In 2004 CoisCéim launched Choreographic Manoeuvres - a programme of physical and verbal dialogues with internationally acclaimed British choreographers.

These innovative choreographers through their workshops, video presentations and dialogues engaged with Irish dance practitioners, physical performers and the general public.

In its first year Choreographic Manoeuvres was presented as a collaborative partnership with The British Council and the programme has hosted workshops by the following choreographers:

Lea Anderson 25 + 26 November 2004

Founder and Artistic Director of the Cholmondeleys and the Featherstonehaughs, Lea Anderson has choreographed over 100 original works for her companies. She has been at the forefront of promoting and producing dance for the screen. For television, two series of Tights Camera Action were commissioned by Channel 4 (12992 and 1994). For film, Lea has choreographed for Velvet Goldmine, Todd Haynes films (2000). She is also known for her large scale community site specific projects including the French Revolution Bicentennial Celebrations in Paris in 1989 and Stargazer, commissioned by Tate St Ives for the 1999 solar eclipse in Cornwall. In 2002 Lea was awarded an MBE for her services to dance and her work is one of the first among post-modern choreographers to be a compulsory element of the GCSE dance syllabus. Lea has just returned from America where she was Artist-in-Residence at the University of California.

Lloyd Newson 14 + 15 February 2005

After studying psychology at university, Newson won a full scholarship to London Contemporary Dance School and went on to dance with many notable choreographers of the era before founding DV8 in 1986. His work concentrates on connecting meaning to movement and addressing social issues. Newson has created 15 works for stage and four films. He consistently receives major British and international awards, including 2 Prix Italia and an international Emmy. His latest film, loosely based on the stage production of The Cost of Living, is being shown at festivals worldwide throughout 2005. His work has included commissions from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festivals and Tate Modern, and films for the BBC and Channel 4.

Wendy Hesketh 23 + 24 March 2005

A graduate of London Contemporary Dance School, Wendy trained and worked as a contemporary dancer and in 1999 embraced new skills working with the world famous aerial theatre company De La Guarda in London. Now an experienced aerial harness specialist, Wendy focuses on the use of her range of dance and aerial skills within her performance and choreographic work. Wendy is passionate about the fusion of single aerial bungee sills (bungee assisted dance) with contemporary dance theatre, the use of vertical walls as her dance floor and the possiblilities that this perspective brings to both choreography and performance. Her work spans aerial dance theatre designed for theatres and site-specific aerial stunt work. The magic of aerial performance is its facility to trick gravity. When set free from gravity, you are only limited by your imagination.

Wendy Houstoun 29 + 30 March 2005

Wendy Houstoun is a London based artist. She is committed to experimental movement and theatre work and works as a performer/maker and teacher. Her own solo pieces Haunted, Daunted & Flaunted, Happy Hour and The 48 Almost Love Lyrics have toured extensively in Europe, USA and Australia. She has collaborated with many individuals including Nigel Charnock, David Hinton, Tim Etchells, Jonathan Burrows, John Avery and Rachel Krische, and has choreographed for the Royal Exchange, RSC and Glyndebourne Opera. Her performance work with companies includes: DV8 Physical Theatre, Rose English, Lumiere & Son and she is currently touring with Forced Entertainment in the new show Bloody Mess. She was a recent winner of the Jerwood Award.

CHARLOTTE VINCENT 17 + 18 jANUARY 2006

Charlotte Vincent is Artistic Director of the Vincent Dance Theatre and to date, she has conceived and directed all of VDT's live and film works. She is known for creating emotionally bold and physically demanding work which challenges conventional expectations of what dance can be, combining physical theatre, music and song. Charlotte has led professional development workshops in the UK , Switzerland , Spain , Taiwan and Austria . She has also led physical theatre workshops with male and female offenders in more than 30 prisons across the UK , and has choreographed and devised community projects and major participation projects for VDT and others. Working with digital video technologists Charlotte delivered Dance The Net , a series of training workshops exploring the interface between dance and digital technology. As a choreographer, Charlotte Vincent has undertaken many commissions throughout the world and has been nominated for several national and international awards including the Arts Fellowship Award for Choreography, Paul Hamlyn Award for Choreography, Jerwood Award for Young Choreographers, The Place Dance on Screen Production Award and Pepinieres Europeennes Pour Jeunes Artistes.

JASMIN VARDIMON 21 + 22 MARCH 2006

Jasmin concentrates her work around observations of human behaviour and is a recognisable and
strongly individual choreographic voice in dance theatre. Using a language of artistic expression that engages with audiences on an emotional, physical and intellectual level, Vardimon stimulates and provokes fresh perspectives on contemporary society. Her work is littered with themes of social manners, family tensions, relationship blunders and sexual mores: a thematic approach which dictates the movement. She is currently a Yorkshire Dance Partner having previously been Associate Artist at The Place. She has won many awards including the Jerwood Foundation's changing stages award for PARK in 2004. Jasmin has been commissioned by: the Place Theatre, DanceXchange, Oval House, Kampnagel [Germany], Now 2000, The Green Room, and Lichfield Garrick.