MA Irish Traditional Dance Performance

Introduction

The Master of Arts in Irish Traditional Dance Performance is a one-year *, full-time, taught postgraduate programme. It is unique in that it is the only programme of its type at any university in the world. The programme provides advanced training in Irish traditional dance performance practices within a variety of historical, theoretical and dance performance contexts. Through engagement with master tutors and lecturers, students explore aspects of repertoire, style, and choreography for a reflexive, critically aware, and embodied understanding of Irish dance performance practices. In addition, students examine contemporary dance choreographic techniques within the context of western theatrical dance; and body awareness studies.

Solo and ensemble work, both original and traditional, allow for the artistic development of students while adhering and honouring the artistic integrity, history, and identity of Irish dance. With performance at its core students are encouraged to engage in critical debate within academic modules to equip them with the necessary academic and performance skills required for further performance and research. The programme provides an artistically secure environment for students to develop their own voices through the medium of Irish dance.

Through its elective system, the programme facilitates dialogue with other MA programmes at the academy, including the MA in Ethnochoreology, the MA in Ethnomusicology, the MA in Contemporary Dance Performance, the MA in Irish Tradiitonal Music Performance. In addition students on the MA in Irish traditional dance performance programme are offered the opportunity to learn dance research methods and techniques to develop their critical awareness and appreciation of dance studies in general. In addition, Labanotation, the universal movement documentation tool is included within the study of dance methods.

* Students may be permitted to extend their study over a second full-time year subject to a available places, the agreement of the course director and the head of the Irish World Academy.

Tutors

Master tutors on the MA in Irish Traditional Dance Performance to date have included: Peter Badejo, Olive Beecher, Ira Bernstein, Roisin Cahalan, Maire Clerkin, Michael Cooney, Carmel Doherty, Marie Duffy-Messenger, Colin Dunne, Breandán de Gallaíi, Carol Leavy-Joyce, Jonathan Kelleher, Tara Little, Ruth Long, Roisin Ni Mhainnin, Katarina Mojzisova, Peggy McTeggart, Victoria O’Brien, Paraic O hOibicin, Seamus O Mealoid, Anthony Nolan, Cian Nolan, Lee Payne, Michael Ryan, Sandy Silva, Jimmy Smith and Tarik Winston.

Programme of Study

The MA Irish Dance Performance is a one-year, full-time, taught postgraduate programme. Students may extend the period of study for a further second full-time year, subject to available places, and the agreement of the Course Director and the Director of the Irish World Academy.

Semester 1

DA6041 Embodying Irish Dance Practices 1

This module will introduce students to the repertoire of Irish Traditional Dance within a variety of historical, theoretical, and dance performance contexts; performance/lectures based on repertoire and style will be taught and academically contextualised; the development of different dance genres including the development of performance practices and contexts, structures, kinetic vocabulary, aesthetics, gender issues, the body; relevant literature and audio-visual dance material. In addition, students are encouraged to participate in relevant dance workshops.

DA5111 Dance Practicum 1

Intensive tutorials with master dance teachers. Students will design and rehearse a performance programme under the supervision of the course director.

MD6031 Media Technologies for Performing Arts and Arts Research

This module provides an introduction into current media technologies as they are used in the fields of performing arts, creative arts therapies, and arts research; to develop essential skills and fluency in these technologies in order to use them competently, creatively, and effectively in one’s own specific discipline.

MD6061 Introduction to Somatics 1

This module will ensure that students are educated in somatic practices that promote a healthy and mindful approach to movement. The continued development of an integrated mind/body approach will enable students to perform with greater efficiency and will minimize their risk of injury.

MD6071 Writing & the Documentation of Arts Practice 1

This module explores the documentation of performance practices, with a focus on writing. It introduces forms of documentation emerging from personal memory data, self observation + reflection, and the collection of data from external sources. Registers of writing and the role of writing in the creative process are examined.

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MD6111 Colloquium 1

This module exposes students to scholarship and performance practices from a wide variety of music and dance and related disciplines, enabling students to broaden their perspectives on their own specialisation as well as experience presentations from scholars and performers in cognate disciplines. Students are expected to attend a minimum of five seminars from the various series offered in the Academy.

