Meet the isacs Spring Bursary Awardees

Eimhin is a father, circus artist, dancer and community development worker, among other things, and based in the midlands. From streetside beginnings, terrorizing the people of Galway with bad Djembe, he encountered object manipulation and fire arts. This lead him from university days in Galway to Fontys Circus Academy in the Netherlands where a health crisis and various surgeries landed him back home again pretty bent out of shape. Post surgical spinal issues lead to a dance practice of 10 years training with Aragorn Boulanger, concurrent with a daily practice in Tai Chi and Qi Gong, which along with community development of an urban food commons and projects issuing from there, helped his general health immensely. Years later, on the threshold of the forties and with health vastly improved, Eimhin took to his old tricks again, this time integrating the new with RoGu FireArts where you can catch him on productions like FireStorm and Moebius/Kagi. He also teaches here and there and facilitates 1 to 1 and group movement and tai chi classes at the Growery in Birr.

Jude is a performer, a creator, a commentator. Philosopher, poet, and musician. A living, feeling human – an Artist. They create moments -experiences for humans to contact their humanness. Whether a viewer applauds or not, so long as they felt or thought something more because Jude was there is the central point to their artistic creation. The core mediums Jude works with are Trapeze and Dance. Their recent work revolves around the human body and more specifically how it continually carries every cry, every laugh and every bruise it has experienced.

Claire is a multidisciplinary artist based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, primarily teaching and performing in circus. My aerial work is focusedon the process of creating; exploringways to transfer skills from floor anddifferent apparatus to express myself. This year I am focusing on developing my practice through working with people from various backgroundsincluding aerial, dance, music, art, manipulation and standing acrobatics.

Anja is a multi-disciplinary artist interested in ambitious physicality and the fringes of contemporary dance and performance art. She blends herextensive background in ballet andcontemporary dance with circusdoubles, aerial dance and contortion. Graduating with a 1st class honors degree in Contemporary Dance from the University of Limerick, Anja has since worked with renowned Syrian-German choreographer Saeed Hani, Fidget Feet Aerial Dance, Looseysmokes, and Alexander Iseli. Most recently she was Assistant Movement director for Roddy Doyle’s’ Peter Pan’ at the Gate Theatre.

Hannah Rogerson is an Irish creator and performer based in Kildare. Hannah has worked with several companies spanning across the fields of dance, circus, performance art and location theater. The work is often inter-disciplinary and performed outside of the theatre setting. Hannah has worked with: Cie. Woest (Lucky Shots); Katja Heitmann, (For iTernity and Pandora’s Dropbox); Maiden Voyage DanceCompany (choreographers: Lea Anderson, Jack Webb, Eleesha Drennan and a collaboration with musicians Hard Rain Ensemble); Irish Modern DanceTheater (Divine Madness), Nick Nikolaou (research for Anatomy of a Night), Justine Doswell (We Couldn’t Fake That/ Corona’s music video, Sky Country, Messier 45) and Attic Projects (Slow Tide). She has performed over 400 times in 12 different countries with the company she co-founded, TeaTimeCompany.

Édaein Samuels is a multi-discipline practitioner from Cork. She is one idiot out of the Those Two Idiots comedy acro Company which was awarded the 2023 SPRAOI studios bursary. She is a multi-skilled aerialist favoring aerial hoop. She is ever curious, and an improviser, ready to take ideas for aspin. Edaein utilises her aerial skills on the streets to bring delight in finding new perspectives on under or in the spaces we live and move. She is also a youth and outreach coach at Circus Factory Cork and takes joy in inspiring

Amy Hegarty is a designer, maker and performer in the outdoor arts world, specialising in costume, puppetry and community arts. She has worked with a range of renowned UK organisations such as Walk the Plank, Wild Rumpusand Thingamajig Theatre. She has been the lead artist for the Manchester Day Parade, St Patrick’s Day in Dublin, and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Parade. She has also co-created outdoor events and is developing her own outdoor walkabout acts. Amy’s work is collaborative and playful. She particularly enjoys the buzz of performing and creating art that communities can engage with.