Firkin Crane, one of Cork City’s landmark buildings, was designed in 1855 by Sir John Benson to meet the needs of the city’s thriving butter market. Following the closure of this trade in 1924, the building acted as a margarine factory. It was later acquired by Joan Denise Moriarty with the financial assistance of the Arts Council to have it refurbished as a home for her professional dance company. During the refurbishment, the building was gutted by fire. It was subsequently restored with support from Cork City Council, the Irish Government, the European Union, Irish businesses, multi-national corporations and the Irish American Fund, and re-opened in 1992 as a centre dedicated to dance, living theatre, concerts, opera, art exhibitions, poetry readings and a variety of sound, visual and multimedia arts. Until 2006, Firkin Crane was also the location of the Institute for Choreography and Dance (ICD), directed by Mary Brady, which aimed to stimulate choreographic practice and dance research as a means of dance development. It provided space for interchange between choreographers to examine issues, work methodologies and goals particular to each, in a practice-centred environment. Today, Firkin Crane provides a supportive environment for professional artists in the form of a professional residency programme, Blank Canvas.
Maxwell, Weldon & Co. was a firm of solicitors operating from premises at 15 Eden Quay, Dublin in the early twentieth century.
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.
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.
Maiden Voyage Dance Company was established in 2001 by dancer Nicola Curry (now the company’s Artistic Director) to bring the best of contemporary dance performance to audiences across Northern Ireland and beyond. In addition to producing touring commissions, the company offers a range of tailor-made education and outreach opportunities in the form of masterclasses, residencies, workshops, and lectures, including the Leap Forward initiative to promote positive mental health. The company is also dedicated to developing dance skills through various mentoring initiatives and professional development courses. Maiden Voyage remains Belfast’s only professional contemporary dance company.
Rex Levitates Dance Company was co-founded in 1999 by choreographer Liz Roche (b. 1975) and dancer Jenny Roche (b. 1972) to further the contemporary dance art form, forge new performance modes, and encourage and promote dance awareness. The company is known for its entertaining, innovative, and thought-provoking dance works and its distinctive contemporary non-narrative style which draws influence from visual art. Rex Levitates has performed throughout Ireland and abroad in China, France, Cyprus, and the UK, and was the winner of the Dublin Dance Festival’s Jayne Snow Award in 2002. In March 2012, Rex Levitates Dance Company changed its name to Liz Roche Company.
Dance company founded by Fiona Quilligan.
A professional ballet company established in Cork under Joan Denise Moriarty's direction and funded by the Arts Council. Originally named the Irish Ballet Company, it was renamed Irish National Ballet in 1984. In the same year, the Arts Council commissioned a report on dance in Ireland. The report was highly critical of the ballet company and the ensuing controversy resulted in Moriarty's resignation in September 1985. In 1988, the Arts Council halved the dance company's budget, forcing it to disband in 1989.