You Say You Don't 'Get' Dance? Check This Out!

(STOCK PHOTO)There are SO many types of dance- something for everyone!

There is an exciting new opportunity being offered by the Dublin Dance Festival & Project Brand New! 15 people who are curious about (seeing, understanding) dance performances will be selected to take part in an innovative program during the Festival from the 16- 19 of May.

 Fast Track to Dance 

I am very excited about this initiative- it is a fantastic opportunity to see, enjoy, and learn about the amazing dance performances that are on at the Festival, and take this experience & learning to help you enjoy the myriad of dance performances that occur throughout the year- live or on telly.

I've actually applied myself- a bit cheekily because I have seen several dance shows this year, but I really don't know anything about dance & amn't sure how to talk/write about it, which is why I've never written about dance performances here on Vibrant Ireland. Fingers crossed!

Anyhow, I think this is a fab opportunity for people and I hope that if it doesn't suit you, you will perhaps pass this info on to someone you know.

Here's the info, courtesy of Dublin Dance Festival:

This is an exceptional opportunity for anyone who is interested in and curious about dance but hasn’t seen very much yet. It is a completely immersive weekend at Dublin Dance Festival delving into the festival’s vibrant programme of work.

15 people will be selected to form the Fast Track group, who together will attend 8 dance events ranging from large scale to small scale work, presented by both national and international dance makers.

In addition, the group will have the opportunity to meet the Festival Director & team and meet some of the makers & choreographers. They will have access to all post-show events and will participate in a critical feedback session, facilitated by Lynnette Moran of Project Brand New and Niamh McCann, actor & theatre maker .

Fast Track is a short sharp burst of activity that will introduce the group to dance as an art form – and will build a critical language and confidence around seeing and talking about dance performances.

What do you need to take part?

You must have full availability on the following dates and times –

Thur 16th May 5.30pm – 10pm

Fri 17th May 5.30pm – 10pm

Sat 18th May 12pm – 10pm

Sun 19th May 12pm – 6pm

We will also host a one hour induction at 1pm on Sun 12th May, details of which will be shared with those selected.

How to apply 
Please send the following:

A short (150 word) statement about why you would like to take part. Please give us an indication of why you are interested in this initiative, and/or why you would like to find out more about dance from the close encounter.

Your name, address, email and contact number

Please send to: projectbrandnew@gmail.com

Deadline: Thursday 2nd May @ 6pm

Price: €85 inclusive of all show tickets in schedule, workshop and talks.

Should you have any queries please email the address above.

Please note that we have a very limited number of places available on the programme.

Discover more about Fast Track to Dance here.

Find out what else is going on at Dublin Dance Festival-- so many great shows this May!

Culture Lover on a Budget in Dublin? Here's a great place to stay!

3 galleries, 1 museum, 2 dance performances, 4 cafes, 1 mexican eatery; 24hrs. Whew! #Dublin you're fab! Blog posts soon :)
— Susan(@VibrantIreland) January 23, 2013

Dublin can be the perfect place for a culture vulture on a budget.

 To get you started, in this-the first of my Dublin posts, I'll tell you about a stylish, brilliantly located hostel where I stayed January 2013. Oh yes!- the new breed of hostels are not just for drinking-culture vultures, they are for anyone who wants to free up cash to explore & experience the city. 

Inside my 4-bed room, & the downstairs common areas at Generator Hostel in Dublin

Lighthouse cinema across from Generator Hostel Dublin

I stayed in a 4-bed private room at Generator Dublin and I found the hostel immaculate, friendly, and well designed. I was very pleased to see the bathroom was actually in the room, as in my experience at other hostels that has not always been the case. (FYI, I chose Generator, & paid for it myself. I was so pleased I then contacted Generator Hostel, & wrote a post on Dublin tips, on their site.) 

 As you can see from the photos above, everything was spotless, & there was plenty of space, too. The large, padlockable, storage boxes under the beds will fit even quite large suitcases & bags. I also was thrilled with the 2 electrical sockets on the bed, plus the little light. There's a semi-enclosure at that end of the bed, too, so your light won’t shine out sideways and disturb the person in the bed parallel to you. Clever!

