Seminar on Ballet in Ireland

Wednesday, 20th February 2008, 14.30 - 17.00
Room B Lower Ground Floor, Foundation Building, University of Limerick

Speakers (in this order): Dr. Gráinne Mc Ardle, Dr Geraldine Morris, Anica Lowe, Rachel Goode, & Stephen Brennan. Chair: Victoria O'Brien

Dr. Gráinne Mc Ardle is a graduate of the Samuel Beckett Centre for Drama and Theatre Studies, Trinity College, Dublin. Her PhD research at the Beckett Centre focused on Dance on the Dublin Stage between 1729 and 1743. She is an independent dance researcher and teaches dance history. Gráinne also runs a ballet school in County Kildare.
Paper Title: Ballet on the Dublin Stage during the eighteenth and early nineteenth century.

Dr Geraldine Morris is a senior lecturer at Roehampton University London. After training and performing with the National Ballet School and Company (Ireland), she danced with The Royal Ballet from 1963 to 1971 during which time she worked with some of the foremost choreographers in ballet in the 20th century. These include Frederick Ashton, Bronislava Nijinska and Antony Tudor. Geraldine subsequently entered higher education and completed a PhD in 2000.
Paper Title: Irish Ballet

Anica Lowe was born in South Africa and attended her first ballet class at 3 years old. Anica later studied Dramatic Art in Pretoria University. In the late 1970s Anica came to Ireland and established Shawbrook Dance School in Co Longford in response to what she felt was a great need for serious dance training in Ireland. Shawbrook Dance School started in a grain barn for local student and has grown into a hideaway and retreat centre for dancers from around the world.
Paper Title: Ballet, its place in Ireland today with regard to preparing students for 3rd level education abroad.

Rachel Goode is a graduate from Ballet Rambert, London. She is an experienced teacher and administrator and a registered teacher of The Royal Academy of Dance and of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. She has been teaching since 1989 and has had a 100% success rate in all graded and vocational exams.
Paper Title: Transition Year Dance Module

Stephen Brennan started dancing lessons at the Elliott-Clarke School in Liverpool before continuing training at Bush Davies School, Sussex, graduating in 1984. Since then he has danced with many of Europe's ballet companies including London Ballet Theatre, Malmö Stadsteater Balett (Sweden), The National Norwegian Ballet and The Scottish Ballet. Stephen joined Ballet Ireland in 1999 and since his appointment as Educational Officer a year later has developed the company's extensive outreach programme. He has choreographed two short works for Ballet Ireland, 'Figaro, Faktotem' (2003) and 'School for Lovers' (2004).
Paper Title: Outreach work and the development of an informed Irish ballet audience.

Chair: 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 awarded from the Laban Centre, London, and the University of Limerick. In 1992, Victoria helped to establish, and then directed for six years, a full-time post-leaving certificate dance programme at Sallynoggin College of Further Education, Co. Dublin. After teaching in Paris for five years, Victoria returned to Ireland to continue her studies into the history of Irish ballet. She is currently completing a PhD thesis entitled: "A History of Irish Ballet from 1927 to1963."