Visual Arts with Michelle McBride: Using everyday materials, Michelle led a hands-on visual arts session that explored identity and self-expression through colour, texture, and shape.

STEREO is a performance with live music by Purple Door which explores the themes of identity and categorisation, with a focus on challenging stereotypes.Supported by Kildare County Council Arts Service’s First Fortnight Award 2024, in partnership with First Fortnight.This event is part of Riverbank's programme for First Fortnight 2025.https://riverbank.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873650859Artistic Director: Kasia Eliasz
Guitar: Gustavo de Morais
Violin: Rafał Szydłowski
Percussion: Fernando Basqueroto
Stage Manager: Emma White
Light & Sound: John Mahon
Co-written by: Sinead (Purple Door)
Venue: Riverbank Arts Centre
Performers: Purple DoorCreated for: First Fortnight
Funded by: Kildare County Council Arts Services
Organisation: Down Syndrome Ireland Kildare Brach
Photos: Luis Mavszak

Samba Dance Brasil is an international dance group founded in 2008 by Rosely Silva in Dublin, Ireland. Born in Minas Gerais, Brazil, Rosely holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism from Uni-BH and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the University of Hertfordshire, England. A proud mother of two daughters, Rosely began her journey in Dublin as a samba dancer with a local samba school. With passion, dedication, and a desire to share the vibrancy of Brazilian culture, she established Samba Dance Brasil.Since its founding, the group has performed across Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Italy, Spain, and Brazil, captivating audiences with the energy and joy of samba.

Róisín Whelan is a dance artist born in Carlow. Recent choreographic work includes, In The End, We Begin (Film) commissioned by Dancer From the Dance Festival of Irish Choreographer / John Scott. Róisín is currently leading a large-scale community development project with VISUAL Carlow, bringing creative movement sessions to the homes of people aged sixty-five and over, to combat the effects of isolation. Róisín is the recipient of the inaugural Propel Award, a three year-long artist development and mentorship programme funded by the Strollers Network, Ireland’s largest consortium of Arts Centres and she is also a member of the Northern Ireland Opera Open Studio as an Emerging Choreographer for the 21/22 season. She was the first artist to be awarded an LD Dance Performance Residency in 2021. Other awards and residencies include Backstage Theatre Activate Residency 2020 & 2021, Dance Ireland Regional Residency Award 2020 & 2021, Ballet Ireland Emerging Choreographer Award, an Arts Council Dance Bursary Award 2020 & 2021, and Tipperary Dance Fellowship Award 2020. Róisín holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts and Master of Performance (Distinction) from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. She has performed extensively with Black Box Dance Company (Denmark) and Matthew Bourne’s award-winning New Adventures (UK). Róisín continues to perform in Ireland and the UK as a dancer on stage and onscreen and teaches professionally for several dance companies.

Mateusz Szczerek is a Dublin based dance artist and professional member of Dance Ireland.His recent work includes Digital RSS Commission 2021 in The Civic as a lead artist, choreography for dance/circus production Blame Game premiered at Bristol Circus City in October 2021 planned for touring in 2022/23 and Dance Ireland project LETS DANCE for Cruinniu na nOg 2021.Matt also continues to direct Dance2Connect, a 3 day Street Dance Festival at The Civic supported by Arts Council Festival funding.In 2019 he was selected to be part of The Lir’s LIGHTING DESIGN FOR DANCE mentored by Liz Roche.In 2018 Mateusz choreographed FABLE for Dublin Fringe Festival (Project Art Centre), nominated for best ensemble award. Matt worked regularly with CoisCéim Dance Theatre performing as a principal dancer in THE WOLF & PETER (2017 Sydney Opera House). In 2017 he was selected by Far From The Norm dance company as a lead Irish artist in international production UNION BLACK, funded by Creative Europe touring UK, France, Sweden, Ireland.

Dublin born, choreographer, John Scott studied and performed at Irish National College of Dance/Dublin City Ballet 1982 – 1985 in works by, Anton Dolin, Anna Sokolow and Babil Gandara. He subsequently studied with Choreographer/Composer/Filmmaker, Meredith Monk in New York and performed in her masterpiece Quarry at Spoleto Festival and for Oona Doherty, Yoshiko Chuma, Sarah Rudner, Anna Sokolow and Thomas Lehmen in the US, UK and Ireland.John Scott founded Irish Modern Dance Theatre in 1991 as a platform for his own work and to create international choreographic exchanges with major international choreographers with the Irish dance community to develop a contemporary Irish choreographic voice. His choreographic work includes Divine Madness (2019), Inventions (2018), Cloud Study (2018), Everything Now, Lear, Fall and Recover, Actions in Ireland at Dublin Dance Festival, Galway International Arts Festival, Kilkenny Arts Festival, Dublin Fringe Festival and internationally at John F Kennedy Center, Washington DC, New York, Live Arts, La MaMa, Danspace Project at St Mark’s Church, PS 122, New York, Dance Base, Edinburgh, Sounded Bodies Festival and Queer Zagreb, Les Hivernales, Avignon, Tanzmesse Dusseldorf, Forum Cultural Mundial, Brazil and Ramallah International Dance Festival, Palestine.