Generator hostel is located in Smithfield- in a lovely section in the square near the Jameson Distillery, and across from the Lighthouse Cinema (often art films here!) There is also a gourmet Fresh food store across the way, so you could pop in there & get some items (not the cheapest grocery shop, but tasty & less than restaurant food) for a ‘picnic lunch’ on the square in nice weather. You could then rent a Dublin Bike (a helpful post on using them is here) and explore the city. Generator Dublin is also just 1 minute’s walk from the LUAS (light city rail)-- brilliant for wet days. Note: This northside LUAS doesn’t yet connect directly with the LUAS on the southside of the river Liffey.

Generator's just a minute's walk round the corner of Smithfield LUAS stop. And here are the Dublin bikes just down from it

The LUAS will also bring you up to Heuston train station, which is just a 5 minute walk to the Irish Museum of Modern Art. From the hostel you can easily walk to the National Museum at Collins Barracks, or in to one of the shopping districts at Jervis, & then cross the river into Temple Bar. Those are just a few examples of what is nearby. I found Generator's location excellent- it was central enough to get most anywhere, but wasn't located in a particularly noisy part of the city. 

The gardens at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA)

I'm definitely going to stay here again on my Dublin visits, and I've booked in already for during The Dublin Dance Festival. There are 2 things for you to be aware of though- the hostel does have a nightclub, so it may be prudent to ask for a room away from it if you are not partaking :-) Generator is large- I was on the 4th floor- so it shouldn't be difficult to be housed away from the action. 

Secondly, like many Dublin hostels, if you are staying in a dorm room, unless you pay a bit more for female only, dorms are mixed sex. I've stayed in such often, but I traveled with friends-- women travelling solo may not feel totally at ease in mixed sex dorms with men they don't know. 

Dublin can be an expensive city, but don't worry- by staying in a lovely & well located hostel like Generator, you will save money- and many museums & galleries in Dublin are free! Additionally, there are smaller performance venues where you can often see theatre or dance inexpensively, plus there are several places to eat very tasty food & drink good coffee without breaking the bank. I'll tell you about some of them in an upcoming post. You'll have a great time here as a culture vulture on a budget. Enjoy Dublin!

Disclaimer: I will now be getting a future stay at Generator free in thanks for my writing a post on their site- but my stay & opinion was not in any way sponsored by Generator.)

My photo of an old postcard, at the wonderful Little Museum of Dublin, Ireland

The outlaw Ned Kelly at IMMA this week!

This is OVER now, but the Alice Maher exhibit is also one I loved, on at IMMA Earlsfort Terrace ti 17 Feb. NOT really suitable for kids, though. 

The outlaw Ned Kelly paintings by Sidney Nolan are on display at IMMA  until this Sunday, 27 Jan 2013- and you should go! I was there on my 24hrs in Dublin visit, & I made a quick little video:

I wonder WHY does each of the 3 thumbnail options YouTube gives you for your video have to be so goofy looking?! Good thing I'm not overly vain...

Blooming beautiful- our Irish garden

 Bloom In the Park is Ireland's biggest garden festival. We missed it this year, but here are some blooms from our garden in Graignamanagh. 

Centaura (perennial cornflower) 'Amethyst in Snow' & happy bee!

yellow arum lily

Ok, this is not in garden- wild iris by the river Barrow

Flora & fauna by the river Barrow

Astrantia- I  forget the variety

Rose 'Ferdinand Pritchard'- lovely scent, too!

a  David Austin rose- have lost the names of this & the next. One may be Sweet Juilette, & the other Heritage? Both smell gorgeous

There are many lovely gardens you can visit in the southeast of Ireland, & Trail Kilkenny is in the process putting together a garden trail. One of my favorite smaller gardens near to us is Coolaught in Co. Wexford- they've a great little garden centre full of plants for plantaholics who are looking for something different. They are a friendly family business on a family farm- go visit them! 

Sunday Sampler~ Events; Careful now- there's lots to get excited about!

This week's Sunday sampler is making me quite jealous of the folks who will get to go to these wonderful events, as barring a lotto win & bi or tri-location, we can't go to everything!  Maybe those of you who do get to go will share what you enjoyed- perhaps over on our Facebook page? That would be really nice of you!

