BROADREACH | OLDER PEOPLE

LED BY PHILIPPA DONNELLAN

A COISCÉIM BROADREACH PROJECT COMMISSIONED BY AGE & OPPORTUNITY / BEALTAINE IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE NATIONAL CONCERT HALL AND FATIMA GROUPS UNITED.

MARCH – MAY 2020

Please note – this project has been postponed until Spring 2021. 

If you would like to receive updates, you can join our mailing list HERE or contact Caoimhe at broadreach@coisceim.com.  In the meantime, keep dancing from home with our free digital dance classes – click HERE for details.

There is a door. It has a handle and a lock. It can be easy or difficult to open. Depending, of course, on which side of the door you are on, who opens it and why.

In this bold and delightfully riotous dance theatre performance, a group of people push open THE DOOR to reveal stories about home, hospitality and belonging – and what they mean as we age. Commissioned by Age & Opportunity/Bealtaine, THE DOOR has been developed over the last year with communities from across Dublin County and Dun Laoghaire. Featuring live music by members of NCH Blow the Dust Orchestra, THE DOOR will be performed by an irreverent gang of elders with a passion for dancing and a desire to hold on to the keys. Céad míle fáilte! But is it that simple?

Lead photo by Ros Kavanagh.

The Door in 2019

CREATIVE DANCE WORKSHOPS 

From 29 April to 24 May, Philippa Donnellan and Emma O’Kane led a series of taster dance workshops with Dun Laoghaire Active Retirement Group, Ozanam House Active Retirement Group, Fatima community group/FGU, and Newcastle Active Retirement Group. Informal and energising, these workshops invited participants to dance together, exchange stories around the theme, and create a few original moves of their own. 

“…. we all enjoyed the Dance Workshops with Philippa….and we had great fun and came out feeling relaxed and happy” – Gabrielle Lowe, DLR Active Retirement Group Coordinator

“I thought I’d only go the once to see…but I’ve loved every minute and came to every class.” – participant

“really enjoyed the process, it was good to push myself” – Fatima Groups United member

DANCING THROUGH THE DOOR | TEA DANCE 2019

On Sunday 26 May at the Pillar Room, Rotunda Hospital in Dublin over 100 people came together to dance and show choreography created during the workshops. The informal presentations offered some powerful experiences, from stories of rejection and exclusion to unexpected celebratory embraces, and triggered some insightful responses by members of the public.

In 2019, THE DOOR was also supported by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.