Dance Cork Firkin Crane Reveals Summer/Autumn 2025 Season
This programme invites audiences, artists and local communities to engage deeply with dance’s many forms in its unique heritage building in Shandon.
By: Stephi Wild Jul. 15, 2025
Dance Cork Firkin Crane has announced its Summer/Autumn 2025 season with a strong programme of performances, residencies, and professional development opportunities that reflect the breadth of contemporary dance in Cork and beyond. This programme invites audiences, artists and local communities to engage deeply with dance’s many forms in its unique heritage building in Shandon.
The Summer/Autumn season of performances opens on Friday 22 August with a preview of OFFSPRING (A Modern Frankenstein) by Emily Terndrup, a visceral reimagining of Mary Shelley’s classic novel that explores the thrill and terror of creation through dance, theatre and visual storytelling.
On Saturday 6 September, Runners by Alex Allison/Hippana.Maleta takes the stage as part of the inaugural UpDown Circus Festival. This inventive work merges circus, sound and movement as two performers navigate the mechanics of running machines, accompanied by a live musician.
Mufutau Yusuf returns to the Dance Cork Firkin Crane stage with the full duet version of Impasse on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 September. This powerful performance confronts the narratives etched onto Black bodies through history, combining raw physicality, set design and emotional resonance.
On Friday 10 and Saturday 11 October, Dance Cork Firkin Crane welcomes Rinse by Australian choreographer Amrita Hepi with director Mish Grigor, a bold solo performance weaving memoir, dance, and improvisation in a meditation on beginnings, desire and inertia.
The season concludes with Crystal Cloud, a recent work by pioneering Dublin choreographer Fiona Quilligan, known for her integration of lush film within live performance. This work premieres on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 November.
Launching this season, Cine Club: Dance on Film is a new monthly film screening curated by Cork City Dance Artist in Residence, Luke Murphy / Attic Projects. Held on the first Thursday of each month, the programme offers a relaxed evening of short and feature-length films exploring dance on screen, from iconic documentaries to experimental works. Screenings begin on 4 September with A Good Man, a documentary about choreographer Bill T. Jones.
The season’s creative residencies support a broad spectrum of dance, circus and performance from August to November. The resident artists are; Kendall Rileigh (USA), Lidija Šola (Croatia/Ireland), Flora Fauna Project (Sweden/Ireland), Cindy Cummings and Rhona Coughlan (Ireland), Jack Philp (Ireland), Cormac Mohally / Pitch’d Productions (Ireland) and Róisín Whelan (Ireland). Many artists will offer free work-in-progress showings, inviting the public into the creative process, and lead professional classes for the local dance community.
Curated by Dermot Browne, Crane Visual continues to blend contemporary art with dance themes. Upcoming exhibitions include Satori in Cork (3 June – 19 September), exploring moments of sudden enlightenment inspired by Lewis Major’s choreography, and Rotate(R) (25 September – 14 December), presenting a fast-paced series of rotating exhibitions offering fresh artistic encounters.
Dance Cork Firkin Crane remains committed to fostering professional dance skills through a robust offering of regular workshops and classes led by visiting and local artists. The full schedule of opportunities can be found on the Dance Cork Firkin Crane website.
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