Burren wildflowers image from Google images: http://Burrenyoga.com

One of our favorite places in Ireland is the Burren. If you need an excuse to go there, here you go: the Burren in Bloom festival on 29 April-29 May. There is so much on; something for everyone. I know I'd love to go on the butterfly walk- meeting near the fabulous sounding Burren Perfumery makes it even more tempting! Click on their link as well to see some of the Burren wildflowers you may encounter on the walks. Also the Burren Slow Food Festival week 2011 starts on May 14; they have events on for the Burren In Bloom festival foodie!  

Another foodie-friendly event is on in just a few weeks time: the So Sligo Food and Culture Festival on 17-20 March. They are also hosting the World Irish Stew championships- YUM!- and you can work up an appetite with walking trails in town, or treks out in the spectacular countryside. Check Sligo's lovely tourist website for more info. If you are interested in art even a little bit, you may want to check out The Model Arts Centre. They've a exhibit of Jack B. Yeats' works on (Irish Times article here,) and I am very tempted to go to this festival & see the exhibit while we are there. I also want to eat at Source Sligo, whom I'm following on Twitter- their lunch menu tweets sound fab! The problem is that in my neck of the woods (Southeast Ireland) the St. Patricks Day Festival's national Skyfest fireworks are being held in Wexford town on March 19.

Skyfest fireworks last year in Limerick

As mentioned above, the Paddy's Day Festival is going to be bigger than ever, and will run from the 16-20 March. There are a lot of literary connections in the fest, and you can down load Roddy Doyle's new short story on their website, so do click their link above! Dublin is the UNESCO City of Literature 2011; click that link to see even more -whew!- literary events this year- some outside of Dublin.

One more bookish event in this week's Sampler: starting on 2 March & running until Sunday the 6th, is the Dublin Book Festival. Whether you are a writer, a reader, or a publisher, there's something for you- there are even walks on Sunday! Be sure to click on all the tabs & dropdown tabs on the website, because there's loads going on & you don't want to miss all the choices.

Another writer's event I've just found out about is the Waterford Writer's weekend, 18-20 March. Click their link for more info, & have a look right here at their fun promo video!

Now, here are a few quick links to some other events that look interesting: 

image from vintagedresses.ie

Great for kids (even over-grown ones like myself!) Crafted Creatures. Part of the Year Of Craft, at The Ark, 19 Feb-27 March, Dublin

Barrow River Arts Festival 4-6 March, Carlow (previous post including it here)

Vintage Fair 17 April, Dublin

Waterford Festival of Food, Dungarvan, 15-17 April

Vantastival, 29 April- 1 May, Louth

And last but not least; Tedfest, 24-27 Feb on Inis Mor. FYI if you've not booked accomodation yet, you'll have to camp.
Have Fun & Be Careful!

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! Loved these 3 art exhibits in Dublin.

'Reversed Gunnera' by Elis O'Connell. Fabulous large art piece at the RSA Gallery

I took the photos & video that follow at her exhibit at the RSA Gallery in Dublin.

which is on ti'l 27 Feb. 

We took the train to Dublin on Saturday (& very nice it was not to have to drive!) in order to go to The Moderns exhibit at IMMA before the last day of the east wing display on Feb 13. Heuston station really is just a 5 minute walk from IMMA, which is in a very beautiful setting- the old Royal Hospital. Its south entrance avenue was lined with snowdrops & beautifully gnarled old trees.

Snowdrops at IMMA

Vibrant Art

On the way in to the main gallery space we found Romuald Hazoume's exhibit, which I very much wanted to see. The majority of his works are from found objects, & many are a modern continuance of Africa's ancient mask tradition.They are playful & full of life, & we couldn't help but smile our way thru' the exhibit, particularly when we ended up at the wonderful orchestra. The people of Benin, Hazoume's country, deal daily with exploitation, (as shown in the artist's jerry-can materials) but in this artwork we got a sense of them as a vibrant people, reacting creatively to their situation. Artartworks has a blog post with a bit more. The exhibit is one that all ages will enjoy, and I encourage you to go & see it.