MD6091 Professional Development for the Performing Arts

This module engages with aspects of planning and management for professional artists. Students learn about the development of business plans, effective communication and pitching strategies, stakeholder development and core skills for the creative industries, such as financial management and planning.

MD6021 Introduction to Fieldwork Techniques

In this module you will learn appropriate methods and techniques for research and documentation of performance practices in the field. Topics relating to fieldwork, ethical principles, participant observation, interview techniques, and fieldnote taking are covered. Key issues in epistemology and methodology for such research will be raised and discussed and will be informed by supporting literature.

MD6051 Independent Study 1

This module provides a space to engage in the study of a topic/subject of their own choice. Students organise their tuition and the assessment mechanism in consultation with their course director. A broad range of existing modules from the various postgraduate offers at the Academy is also available for students to chose from.

Semester 2

DA6032 Embodying Irish Dance Practices 2

This module is a continuation and development of Embodying Irish Dance Practices 1.

DA5112 Dance Practicum 2

This module allows the student further intensive training with master teachers. Students may develop further their conceptual choreographic ideas from Practicum 1, and as in Practicum 1, students are required to design and rehearse a performance programme under the supervision of the course director.

MD6082 Choreography for Camera

Exploring the dynamic field of screendance and dance-film making, this module prepares students to work creatively towards the creation of short dance films. The module contextualizes dance-film within the context of contemporary dance and arts practices while investigating a range of aesthetic and technical approaches to creating a work.

MD6072 Writing and the Documentation of Arts Practice 2

This module explores the creative process in artistic and academic work. Its objective is to develop skills in the documentation of performance practice towards the development of a research inquiry. lt does this through an engagement with key texts regarding arts practice research and the writing of an arts practice research paper.

MD6062 Critical Contexts for Arts Management and Cultural Policy

As part of this module, students are introduced to key ideas, issues and current debates in arts management and cultural policy. There is an emphasis on the interpretation and engagement with cultural policy from the perspective of a practitioner, and its relation to funding applications. The development of effective funding application skills and grant writing are also covered in this module.

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MD6061 Introduction to Somatics 2

MD6111 Colloquium 2

MD6052 Independent Study 2

Semester 3

MD5522 Final Performance

The final presentation is in two parts:

Final Performance
A substantial performance of solo, duet, and ensemble dance works created by the invited Irish dance artists and choreographers throughout the year. This presentation is professionally curated involving all the MA students and presented to a live audience. This element carries 21 credits.

Research Project
An academic, performance, or combination of both, presentation offered by the student as the culmination of his/her work during the course of the programme. The presentation is designed in consultation with the course director and is weighted at nine credits.

Applications

Entrance Requirements:

A primary Degree with first or second class honours

an approved equivalent qualification

an equivalent capability based on prior professional performing experience.

An interview will be required in all cases as well as an audition. Candidates may be required to submit additional audio-visual and/or written material.

HOW TO APPLY:

https://www.ul.ie/gps/course/dance-performance-ma

Postgraduate Admissions Office
Graduate School
Foundation Building
University of Limerick

Tel: +353 61 234377
Fax: +353 61 233287
Email: postgradadmissions@ul.ie

UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK ACADEMIC CALENDAR:

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INTERNATIONAL OFFICE:

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POSTGRADUATE FEES:

Click here for Postgraduate Fees

SCHOLARSHIPS:

Click here for a list of scholarships available to prospective Irish World Academy of Music and Dance students.

Testimonials

“The MA in Irish Traditional Dance Performance programme at UL, under the directorship of Dr Catherine Foley, changed me as dancer both physically and mentally. It allowed me to become the professional dancer and choreographer I knew I was destined to be. Through my experiences in the program and the people I met I was able to launch my professional career and take my life in a direction I never could have imagined. Since successfully completing the MA in Irish Traditional dance, I have toured consistently for five years with Riverdance the show, dancing on four continents. I have recently earned my TCRG as a certified Irish dance teacher. I have also taught workshops in Brazil and dance classes in New York City”.

Nicole McKeever, MA

“The MA programme in Irish Traditional Dance Performance completely changed the course of my career path: Irish dance for me became something that was not only done at feiseanna, but could also be studied critically in academia. The combination of master classes and workshops along with coursework in dance history and ethnochoreology opened my mind to new ways of thinking about dance. I was encouraged to step out of my comfort zone of competitive Irish step dance to explore unfamiliar styles of dance, such as Brazilian capoeira and West African dance. I learned that I could combine my love of dance and movement with my academic research goals and desire to teach in a university setting.

