About Us
Dublin Youth Dance Company
Ireland's Premier Contemporary Youth Dance Organisation
Dublin Youth Dance Company (DYDC) is Ireland’s flagship contemporary youth dance company (comprising three dance ensembles) which curates and hosts the annual Irish Youth Dance Festival (IYDF & Winter Gala), providing a national platform for youth dance with a growing international focus. Its vision is to cultivate distinct artistic voices through the creation and performance of transformative repertoire uniquely embodied by young artists. DYDC offers young dancers' multiple platforms and opportunities to train, perform, choreograph and participate in an inclusive and diverse environment. DYDC & IYDF provides pathways of high-quality pre vocational training and ensemble performance for young dancers/aspiring dance artists, led by professional choreographers and dance artists/teachers extending the range and deepening the experience of their dancer selves.
The recent launch of its new Strategic Plan ‘A Time to Grow’ 2023-2027 represents a pivotal moment for DYDC as it steps fully into a leadership role in contemporary youth dance in Ireland in terms of: pedagogy/pre vocational dance training; national and international festival/dance platforms/collaboration; equality, diversity and inclusion, and significant partnerships with both the professional contemporary dance sector which stands very strong in Ireland and is of mutual enrichment and local authority, educational, voluntary and cross sectoral collaborations.
Our Mission
To lead the development and delivery of high quality contemporary youth dance in Dublin and nationally
Our Vision
Ireland has a vibrant and diverse contemporary youth dance culture.
Young people from all backgrounds create and perform dance that’s high in quality, wide in reach, contemporary in its aesthetic, and deep in its transformation of their lives.
Youth Dance is both customary and special: a golden thread in the fabric of public provision for young people.
DYDC is the flagship organisation for policy and practice in contemporary youth dance.
Our Values
Artistry & Excellence
We believe in the transformative quality of the arts and in the distinctive power of dance for young people to explore their ideas and feelings artistically, giving embodied expression to their experiences, past and present, and to their hopes and dreams.
In our pursuit of excellence we constantly review and improve performance in all aspects of our work from governance to teaching practices, choreography to commissioning, financial management to production values.
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Access & Diversity
We believe young people from all backgrounds should have the opportunity to experience dance and, if they wish, to make it central to their lives. We provide audiences with performances that allow them to enjoy the distinctive qualities of youth dance.
Dance thrives on diversity. The diversity of contemporary Ireland – in terms of gender, culture, ethnicity, aesthetics – is a vital reservoir for youth dance.
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Agency & Partnership
DYDC exists for its members and for young people more widely. Their voices and choices inform all aspects of our work.
We work in respectful relationship with many organisations that share our commitment to the nurturing of young people through the arts.
Sustainability
We are committed to the sustainable growth of our work, to balancing ambition with the responsible management of our resources, so that the effects of our work can be lasting.
We include here a commitment to wider environmental sustainability and to bio-diversity.
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Our Story
The History of DYDC
Founded by JJ Formento in 2000, under the supervision of Robert Connor and Loretta Yurick at the Dance Theatre of Ireland along with support from Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Dublin Youth Dance Company has continued to give young people the opportunity to engage in training, creating and performing contemporary Dance.
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