MEET THE FESTIVAL ARTISTS
Learn more about What Next 2026 festival artists
MAGDALENA HYLAK is a dance artist based in Ireland. She is currently touring nationally and internationally with John Scott | IMDT (IE) and Nacera Belaza (FR). Since 2021, she is developing her own body of work, where she questions the notion of performance. At the core of her research is movement and sound outside of the question of style/genre or technique. Magdalena is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland. Since 2023, she has been the Galway Dance Artist in Residence and she is Compass Dance Artist in Residence 2026 at Dance Limerick. Book yout tickets to see ‘STANDING’ here
gergő d. farkas has a passion for choreography, dance, organisation, romance and mischief. Their first work, Deep Fake was part of the Aerowaves Twenty22 selection and was nominated for the ZKB Acknowledgement Prize (CH), while their second work, babes was selected for Aerowaves Twenty25 and nominated for the Rudolf Lábán Award (HU). gergő’s work has been presented at Spring Forward Festival (GR, IT), Dansehallerne (DK), MDT Moderna Dansteatern (SE), and Dansmakers Amsterdam (NL), amongst various others. Book your tickets to see ‘babes’ here
AOIBHINN O’DEA is a dance artist working across dance, music and visual arts. She trained in Contemporary Dance (Tanzfabrik, Berlin), with an MA in Dance and Performance (Irish World Academy) and BA in FA Sculpture (NCAD). Her work is often site-specific and public, combining movement, costume and sound to explore human connection and societal limitation. She has been supported by The Arts Council, Light Moves, Bell Table Theatre, IMMA, Dance Ireland, Project Arts Centre, Glastonbury Festival and Electric Picnic a.o. Book your tickets to see ‘Foot of the Lungs’ here
ALEX VOSTOKOVA is a dance artist, choreographer and director working in live performance, improvisation, film, teaching and facilitating. An Associate Artist at Dance Limerick in 2024/25, she has been supported by Arts Council Ireland and Dance Ireland. Alex explores how our environment impacts identity, with a focus on socio-cultural issues, surrealism, and the intersection of dance with other mediums. Her work invites curiosity about dance as a resilient artform. Book your tickets to see ‘Pit’ here
SALMA ATAYA is a performer and choreographer. Growing up in Ramallah, she was first introduced to dance through Dabkeh. After performing discovering contemporary dance and performing with Les ballets C de la B, KVS and A.M. Qattan Foundation, Salma completed the MA in Contemporary Dance Performance at the University of Limerick. She has performed with IMDT, Catherine Young Dance, Théâtre d‘Orléans, Justine Doswell, Mary Nunan, CoisCéim DT, Rob Heaslip, Laura Murphy, Junk Ensemble and Pan Pan Theatre, a.o. Book your tickets to see ‘Everynothing’ here
LAURA MURPHY is an award-winning choreographer, performer and educator. She creates work for stage, film, installations and socially engaged projects. Laura Murphy Dance has been widely presented in Ireland as well as Europe, Asia and South America. Laura has been a recipient of numerous National Arts Council awards, several prestigious national and international residencies. She was awarded Best Movement Director, The Irish Times Theatre Awards 2017.
SIOBHÁN NÍ DHUINNÍN is a dance artist with a passion for place-based performance, improvisation and ecology. In her multidisciplinary and collaborative process, she has created work with sean-nós singers, poets, geologists and visual artists. Siobhán often works bi-lingually in Irish and English and her work has been shown nationally and internationally. She is a member of Cork Dance Initiative and GIORRIA collectives. Book your tickets to see ‘The Shake’ here
THE PARSLEY COLLECTIVE. Established in 2023, it comprises Mary Nunan, Angie Smalis, Rachel Sheil, Salma Ataya and Isabella Oberländer. As well as being members of the Collective, they are all independent dance artists working in the fields of choreography, performance, improvisation, interdisciplinary collaboration, writing and education. Book your tickets to see ‘Specific Invisibilities: Dancing’ here
MUFUTAU YUSUF is a Nigerian-Irish performer, choreographer and teacher. He has worked with Wim Vandekeybus/Ultima Vez, Liz Roche Company, IMDT, Emma Martin/United Fall, and Pan Pan Theatre. His choreography explores identity, ancestry, memory, and the politics of representation. His piece ‘Impasse’ (2024) premiered at Dublin Dance Festival and continues to tour internationally to critical acclaim. As resident choreographer with Luail he created Invocation, which premiered at DDF 2025. He has been honoured with the Golden Afro Artistic Award (BE). He was elected to Aosdána and is an Associate Artist with Solstice Arts Centre. Book your tickets to see ‘Proses on neither here nor there’ here
MATT SZCZEREK is a dance artist, choreographer and professional member of Dance Ireland and ISACS. Matt is Artistic Director of the Irish-based dance company Human Collective and choreographer for international Circus/Dance company Kundle Cru and also he curates the dance development programme Dance2Connect LAB. Matt was Artist in Residence at Draíocht Theatre for 2024/25 and he has performed with CoisCéim Dance Theatre, Jonathan Mitchell, Mónica Muñoz and Botis Seva a.o.
SIMONE O’TOOLE has collaborated with Catherine Young, John Scott, Fíbín Teo, Pan Pan Theatre and Coisceim DT a.o. Her choreographic work has been presented at Dancer from the Dance, the Samuel Beckett Theatre and Dublin Fringe Festival a.o. She is the Contemporary Dance Coordinator at Taaffe Training and teaches Contemporary Dance in the Irish Dance Department at the IWA. Simone is currently developing her new solo work while her new training company Soto Dance Company. Book your tickets to see ‘Shell’ here
EKIN TUNÇELI is a multidisciplinary artist and choreographer who places the body at the core of her research, exploring its expressive, political, and perceptive dimensions. She holds a degree in Medicine and a BA in Contemporary Dance, which brings together analytical precision and creative intuition in her work. Her solo bir şey was selected as part of Aerowaves Twenty20. Her work thinkerbell was presented at the WOW Istanbul Festival by the British Council and her latest piece, heartquake was selected for Aerowves Twenty25. Ekin recently completed an MA in Choreography at SKH (DOCH), Stockholm. Book your tickets to see ‘heartquake’ here
ALESSANDRA AZEVICHE is a leading Afro-Brazilian dancer. She has worked with Catherine Young, John Scott. Alessandra is a board member of Dublin Dance Festival and associate artist with THISISPOPBABY. Her Afro-Brazilian performance group Quilombo Terra has performed at major festivals sharing rhythms that echo the resilience and beauty of indigenous communities.
JUSTINE COOPER is a freelance dance artist, teacher and choreographer. Justine is a guest lecturer at The University of Limerick, Dance Ireland and Dance Theatre of Ireland. She has worked with CoisCéim DT, Junk Ensemble, Liz Roche Company, Laura Murphy, Oona Doherty, among many others. Her work ‘Folds of the Crane’ was nominated for Spirit of the Fringe and Best Lighting and Design at Dublin fringe Festival and was later presented at What Next Dance Festival.
GRACE CUNY began her training in classical ballet, dancing a season with the Suzanne Farrell Ballet in Washington, D.C. before receiving her BFA in Dance Performance from SMU in Dallas, TX. In 2021, Grace moved to Limerick to pursue her MA in Contemporary Dance at the IWA. She has since danced with Liz Roche Company and is working on her own work, incorporating comedy into her choreographic process.
