Dance Ireland is the trading name of the Association of Professional Dancers in Ireland Ltd (APDI). It was founded in 1989 as the representative body for professional dance in Ireland and was initially administered by Dance Council of Ireland. It was incorporated as a non-profit company limited by guarantee in 1992, and re-branded as Dance Ireland in 2006. The organisation aims to provide support and practical resources for dancers and choreographers and to enhance public awareness of and involvement in dance at all levels. Its programme includes international guest residencies, choreographic programmes, master classes and cross arts sessions. It also manages DanceHouse, Ireland’s only custom-built dance studio venue, opened in Dublin in December 2006 with the support of the Arts Council and Dublin City Council.
Daghdha Dance Company was established by Mary Nunan and Teresa Leahy at the University of Limerick in 1988, and was led by Artistic Director Mary Nunan until 2000. During this time, Daghdha established itself as a dance company with a unique artistic identity and attracted funding from the Arts Council. During Mary Nunan's directorship, the company toured extensively throughout Ireland and was invited to perform at international dance festivals in London, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Barcelona and Mexico City. In 2000, Yoshiko Chuma took over as Artistic Director. For the next three years, Yoshiko Chuma further developed Daghdha's international profile by touring theatrical dance concerts, street performances and large-scale productions throughout Europe, America and Japan. Michael Klien was appointed Artistic Director in 2003, and shortly afterwards the company moved to Limerick city centre to Daghdha Dance Space in the former St John's Church. During Michael's tenure, Daghdha developed as a progressive arts organisation. In 2011, the Arts Council withdrew its funding, and the company subsequently disbanded.
Croí Glan Integrated Dance Company was founded in December 2006 by Rhona Coughlan and Tara Brandel. Based in Ballydehob, county Cork, this professional contemporary dance company includes both disabled and non-disabled dancers and highlights the artistic value of creating performance with diverse bodies.
The Cratloe and Meelick Dispensary was formed on 6 January 1835 to provide healthcare for the underprivileged in East Clare within the Limerick poor-law union. The Dispensary’s work was supported partly through private subscriptions and partly through public funding. Surgeon Thomas Kane of Cecil Street, Limerick acted as the medical attendant. Initially, treatment was provided free of charge to patients in receipt of vouchers distributed by subscribers. However, the voucher system was vulnerable to abuse and from 1840 onwards a small fee was charged from all except the most destitute. The Dispensary remained active throughout the famine years, but by 1850 struggled to find funding. Its subsequent fate is unknown.
Cork City Ballet is one of only two professional ballet companies in Ireland. It was formed in 1991 by Alan Foley to address the void left by the closure of the Cork-based Irish National Ballet in 1989 due to a lack of funding. Cork City Ballet presented its first public performance at the Everyman Palace Theatre on 27 March 1992 and continues to operate under the artistic directorship of Alan Foley, who also acted as the ballet’s principal male dancer until his retirement in that capacity in 2007.
An amateur ballet company founded by Joan Denise Moriarty in 1947.
Chrysalis Dance is Ireland’s only neoclassical dance company, combining in its choreographies sophisticated classical ballet with sleekly modern elements of contemporary dance. The company emerged from a workshop held in June 2003 under the direction of Judith Sibley at Shawbrook School of Dance, County Longford to commence the research and development of an original neoclassical work. The company premiered its first work, Strings, in the Black Box, Galway in April 2004. Since then, Chrysalis Dance has toured Ireland with several well-received choreographies and has enjoyed sell-out runs at national dance festivals. The company has been resting since losing its Arts Council funding in 2013.