The new company will be called Luail – Ireland’s National Dance Company

Auditions for first all-island contemporary dance ensemble set 

Eight major original artist commissions announced 

Today, Ireland’s inaugural all-island national dance
company was launched. The new Arts Council-funded organisation, called Luail,
revealed the first phase of its development; auditions for a new ensemble of
dancers, a series of eight artist commissions and the establishment of a
collective of choreographers in residence. 

At the event, hosted during the 2024 Dublin Dance
Festival, members of the Irish dance and wider arts community gathered to hear
details of the new company’s plans and vision for the future. A pioneering
initiative of the Arts Council, the new flagship company will create, develop,
strengthen and promote dance of ambition and imagination, and will connect with
audiences across the island of Ireland.  

Luail’s mission is to embody, embed and empower dance
across the island of Ireland, and to generate new career pathways and
possibilities for dance artists, audiences and communities. It will develop
under the artistic leadership of Liz Roche, with strategic partners Maiden
Voyage Dance from Belfast and the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance,
University of Limerick. 

The name Luail means movement,
motion, energy, impulse and is
grounded in the belief that dance is the vital pulse of human creativity,
connecting people and ideas, in understanding and re-imagining the complexity
of our shared island.   

Auditions for the first all-island contemporary dance
ensemble that will form Luail, will take place in July in Dublin and in August
in Brussels. The first of a series of major new commissions, involving a dance
artist from each of the four provinces of Ireland creating a new site-specific
dance work in their home landscape and community, were announced. 

Maureen Kennelly, Director of the Arts Council, said:

“Dance embodies the rhythm and spirit of our
nation. Today marks a momentous occasion as Ireland’s inaugural national
and all-island dance company, Luail, takes its first steps towards a future
filled with promise and possibility. I’m delighted that our vision is
becoming a reality in this pioneering initiative and am excited for the bright
future it heralds for dance artists and audiences across Ireland.”

Liz Roche, Artistic Director of Luail, said:

“It
has been a long-held ambition of mine to build a dance company with a full-time
core ensemble of dancers. Dance, for me, is about togetherness, possibilities
and connection and this new dance company represents a whole-hearted commitment
to ways of connecting and being together on this island, as well as a brighter
future for the art form and the people who work in it. I am excited by the
prospect of the creation of a new model for dance-making, the ambition and
reach of our programme and the potential to connect and consolidate the work we
have all been doing for so many years.”

Mufutau Yusuf, choreographer/performer and Luail resident artist said:

“I am thrilled to be invited to join the first collective of resident
artists with Luail, the new national company. It is invaluable for me, as
an artist, to be given the trust, time and support to develop my practice and
to be inspired by my fellow resident artists, in a space where
collaboration and the freedom to take risks is cherished and upheld.”

Three interconnected programme pillars will inform and
guide the company in delivering on its vision and objectives:  

• Luail will Embody the unique identity, culture and
  strength of Ireland’s dance makers through the commissioning
  of original cutting-edge work, and reimagining existing repertoire for a 21st
  century Ireland.  
• Luail aims to Embed dance within the cultural life of our nation, through a series of
  bespoke outreach, participation and touring programmes which will connect dance
  with communities and audiences, north and south, at home and abroad.  
• Luail will Empower our artists to be life-long dance
  makers, dreamers, leaders and innovators through a series of training and
  professional development initiatives to strengthen and sustain the holistic
  career life of dancers and choreographers. 

The company also announced a new international archive residency
opportunity in partnership with the National Dance Archive at University of
Limerick and the Irish Arts Centre New York, connecting with Our Steps in New
York, the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the New York Public Library for the
Performing Arts, and Solas Nua, in Washington, D.C. The Activating Archive Residency is a fully-supported, multifaceted
residency opportunity. Details of the open call are available on the Luail
website. 

Today’s event was the first in a series of ‘meet the
company’ information gatherings with artists, presenters, partners and the
wider arts community as part of the first phase of the company’s development,
with further national and international events planned in the coming weeks.
Luail’s full programme of activities, residencies, productions and touring,
along with details of the inaugural national dance company ensemble, will be
announced in January 2025. 

Full details of the new company including
auditions, commissions, residences and opportunities to get involved are
available at www.luail.ie