I am currently a PhD candidate at the University of Maryland, College Park in Performance Studies, and my doctoral research addresses the development of Irish dance as a percussive dance in the United States. My plan after completing my doctorate is to find a position as a professor of dance or performance studies. I credit the MA programme and my wonderful mentors at the University of Limerick’s Irish World Academy of Music & Dance with giving me the means and the courage to allow my passion for Irish dance to guide my academic career goals.”

Kathleen Spanos, MA

“The MA in Irish traditional dance performance is an intense, challenging, highly practical and incredibly rewarding experience. It challenged me academically and practically to find my own artistic voice in a supportive environment. Throughout the year, I extended my knowledge of dance repertoire and style and gained a much deeper sense of personal creativity and body awareness. I also developed critical and analytical skills in research, reflection and evaluation, which enabled me to broaden my understanding of my profession and of the Irish traditional dance form, in its historical and contemporary context. Numerous choreographic and performance opportunities taught me to work effectively and creatively as an individual and in collaboration with others in a variety of contexts. Undoubtedly, the MA changed my outlook and attitude towards myself and has helped me to become a confident, versatile and technically stronger performer and self-managing artist.

Having graduated from the MA in Irish Traditional Dance Performance, I have been able to work and collaborate with a whole host of exciting people in a diverse range of contexts including composers, aerial artists, TV producers, dance researchers and academics, an Irish rap artist, visual artists, performing artists, musicians, singers, theater directors, actors and film-makers. I have also enjoyed the great pleasure of returning to teach on the MA programme which has afforded me the opportunity to not only choreograph but to also give something of what I have learnt back to the current students. Working as a freelance performing artist I have performed with a number of professional companies, most notably Eirú Dance Company. Straight after completing my third semester of the MA in 2011, I traveled to the United States to perform in Eirú’s production, Noctú, off-Broadway in New York. Throughout this run I was privileged to be asked to perform the role of principal female, a role which my experience in the MA proved invaluable. Similarly, in 2012, I became dance researcher for the fourth series of TG4’s ‘An Jig Gig’ which I was able to fulfill due to the knowledge and contacts I had acquired throughout my year of the MA. Most recently, I decided to utilise the dance film and editing skills I had gained during my MA to extend my artistic horizons. I applied for and successfully received a film commission for ‘Minutes in Motion’, which forms part of Dance Ireland’s 2013 anniversary celebrations”.

Ashlene McFadden

“The MA in Traditional Dance Performance is a must for Irish dancers who like to think outside the box. The Irish World Academy at the University of Limerick is a safe, nurturing, creative space for emerging dance makers from an Irish traditional dance background. During my time on the course I was encouraged to find my own identity as a dancer whilst applying the fundamental techniques of ethnographic research and dance making to my choreographic process. This program also provided beneficial resources to collaborate and network with people from different areas of the performing arts. Dr Catherine Foley has developed a great way to bring traditional dance forward into an academic setting using her vast experience and expertise in the field of dance and ethnochoreology. I would strongly recommend this course to any person looking to further their career in dance.

Since completing the MA I have gone on to work with Dance Theatre of Ireland and Soul Steps NYC on the creation and performances of Every Little Step, The Rhythm of Hope. This production premiered in New York City at the Joyce SOHO in 2011 as part of Imagine Ireland, a year of Irish Arts and Culture abroad. I have also collaborated on a new production Pulses of Tradition with fellow allumni Brian Morrissey, who completed his MA in Traditional Music Performance at the Irish World Academy. This stage show showcases Irish music, song and dance in both traditional and contemporary capacities and is now a part of the summer concert series at Triskel Arts Centre, Cork City.”

Andrew Vickers, M.A.

Media

Contact

Applicants wishing to discuss detailed elements of the programme may contact the course director:

Dr Orfhlaith Ni Bhriain

Course Director

Room No: IW 1.14,

Irish World Academy of Music and Dance,

University of Limerick,

Limerick, Ireland.

Tel: +353-61-202470

Email: Orfhlaith.Nibhriain@ul.ie