Jess Rowell is an inclusive dance artist and movement facilitator based in Bray, Co. Wicklow. She creates multi-sensory dance theatre performances for young people with additional needs, with a deep commitment to making dance accessible and fostering equal access to the arts for all.At the heart of her practice is a drive to break down barriers and create immersive, engaging experiences that celebrate the individuality and unique perspectives of every participant. Her performances and projects connect with people of all ages and abilities, always offering a welcoming space for expression and exploration. Whether working in schools, theatres, or community settings, Jess invites audiences to experience movement, sound, and sensation in ways that are personal, empowering, and transformative.With over 15 years of experience performing, collaborating, and directing across professional and community contexts, Jess’s practice is informed by a rich and diverse background in dance and movement. She has trained at the London Contemporary Dance School, Northbrook Metropolitan College, Freestyle Yoga Project (UK), and Tattvaa Yoga Shala (India).

Philippa Donnellan is an independent professional choreographer based in Dublin 8. Originally from the UK, she trained in Contemporary Dance at the Martha Graham School in New York and holds an M.A. in Dance Ethnographic Studies from Surrey University, UK. Passionate about dance of all kinds, her work is driven by an interest in people’s lived experiences—stories that are personal and collective, social and political—and, more recently, by themes concerning the environment and our relationship to nature.From 2006 to 2020 Philippa worked with CoisCéim Dance Theatre as BROADREACH Director with whom she directed and facilitated a community engagement programme in partnership with leading institutions and organisations. From 2021 to 2022 with Dance Limerick she established the DL.BRIDGE public engagement programme. This included co-directing Women & work - the contract,an intergenerational women’s project which culminated in site-specific performances for Culture Night 2021.

Cindy Cummings is an American-Irish choreographer and contemporary dancer. She is a member of Aosdána, an elite Irish association of artists.
Cummings was born in Wenatchee, Washington. She pursued studies in dance and theatre at the University of Oregon, and in New York City.
Cummings began her career in 1986. She has been based in Ireland since 1990, and her first Irish performance was in Zero Crossing at the Dublin Theatre Festival that year.She has worked in theatre, television and film, mostly on collaborative productions.[8] Her work was described by the Centre Culturel Irlandais as "working on the vulnerable and mutable place of the body within contemporary society using play and humour as tools for creative interrogation." Plays and interactive performances she has performed in include Jody O’Neill's What I (Don't) Know About Autism (the Abbey Theatre), Habit Performing, One Night Stands with Tommy Hayes, The Big Chapel X (Asylum Productions at the Abbey Theatre), Triur Ban, The Secret Project, Toupees and Snare Drums, Tracing Houdini and Baby Jane.She played Rossa on the Irish children's TV show The Morbegs. She acted in the film We All Come From Somewhere and performed an interpretative dance as a TEDx presentation.

Alessandra Azeviche is a trailblazing Afro-Brazilian dancer, choreographer, and cultural leader based in Ireland. Renowned for her dynamic stage presence and powerful storytelling through movement, she is the first woman to teach Capoeira in Ireland and has been instrumental in introducing Afro-Brazilian dance traditions to Irish audiences.Since relocating to Ireland in 2015, Alessandra has collaborated with acclaimed choreographers such as Catherine Young and John Scott, and worked with institutions including Dublin City Council, Axis Ballymun, Carlow Arts Festival, Dublin Fringe Festival, and the Brazilian Embassy. Her work celebrates the vibrancy and resilience of Afro-Brazilian culture, and she is deeply committed to community engagement and cultural education.Alessandra is the founder and leader of Quilombo Terra—Ireland’s first Afro-Brazilian arts performance group—and Natural Rhythm, a platform for sharing traditional rhythms and dances rooted in her heritage. She also performs regularly with her group Criola Dance, appearing at major Irish festivals to showcase the energy and elegance of Afro-Brazilian movement. A passionate advocate for representation and equity in the arts, Alessandra currently serves on the board of Dublin Dance Festival and is an associate artist with THISISPOPBABY.