NOEL SHELLEY Culture Emma Martins Soft God. Ballet Ireland dancer Niamh OFlannagain. Gerardine Connolly with Constance Colin. Ballet de Santiagos Swan Lake at Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, August 18-23. immersive activations and modern storytelling that captures the zeitgeist. Its all designed to broaden the horizons and attract new audiences who may not have previously engaged with dance. Gerardine Connolly is a former barrister who has a long history with ballet and was previously Director and Chair of Ballet Ireland. She co-founded Balletto di Venezia with Creative Director Alessio Carbone in 2024, with the dream of bringing ballet back to the city of Venice, which has not had a professional company since the 1980s. She explains: To build a new company such as Balletto di Venezia requires exceptional dedication, rigorous work, and the courage to dream. The shared passion and unwavering commitment behind this project have brought this vision to life and will continue to drive it forward. Connolly, who has recently been appointed to the role of Honorary Consul of Ireland to Venice, is passionate about strengthening the cultural ties between the two places. Balletto di Venezia is a not-for-profit company which relies on the donations of sponsors and patrons, many of whom are Irish supporters. Connolly and Carbone have established Stelle di Domani (Stars of Tomorrow), a summer programme which selects a group of young dancers from international ballet schools (including La Scala, Opéra de Paris and Vienna State Ballet) and offers intensive training and an international tour, before landing them their first professional contract. The 2026 repertoire includes an exciting mix of classical and neo-classical ballet to showcase the students individual strengths: they will perform works by six internationally recognised choreographers, including Ruaidhrí Maguire, a dancer with Ballet Ireland. The first performance will take place in the historic Scuola Grande San Rocco in Venice, followed by Venice and Orsolina. Book for a special performance in Dublin, at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, on July 13 (tickets at www.riam.ie). The company is currently seeking a permanent home in the historical centre of Venice, which would allow it to employ permanent dancers and stage regular performances, as well as establish a place of dance discovery for the public, with open ballet classes and studio rehearsals made freely accessible to 32 May 2026 THE GLOSS MAGAZINE offer people a behind the scenes view into the work and life of a ballet professional, a world which has historically been a closed-off space. I want to make ballet accessible to everyone, explains Connolly. Embarking on another ambitious project, this September, Connolly and Carbone plan to erect a floating platform on the Grand Canal by the Rialto Bridge in Venice to stage an open-air performance. There will be 300 seats and no tickets required, so that anyone will be able to come along and see this spectacle. It is this inherent generosity that defines the work of Balletto di Venezia, a passion project whose only aim is to spread the joy of dance. At the forefront of bringing contemporary international dance to Ireland, Artistic Director of the Dublin Dance Festival, Jazmin Chiodi says she wanted to bring a new energy to this years line-up of events, as the festival returns for its 22nd edition this month: We are not living in the brightest times in the world today. When building the programme, I was looking for performances that are relevant to todays society, and how we see the world now. Dance has the capacity to ground themes that can sometimes be complex in reality. As well as performances like Emma Martins Soft God at the Abbey Theatre, Silvia Gribaudis Suspended Chorus at Project Arts Centre and Catherine Youngs Ciseach at the Pavilion Theatre in Dun Laoghaire, the festival will host immersive events for the public: I like to create journeys for people so that they can experience dance in all its forms, says Chiodi; audience feedback from previous festivals was that people wanted to move more. She wanted to challenge the idea that audiences should sit there quietly and observe a performance in the traditional sense, so the festival has introduced nightclub events at Bewleys on Grafton Street with special guest DJs, outdoor performances in the streets of Dublin, workshops in St Stephens Green, a virtual reality experience designed for teenagers, and a projection in the gardens of IMMA. Its these interactive elements that are unique to the festival, which brings it a new energy and importantly, new audiences. There will always be people who want to connect with the art form by seeing dance on stage, but there are also those keen to engage with dance themselves, and this festival is a celebration of dance in all its forms. The festival will give you a sense of what dance can do for you, says Chiodi. At the end of the day, the festival is for anyone who is curious about dance but it is definitely not just for dance lovers in the traditional sense. Ireland has a long history with dance, and yet only gained a national dance company within the past year. Luail, founded in 2024, has a full-time ensemble of eight dancers and performs around Ireland and internationally, and will present The Fifth Sun at Dublin Dance Festival. But, as is often the way with the arts, funding for dance remains a challenge, says Chiodi: I believe funding should be more in line with ambition there is a real ambition and a real potential for dance in Ireland to continue to grow, and funding needs to move at the same speed. Chiodi concludes: My ethos is to create pathways for artists and dancers from our festival so that they can create relationships globally, and so that international programmers can see Ireland as a reference point. With an industry filled with ambition, talent and motivation to move forward, maybe all Timothée Chalamet needs is a trip to Ireland to see the art form is alive and well. A SWEDISH SUMMERHOUSE / DESTINATION DINING / SUNNY DELIGHTS / SMART PACKING / ANDREW SCOTT / BRINGING BALLET BACK MAGAZINE MAY 2026 with THE IRISH TIMES LETS GET AWAY SUN-SOAKED STYLE Creative Retreats o ss .i e hegl w.t ww Dream Destinations Contents IN THIS ISSUE THE GLOSS MONTHLY REMINDER SIGN UP to receive a monthly reminder by email when THE GLOSS is out so that you never miss an issue. Simply register your details on WWW.THEGLOSS.IE. EDITOR JE NNIFE R STE V E NS D EP UT Y ED IT OR S Í O MHA CO NNO LLY S TYLE E D I T O R AISLI Glossip TWO UP Heating Up Gloss~ip! BALMAIN May is the perfect time to get away SEASHELL CHARMS On handbags, earrings or necklaces a rising summer microtrend. 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