Us - LIZ ROCHE COMPANY

OUR VISION

Our Vision is that Liz Roche Company will be recognized both at home and abroad as a leading contemporary dance company that makes a substantial contribution to the cultural life of Ireland, to the reputation of Irish creative arts, and to contemporary international dance practice.

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to affirm the vital importance of dance to human expression by creating work of outstanding aesthetic quality, cultural resonance and human value, that leads to a deep and sustained engagement with and between artists and audiences.

OUR VALUES

Artistic integrity is the foundation of our work - we endeavour to always be artistically uncompromising, provocative and distinctive.

The imperative of moving forward – Constant innovation drives us into new territories of artistic thought and practice. We constantly challenge ourselves and our collaborators as we research, perform and archive our work, always with the objective of extending the boundaries of contemporary dance.

The power of collaborative artistic exploration - our dance works are always original, developed in collaboration with dancers and designers of the highest calibre which tour nationally and internationally.

Equality of cultural rights - as an organisation we want to encourage diversity within our community and continue to promote equality of opportunity for all.

Compassion/Service - a major part of the dance cultural landscape in Ireland, we are constantly exploring new ways to make the bridge between the art-form of dance and audiences.

The obligation to nurture a new generation of dance artists and makers is deeply woven into the artistic activities of the company alongside the awareness of the necessity to build an environment for dance to flourish in Ireland.

THE STORY

Established in 1999, Liz Roche Company is one of Ireland’s leading contemporary dance companies. With a reputation for its finely wrought and beautifully crafted choreographic style, the Dublin based company presents the works of choreographer Liz Roche in collaboration with artists, dancers and designers of the highest calibre. An artistically distinctive and ambitious arts organisation, the company has produced over twenty original productions, touring throughout Ireland and further afield in the UK, Germany, France, USA, Australia and China, most notably being presented at the Baryshnikov Arts Centre and Judson Memorial Church in New York, the South Bank Centre, London and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Le Centre Culturel Irlandais, The Irish Arts Festival Beijing and Brisbane Powerhouse, Australia.

The company is dedicated to collaboration, archiving, research, as well as extending the art of contemporary dance. We deliver a wide ranging programme of professional and audience development opportunities in partnership with high level institutions such as The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick, Dublin Dance Festival, The Lir Academy and Dance Ireland. Our Associate Dance Artist 2018 – 21 is Lucia Kickham. The company was co-founded in 1999 by sisters Liz Roche and Jenny Roche and was formally known as Rex Levitates Dance Company. Now under the artistic direction of choreographer Liz Roche, the team consists of Company Manager Moyra D’Arcy, Communications and Public Engagement Manager Kate O' Brien and Producing Associate Emer McMahon.

What we do?

In a time of cognitive, verbal, and visual overload, Liz Roche Company creates contemporary dance that engages the audience about human dilemma's at a deep, non-verbal level. It does this through an ever-developing movement vocabulary, crafted by choreographer Liz Roche, that expresses the body as an evolved site for social and self-discovery. Over twenty years, the affective nature of this distinctive crafted movement style has created a body of work that has influenced generations of young Irish dancers. A major part of the formation of the dance cultural landscape in Ireland, the company is constantly exploring new ways to find the bridge between arts and audiences. We are dedicated to collaboration, archiving, researching, challenging and extending the art of contemporary dance. We do this this through the creation of new dance works, made in collaboration with artists, dancers and designers of the highest calibre which tour nationally and internationally, and through supporting the work of emerging and established artists through our professional development programmes. Each year we run a Tenderfoot programme which invites younger dancers in to work with the company during research and development of new work. In 2019 the company partnered with the Irish world Academy of Music and Dance University of Limerick to deliver the Modes of Capture Symposium which marked the beginning of IntraSpaces, a new creative partnership with Irish World Academy, University of Limerick; The symposium was presented also in partnership with Dublin Dance Festival and Dance Limerick.

recent achievements

Commission by Cork Opera House in partnership with Sirius Arts Centre, Cobh to create two new dance pieces, I Thou and Pilgrimage, responding to the work of iconic Irish visual artist Brian O'Doherty/Patrick Ireland for Cork Midsummer Festival and Cork Opera House 2018 and Dublin Dance Festival 2019.

Commission by the Goethe-Institut Irland, to present a new site specific work Näher..closer, nearer, sooner for the reopening of their Merrion Square buildings, presented at Dublin Fringe Festival 2018.

Commission by An Post for the GPO and Ireland 2016: Centenary Programme, Liz directed Embodied.

In 2017, presented Totems in the National Gallery of Ireland as part of the programme of event to mark the reopening of the Milltown and Dargan Wings.

In 2015 the company premiered Bastard Amber, a co-production and co-commission between the Abbey Theatre and Dublin Dance Festival with Kilkenny Arts Festival. It was a historic moment for dance in Ireland, the first time ever for an Irish choreographer to be commissioned to create a full length dance work for the main stage of Ireland’s National Theatre.