This year’s edition is curated by Fearghus Ó Conchúir. The five dancers will work with dance artist and choreographer Catherine Young on the creation of a new dance piece to be premiered at Dance Limerick in early August. Together with guest artists and teachers, rehearsals director Lucia Kickham will lead an intensive programme of classes and creative workshops, widening horizons and exploring new ways of performing together.
Inez Berdychowska
Inez Berdychowska is a Dublin-based dance artist and choreographer. She started off her dance journey in the Dublin Youth Dance Company before taking on dance full-time in her early teens and attending the School of Dance and Ballet Fouette in Poznan, Poland. After graduating in classical dance, she trained further in the Madrid Dance Centre and recently received her Masters from the Irish World Academy in Contemporary Dance. She has performed for Irish Modern Dance Theatre and is currently and apprentice dance artist for Liz Roche Company.
Tara Bredemeier
Tara is a German-Irish dance artist, who moved back to Ireland in late 2023 after attending a Laban School in Hamburg, Germany. Her movement background lies within academic dance forms, such as contemporary and modern dance, but also within street style and community dances such as afro, dancehall and hip hop. Tara has worked with Dublin Youth Dance Company, Irish Modern Dance Theatre and, as well as participating in the Step Up Dance Project 2024 edition, she will be performing self-developed work within the Irish dance sector in 2024.
Grace Cuny
Grace Cuny is a dance artist living in Ireland. She began her training in classical ballet, dancing with the Suzanne Farrell Ballet in Washington, D.C. before receiving her B.F.A. in Dance Performance from SMU in Dallas, TX. She worked as a freelance artist in New York for two years, collaborating with immersive performance groups, Linked Dance Theater and Reliant Tom. In 2021, Grace moved to Limerick to pursue her MA in Contemporary Dance. She has since danced with Liz Roche Company and is excited to incorporate her varied interests into cross-disciplinary, community-building projects.
Adam O’Reilly
Adam O’Reilly is a dance artist, performer and emerging dance maker, choreographer & director from North Dublin. He has worked in film, theatre, and commercial performance since 2019. Recent credits include Othello and The Wanderer by John Scott & Irish Modern Dance Theatre, This Solution directed by Shaun Dunne & choreographed by Jessie Thompson (Dublin Theatre Festival 2023) and a performance with Top 8 Street Dance for Culture Night choreographed by Tobi Balogun. Adam has recently began researching his own work via various residencies and funding opportunities including Garter Lane Artists Residency, Dance Ireland Residency and The Arts Council Agility Award.
Alex Vostokova
Alex Vostokova is a dancer, choreographer, teacher and director working across live performance, improvisation and film. Alex trained in contemporary dance and theatre in Izhevsk, Russia before coming to Ireland where she was extensively involved with Dublin Youth Dance Company. She has trained in several dance hubs in Europe, most prominently in Berlin, engaging with contemporary, hip hop, acrobatics and physical theatre practices. Alex has performed in works by Liz Roche, John Scott, Simone O’Toole, Pan Pan Theatre, Dance2Connect and CoisCeim Dance Theatre (IRL) as well as Stereo 48 dance company (PS).
Watch this space for more on the #stepup2024 participants and team.
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Step Up Dance Project is a partnership between the Arts Council of Ireland, Dance Limerick, the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick and Dance Ireland.
