Sheila Creevey
Chief Executive, Dance Ireland
From studio to stage to society, professional dancers bring unique skills and insights that enrich our cultural life and strengthen our national identity.
Dance in Ireland is a thriving art form, representing the diversity of cultures that call Ireland home. It can be experienced in theatres, at crossroads, by canals and on your phone. Communities across the island unite, using dance to share lived experiences and reflect a progressive, inclusive Ireland.
Dance is a profession
Dance in Ireland is also a professional practice, with well-educated and highly skilled workers who are developing techniques and producing shows that have national and international recognition for their quality and experience. It is an art form worthy of investment.
Dancers have unique skills
Dance Ireland is the national organisation for dance. We enable the development of dance as an art form, a professional practice and cultural activity across the island of Ireland. We manage DanceHouse in Dublin 1, a six-studio internationally recognised home for professional dance and a centre of excellence for dance training and production. We invest in dancers and choreographers, supporting them through partnership and collaboration, to realise their artistic ambitions.
Professional dancers are highly skilled communicators who use their practical, intellectual and embodied knowledge to interact with society. The majority of dancers and makers work independently, forming their own businesses and carving out their own career paths. They are entrepreneurs, problem solvers and strategic thinkers who can engage with challenges and tasks uniquely.
It is time to think differently
about how we support dance.
You need a dancer on your team
It is time to think differently about how we support dance. We should consider the benefit of investing in education and training; in the productions that bring communities together; and in access to international standard facilities, such as DanceHouse.
You need a dancer on your team: someone who can navigate the workplace with inclusive awareness and an understanding of cultural, social and spatial dynamics; someone who can offer a new perspective, finely tuned communication skills and empathetic leadership. As a powerful non-verbal tool and ‘soft power’ that shapes global perceptions of our culture, investing in dance is investing in the future workforce.
