting I like, and to look more at lighting choices when I go to see performances. This opened up a whole new world for me."
Vivian Brodie-Hayes, Lighting Design for Dance 2022 Choreography Participant speaking on her experience with the project

Project partners

Liz Roche Company

The Lir Academy

Dance Ireland

Irish World Academy of Music and Dance

University of Limerick

Choreographers

Jessie Thompson and Vivian Brodie-Hayes

Lighting designers

Pedro Pacheco and Sophie Cassidy

Choreographers

Nick Nikolaou, Niamh O'Loughlin

Lighting designers

Kevin Murphy, Michael Rathbun


Choreographers

Roisin Whelan, Sarah Fennell, Melissa Bori, Adrika Subhash, Wu Fei, Yumi Lee

Lighting designers

Stephen Bourke, Israel Del Barco, Brian Mitchell, Roberto Ventruti


Choreographers

Justine Doswell, Mihaela Griveva, Matt Szczerek

Lighting designers

Colin Doran, Blue Hanley, Matt Burke

Choreographers

Dagmara Jerzak, Justine Cooper and Lucia Kickham

Lighting designers

Isreal Negrao, Johann Fitzpatrick, Danielle Donnally and Fenna Von Hirschheydt

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