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Now in its 20th iteration, Dublin Dance Festival has seen fewer changes than Ireland has in the past 24 years. Artistic direction has been passed along four times without any lurching change of aesthetic or format. Unsuppressable personal preferences pushed incremental changes in programming, but artistic directors have always kept a close eye on Irish societal changes, in and out of the Celtic Tiger, during austerity and lockdown.

Launched in 2002 as the biennial International Dance Festival Ireland under artistic director Catherine Nunes, it initially featured programming that was closely aligned to that of the London-based Dance Umbrella. Similar line-ups were criticised by some – including this writer – but, in hindsight, joining the programmatic slipstream of an established festival was exactly the leg-up the new endeavour required. [ Cloud Gate: The Taiwanese treasure opening Dublin Dance Festival 2024 ] The first three festivals were well rounded and artistically coherent, while still ticking necessary boxes like children’s performances, professional workshops and outdoor public presentations.



The inaugural opening night, with Merce Cunningham Dance Company on the Abbey Theatre stage, has yet to be surpassed in symbolism and importance. (It also set a precedent when persuading other big international companies to suffer the less-than-ideal Abbey stage: if Cunningham performed there then it must be okay.) With Laurie Uprichard (2008-11), the now annual and rebrand.

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