Archive
Archive
Luail collaborates with the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick to support and strengthen archival practices, creating pathways for artists to engage with dance histories, embodied knowledge and national and international archival materials. Together, we do this through our annual Activating Archive Residency and a programme of archive talks and events.
Activating Archive Residency
Since its inception, the annually run Activating Archive Residency has created unique opportunities for dance artists based in Ireland to engage with significant archives of dance and cultural heritage, using archival research as a catalyst for artistic development, reflection, and creative practice.
Developed through a partnership between Luail – Ireland’s National Dance Company and the Irish World Academy at the University of Limerick, with the National Dance Archive of Ireland, the residency has evolved over three years to connect artists with leading national and international archives, cultural institutions, and networks.
Across the programme’s duration, the residency has fostered partnerships with a diverse range of organisations, including the National Dance Archive of Ireland, Irish Arts Center, New York, Solas Nua in Washington D.C, the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Jacob’s Pillow, Our Steps: An Irish Dance Legacy Archive, and the Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA). Through these collaborations, artists have gained access to world-class archival collections, studio space, research facilities, mentorship, and networking opportunities both in Ireland and internationally.
Through fully funded residencies, artists’ fees, travel support, accommodation, rehearsal space, and facilitated access to archives, the programme has enabled dance artists to undertake in-depth research, develop new ideas, and generate choreographic, performative, and documentation-based responses to archival materials. The residency continues to demonstrate the value of archives as living resources, connecting historical knowledge and cultural memory with contemporary artistic practice.
In just three years, applications to the residency have more than doubled; we have seen a remarkable growth in demand for this opportunity, attracting an exceptionally high calibre of Irish and international dance artists.
- Rachel Ní Bhraonáin (2024)
- Matt Szereck (2024)
- Anderson De Souza ( 2025)
- Stephanie Keane (2026)
Today, the Activating Archive Residency stands as a distinctive platform for artistic research and international exchange, strengthening relationships between artists, archives, and cultural institutions while supporting the development of new dance practices informed by history, heritage, and lived experience.
TALKS
On 13 November 2025, hosted by the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick and Luail, this Archive talk reflected on the Activating Archive Residency 2024 and also introduced the audience to the National Dance Archive of Ireland, and how best to engage with its collections.
Chaired by Dr Jenny Roche, Course Director of the MA in Contemporary Dance, the discussion featured Anna-Maria Hajba, Archivist with the National Dance Archive of Ireland, Dr. Catherine Foley, Founding Director of the National Dance Archive of Ireland, and residency artists Rachel Ní Bhraonáin and Matt Szczerek.
Artists shared how engaging with archives through the project influenced their creative practice and future work. The session also offered insights into documenting dance work for archives and included practical engagement with dance archival practices. Open to the public, MA and PhD students, the event provided an engaging exploration of dance archives, history, and creative practice.
TESTIMONIALS
“The Activating Archive Residency was a really valuable opportunity to reconnect with my own movement history while questioning how dance, culture and embodied knowledge are carried through generations. The residency gave me space to be curious, to research without the pressure of producing a finished work, and to allow movement, memory and cultural references to meet in unexpected ways. It has definitely opened questions and ideas that I want to continue exploring in my practice.
The Limerick phase of the residency grounded this reflection in practice. My time began with a generous and rigorous conversation with Catherine Foley, facilitated by National Dance Archive of Ireland archivist Anna-Maria Hajba. That meeting became one of the highlights of the residency. Rather than a casual exchange, it felt like a masterclass.”
ANDERSON DE SOUZA – 2025
“It’s been incredible and so inspiring. The whole experience felt like I was really supported to be an artist – wild! It was such a luxury, my job there was to be inspired. I had a profound experience in the archive, the team there were so kind and helpful. There was time to let it all sink in, and I could really sit with things. I’m not sure what will happen next, but it feels inevitable that something is going to come out of this down the line.”
RACHEL NÍ BHRAONÁIN – 2024
“The Activating Archive Residency provided me with the time and resources to travel to the US and dive into aspects of Hip-Hop history relevant to me. There is nothing more valuable than being in the heart of the city that gave an inception to the culture I am passionate about. I would encourage anyone considering applying to do it. It was a highlight of my research journey.”
MATEUSZ SZCZEREK – 2024