Photos are not allowed, so I've none from our IMMA visit, but here is an interview with Romuald Hazoume- do look for the bit with the 'Orchestra' piece further in. The music from it was wonderful :)  The exhibit will be on until 15 May. 

The Moderns

Next we went in to The Moderns. There are a lot of pieces, 450 in total, so we broke it up with a yummy snack & coffee (see Foodspotting photos sidebar) in the itsa@IMMA cafe, where there were some interesting art pieces, too. I should have taken photos of the buildings (& the REALLY lovely ladies' room!) but I didn't think! Will do better on future posts! 

For those of you who missed The Moderns, here is a virtual tour from IMMA! You can 'wander' in each room, zoom in, or click individual items listed on the left hand side for a better look. 

Here are some of my favorites from the east wing (which is the part closing on the 13th) :

 2 women artists:

Rocky Landscape with Trees - Mary Swanzy

It reminded me of Lily of the Valley plants, tho' not trees!

Madonna and Child - Mainie Jellett

and 2 of my favorites by Jack b. Yeats- tho' they are not nearly so impressive as when seen in person

.All Stars - Jack Butler Yeats (b.1871– 1957)

Especially on this one, the vibrant, exciting colours are lost

A Race in Hy Brazil - Jack Butler Yeats (b.1871– 1957

Eileen Gray was also represented; you can see my previous post on her here. 

In the west wing were some quite fun 3d headgame pieces (don't think that is the formal term!)- they will definitely need seeing in person, & you'll have until mid March to do that.

The RSA Gallery & Haptic

IMMA is a well worth going to, and I'd also highly recommend going to the RSA Gallery to see Haptic by Elis O'Connell. It is more off of the beaten track, but well worth seeking out.

Do go to see Haptic before it finishes on the 27th of Feb! There are works of Elis O'Connell's both downstairs (smaller, wonderful natural pieces suspended in resin) & up, and don't miss any of them! We fell in love with all of the pieces, and so wanted to touch, lay on, or just sit by the magnificent items upstairs. Here is a video clip of what greeted us as we went in upstairs. WOW! 

Here is a link to a slide show on her website

The RSA Gallery is  a few streets off of Stephen's Green- here's a wee map. If you liked what you saw of her work, do go see it in person- it is 'haptic'- you will want to touch; it is inviting. I also felt it was quite soothing and restful after a day in the 'Big Smoke' for us culchies. Perfect!

It was a wonderful day in Dublin! 

Eileen Gray: Ireland's fabulous modern design pioneer

** UPDATE 2012: Enniscorthy Castle in Co. Wexford now has an exhibit dedicated to her, and a new movie about her is in the works, to star Winona Ryder. AND this Thursday (March 8) at 10pm on TG4, her birthplace will be featured on Manchan Mangan's series on extraordinary houses & their stories. 

Eileen Gray's work has been in the news a bit in  the past two days, as one of her Art Deco chairs went up for auction, & was expected to fetch millions. In 2009 one went for over 20 million dollars, so when this chair 'only' climbed to 1.7 million, it was withdrawn(!) (See Irish Times article here)

  Neglected

Amazingly, this pioneering modern designer had been quite neglected by Ireland. We have some of her pieces here in the Decorative Arts Collection at the Collins Barracks in Dublin, but if you compare, for example, the amount of information on her found when you click the aforementioned link, to the amount here from the Design Museum in Britain, well, you can see the amount of official recognition her work gets in Ireland. She is included in IMMA's The Moderns exhibit, and I attended a very interesting lecture on her given by Yvonne Farrell & Shelley McNamara,  Directors of Grafton Architects at the Wexford Arts Centre in October, so hopefully the recognition due her is growing.

Here are two short clips; the first showing some works & a bit about her background and recognition today, and the second showing many of her pieces. 

Take 5 minutes out to appreciate this Irish female art/design/architectural pioneer!

Have you seen any of Eileen Gray's work? Where?( During a visit to the States I saw some earlier pieces at the Virginia Fine Arts Museum in Richmond, Virginia  in their Art Nouveau & Art Deco collection, and that really got me interested in her.) I don't think there is a website dedicated to her/her work- but if there is, let me know!  As always, please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section!