The Streets Are Ours: Baboró International Arts Festival for Children and Galway Dance Project seek a Dance Artist for an Exciting Project as part of the Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture programme.
As part of Baboró’s programme for Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture, Baboró will work with Galway Dance Project, Galway Community Circus and Arch 8 to create a promenade performance that mixes parkour and contemporary dance. This project will involve children and young people aged 8-12 years, during a 12 month period, culminating with public performances during Baboró International Arts Festival for Children in 2020.
The Project
The project involves a collaborative process of development to create a promenade performance mixing parkour, contemporary dance and circus skills. The artists and the children will together build an improvisational dance performance leading the audience through urban landscapes, responding to the music, the other dancers and the surrounding architecture. The performance will surprise and delight the public, disrupting the spaces in which it takes place, inviting a new audience to follow it through the streets. The performance will take place in Galway city and county.
The Partners
Arch 8 isn’t an everyday dance company. Based in the Netherlands, they view theatrical traditions as a resource, using them to create new forms. They then share these new forms in public space, architectural space and theatrical space. There is a high degree of interactivity in the work. They consistently encourage an active viewing, a participatory imagining on the part of the public. With its innovative approach, the company has performed around the globe as well as making collaborative performances with local artists throughout Europe. Erik Kaiel, Artistic Director of Arch 8, has been making dances for many years in subway stations, sculpture gardens, empty swimming pools, city streets and occasionally on stage. He performs, choreographs and teaches throughout the Netherlands, Europe, and the world. Kim-Jomi Fischer grew up in a family of street performers. From an early age, Kim was especially involved in partnering acrobatics, which still influences his work today. Kim graduated at Codarts, Rotterdam’s dance academy, in 2007. Since then, he has worked as a freelance dancer in the Netherlands for choreographers like Ann Van den Broek, André Gingras, Liat Waysbort, Loïc Perela, and Suzy Blok. Kim’s current work involves a lot of contact improvisation, location work, and a physical blend of different dance styles.
Baboró is Ireland’s only international performing arts festival dedicated to children and families. The annual festival features a multi-disciplinary programme of Irish and International work, and takes place in Galway in October every year.
Galway Dance Project is an artist-led, non-profit dance organisation established in 2011 in Galway. The project aims to provide high quality dance classes and workshops as well as choreographic and performance opportunities for dancers in Galway city and county. The aim of Galway Dance Project is to advance professional dance practice in Galway city and county and to support the development of dance as an art form.
Galway Community Circus is the flagship for youth and social circus education in Ireland, advancing education and promoting social inclusion for young people through circus arts. GCC is committed to creating an innovative, artistic and imaginative learning experience where all young people can realise their potential. Amelie Bal is a highly experienced tutor who enjoys teaching workshops in circus skills to groups of children and adults alike. She has performed all over the world, across Ireland, Asia, Europe and the US.
As European Capital of Culture in 2020, Galway will present a twelve-month cultural programme highlighting the richness and diversity of cultures in Galway and across Europe. The concept for Galway 2020 is Making Waves; creating new ways of thinking, new ways of working, new conversations and new partnerships aimed at ensuring a more creative Galway.
The Opportunity
We seek applications from dance artists with some choreographic and/or teaching experience. One dance artist will be selected by a panel of experts to work with Erik Kaiel and Kim-Jomi Fischer of Arch 8, and Amelie Bal of Galway Community Circus, to devise and create this performance which melds parkour, circus skills and contemporary dance. The project will begin in October 2019, when the 4 artists will work with a group of children aged 8 to 12 years and begin to develop the piece. There will be a follow-up session in January 2020 and a summer camp in July to further develop the work. In September and October 2020, there will be weekly sessions with the children to prepare for the performances which will take place during Baboró 2020. The successful applicant must be available for all sessions in Galway.
Suitable for a dance artist who is interested in working with children and in developing work within a collaborative team.
Criteria for application:
- A dance artist or choreographer with at least 2 years experience.
- Some dance training or evidence of practice is required.
- No experience in circus skills or parkour necessary, but an interest is helpful.
- Applicants must be living and working in Galway city or county, or in the surrounding region, as this project has been designed in part to build capacity among dancers and dance teachers in the region.
- An interest in choreography is vital.
- Applicants must be available for all dates noted below.
Timeline
2019
- Oct 11th – 13th: Kick Off of project in Galway
2020
- January: Half-day session
- July: Week-long Summer Creative Lab
- September/October 2020: Weekly preparations for performance
- October 12th– 18th: Preparation and final performances during Baboró 2020
Applicants must be available for all of the above dates. This is a paid position. A fee of €2,050 will be paid along with modest travel expenses.
Application Process
Please send your CV (2 pages) and a personal statement (1 page) describing why you would like to be involved in this project and confirming your availability for the full programme. Please include evidence of your practice, if available - links to videos, images etc. Soft copy only please.
Interviews will be held on Friday Aug 9th in Galway and can be done via Skype if necessary.
Closing Date: Applications should be submitted to producer[@]baboro.ie via email by Monday August 5th.
