Dr Catherine Foley designed and is course director of both the MA in Ethnochoreology and the MA in Irish Traditional Dance Performance at the Irish World Music Centre, University of Limerick. She established and is Chair of 'Dance Research Forum Ireland', the international society for dance scholarship in Ireland, and established and is Director of 'Trath na gCos', the annual dance festival at the Irish World Music Centre. She has taught at all levels within the education system, from primary level to doctorate level, within both an academic and performance capacity; she has presented and published articles in her areas of expertise and has performed and given workshops in Irish step dance in Ireland, the United States of America, Norway, Germany, and France. Catherine has carried out extensive fieldwork in Ireland but particualrly in Kerry, the west coast of Ireland, where she worked as a collector of Irish traditional music, song, and dance for Muckross House Folk Museum, Killarney, Co. Kerry. Her Ph.D. on Irish tradiitonal step dance was undertaken at the Laban Centre for movement and Dance, London; her undergraduate degree is in Music; she is a qualified Irish step dance teacher with An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha; and she spent six years teaching in Baile Mhuirne, the west Cork Gaeltacht (Irish speaking region).To

Back

Orfhlaith Ni Bhriain is a lecturer in Irish Music and Dance Performance Studies at the Irish World Music Centre, University of Limerick.
She is a registered Irish Dance teacher (T.C.R.G). and adjudicator ( A.D.C..R.G.) with An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha. She has travelled extensively to workshops and Step Dance Competitions throughout Europe and North America as a tutor from the renowned Scoil Rince Ui Ruairc and dance accompanist. In 1998 she completed a Masters in Ethnochoreology at the Irish World Music Centre, University of Limerick.
Orfhlaith has also worked as assistant lecturer in Dance in the Physical Education Department, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. Recently she completed a residency at Williams College MA where she was employed as guest artist in dance. During her residency there, she also gave workshops in Irish dance at the American Colleges Dance Festival in Plymouth New Hampshire.
Orfhlaith is Co-Director of Blas International Summer School of Traditional Irish Music and Dance held at the Irish World Music Centre.
A Ph.D. student at the I.W.M.C, her research interests include, Irish Dance among the Diaspora and examining creative processes in the context of Competitive Irish Solo Step Dance.

Back

Olive Beecher B.A., M.A. (Ethnochoreology), just completed her Ph.D. thesis on the therapeutic application of dance movement, in relation
to dance and disability, at the Irish World Music and Dance Academy, University of Limerick, Ireland. She trained as a professional dancer at
the Louis/Nikolais Dance School in New York City, USA. A former and founder member of Daghdha Dance Company, she danced, choreographed and taught with Daghdha for four years before leaving to develop her own choreography and teaching. She is especially interested in dance improvisation. In the 80's Olive lectured in dance at the Physical Education Department in U.L. for two years and has worked as dancer-in- residence at the College of Art and Design in Limerick. While working freelance, she taught dance to children with hearing impairment and children with physical disabilities in Limerick. Olive currently teaches and lectures in dance at the University of Limerick.

Back

Victoria O'Brien trained at the Irish National College of Dance and with Dublin City Ballet. She completed her undergraduate studies in Performance at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Her postgraduate studies were in Dance Education at the Laban Centre and she was awarded a Masters in Dance by the University of Limerick. Victoria is currently working on a PhD thesis on "The History of Ballet and Contemporary Dance Practice in Ireland, 1925-1960".

Back

Deirdre Mulrooney is a dance-writer, journalist, and lecturer in theatre. Her Ph.D, Orientalism, Orientation and the Nomadic Work of Pina Bausch was published by Peter Lang in 2002. Her radio series 'Nice Moves' on the history of dance and physical theatre in Ireland was broadcast on RTE Radio One in May 2004, and is the basis for a non-fiction book she is working on, sponsored by Abhann Productions.

Deirdre has contributed to Dance Magazine, Dance Europe, Rattlebag on RTE Radio One and Lyric FM's Artszone. Riverdance Uncharted Stories will be broadcast on Radio One on Stephens day. She currently contributes to Village Magazine, and has contributed to The Sunday Business Post The Irish Times, The Irish Independent, The Sunday Times Culture section, Abroad, and IT Magazines.

Back

Jonathan Kelliher is Artistic Director of Siamsa Tíre, The National Folk Theatre of Ireland. Jonathan has been involved with Siamsa Tíre since the age of eight. He trained at the Teach Siamsa Training Centre for 3 years, where he studied singing, music, drama and dance. He became a professional member in 1989. He has played leading roles in Siamsa Tíre productions such as Immram, Clann Lir, Oisín and Oileán. He directed rEvolution for the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2005 and more recently the very successful Tearmann which premiered in 2006. Jonathan also teaches and trains the younger members of the company, in traditional Irish dance and lectures on Siamsa Tíre's unique style at the Institute of Technology, Tralee.

Back

Sheila Creevey is a dance artist specialising in pre-vocational dance training in the private, state and social sectors. Working with young dancers from the gifted and talented to the socially excluded, she has developed and delivered numerous courses. As a practicing researcher, Sheila facilitates professional development and mentoring programmes alongside her pedagogic research. An experienced arts administrator and manager, she has worked for various organisations including Badejo Arts. Sheila received her MA in Contemporary Dance Performance from the University of Limerick and holds a BA(Hons) in Dance Studies and Music from the University of Surrey. Sheila is currently undertaking PhD research.

Back

Sharon Phelan designed, and delivers, dance curricula from academic, educational and performance-based perspectives, on five degree programmes at ITTralee. Sharon performed professionally with Siamsa tire - the National Folk Theatre of Ireland and pursued Irish Dance and folk culture further in her MA studies, and in her work as Artistic Director of the Ionad Culturtha, (Cultural Centre), Cork. Sharon has a Diploma in Speech and Drama and she studied dance-in-education within her degree in Physical Education. In 1993, she trained as an Animateur in Dance, with the Department of Education and she became Development Officer in 1996 in the Curriculum Development Unit in Dublin. In 1998, she revised and disseminated the Leaving Certificate Applied Dance Syllabus. Since then, she has written and compiled dance-in-education resource packs for the Curriculum Development Centre and the Department of Education and delivered teacher in-service for the NCCA, Department of Education and other professional bodies. She is currently completing a PhD in Dance and Cultural Studies and has published numerous academic papers focusing on dance from cultural and educational perspectives.

Back

Katarína Mojzišová received her MA in Dance from the Faculty of Music and Dance at the Academy for Music and Dramatic Arts (VSMU) in Bratislava in 1999. Her projects in Ireland include commissions from the Arts Council / Limerick City Council 2006, Excursions: Performance Festival 2005, Framemakers Symposium 2005, selections for Dublin Fringe Festival 2006, Gravity & Grace Festival 2005 and 22 short performance pieces for Mamuska Nights 2004 - 2006. She lectured on dance and performance at the MA in Irish Dance Performance at the University of Limerick, at the Sculpture and Combined Media Department of Limerick School of Art and Design and at the Mentoring Programme of Daghdha Dance Company. She has been teaching dance to the children of Limerick Primary Schools since 2005. She is involved in various experimental, cross-genre and collaboration projects and is currently creating Body Technologies, a laboratory for experimenting with different concepts of using the body in performance; it aims to involve artists from various genres to explore and test the possibilities of existing backgrounds, fields and categories within the open frame of performance.

Back