PUSH + Gathering at The Ark 2022 6 - 7 Sep 2022
The Ark will be hosting a PUSH + gathering on 6 and 7 of September 2022 on behalf of the PUSH+ network.
It will be an exciting few days filled with engaging panel discussions, workshops, works in progress showings and an opportunity for the PUSH + network to spend some time together after a long time apart.
PUSH+ is a Creative Europe project running from 2019–2022 (stemming from PUSH 2016–2018) and is built on the foundations of continual and supported artist development and exchange in the still developing area of theatre for children and young audiences. This gathering of artists and collaborators is the culmination of seven years of work which has stimulated European dialogue and initiated new artistic ideas and performance centred around three important topics in performance for young audiences –Home, Failure and Different Bodies. These are topics that have pushed us to take more risks as makers and presenters, to address the underrepresentation of different lives and bodies on our stages and to tell stories that really connect with children and who they are with a strong emphasis on equality, diversity and inclusion.
As part of this gathering there are two performances open for public viewing. We would love to see you there.
Read on below for all the details...
Fall and Float is a dance performance for audiences aged 4+. In this highly physical and visual show, two dancers create a magical world through the manipulation of balloons. With playful energy, impressive acrobatics and a joyful soundscape. The form: a hypnotical, comical and highly contagious composition full of falling, lifting, throwing, catching, stumbling, floating … and sometimes maybe even a little bit of flying...
Created by Monica Muñoz
Performed by Martijn Joling, Amy Pender
This performance is open to Adult and Child Audiences
Birdwoman is born, lives, plays and dances until she disappears again into another world. The spectator is silent witness of an organism in constant transformation between object-animal-human. The performance invites to look more closely and reminds us that the human body, nature and the dream world are inseparable.
Still A Bird is a wordless intimate performance, on the crossroads between theatre, dance and visual arts, exploring the tension between humans and nature, between appearing and disappearing, between physical and imaginative realm.
Created by and Performed by Rebecca Lenaerts
This performance is open to Adult Audiences
About PUSH +
PUSH+ is a Creative Europe co-operation and artist development project which seeks to change and increase the diversity of representation in theatre and dance for children in Ireland, Scotland, Belgium, Denmark and Norway. Our aim is to push the boundaries of what is considered appropriate for children while also broadening the range of cultural experiences that children see on stage. Our project has explored themes of gender, migration, different bodies and failure among others to encourage artists to address these themes in their work for children and young people. To date 46 artists have participated in the programme.