Orla Mc Carthy’s class is a 'creative dance' improvisation class which is influenced by her work as a professional contemporary dancer. Orla is keen to share the beauty of creating dance in the moment. Focus is placed on the relationships within the body, between parts of the body and between body and mind to help participants connect to themselves and their expression. There is an emphasis on using the weight and momentum of the body in an effort to move efficiently. How we can move in a healthy and organic way while also surprising and testing ourselves? Group dynamics and how we affect each other play a key role in the class. How can we be open to another while being true to our own impulses? The class incorporates a comprehensive warm-up using elements of yoga, martial arts and other co-ordination exercises, followed by individual improvisation tasks incorporating floorwork, and finally, rounds of group improvisation. Orla believes that everybody can dance and she can't wait to share some tools to do just that! Using imagery to spark the imagination, she will guide the participants through different exercises that inspire them to move in new ways. The joy of dance is at the heart of this class and so everyone is bound to have fun!
Teaching Experience:
2023 Creative Dance Workshops for children at Backstage Theatre, Longford as part of Cruinníu na nÓG.
2022 Creative Dance Workshops during Ren Xue Europe's Qigong retreat in Sweden and Ren Xue's Dutch/German retreat in the Netherlands.
2018 - 2021 Company class and workshops for the public at Dance Theatre Heidelberg. Workshops on behalf of the company at the University for Music and Performing Arts (HfMDK), Frankfurt, Germany.
2017 Assistant in the rehearsals of ‘Young Men’, Iván Pérez at the University for Music and Performing Arts, Frankfurt, Germany.
2011 - 2012 Dance teacher and assistant dance teacher at Victoria Walker Dance, Ireland.
