An event that showcases the power of collaboration at the heart of the Creative Ireland Programme, is the Creative Youth Forum Sharing event at the Irish Aerial Creation Centre which takes place on February 29th.

Arising from Creative Days for Future Creators this is the first public platform, showcasing the work undertaken on those Creative Days between three youth groups, Irish Aerial Creation Centre performance group, the Irish Chamber Orchestra’s Youth Orchestra and the Limerick Youth Dance Company, all in receipt of funding from the Creative Ireland Programme.

This sharing event will see young people working on Aerial (Trapeze, Spirals, Cocoons), Music and Dance, exploring the art forms and responding to each other. Sight, sound, movement and rhythm are in synergy.

These three groups first serendipitously performed together on the same day in 2019. This experience highlighted the numerous benefits that a collaboration of this nature can bring to both the participants and a wider audience/community. The collaboration created a desire in the young participants for more time to explore and experience an extended collaborative process. To meet and exchange skills and practices with other young artists and to see where this might lead, exploring more fully the creative process to express young voices through new artistic avenues.

This project is a formidable start to cross-collaborative relationships between youth arts groups in Limerick. It is rare to see ensembles like this step outside of their own rehearsal spaces and meet to create something bigger than their own artform.

• Limerick Youth Dance Company is an 8 member dance group ages 12-17 that was founded in January 2019.
• Fidget Feet are an aerial dance company that have been performing, touring and teaching all over the world for the last 20 years
• The Irish Chamber Orchestra’s Youth Orchestra began life in November of 2018 with generous funding from the National fund for Creativity Ireland.

Chantal McCormick, Sara Granda Alvarodo, Katherine Barnecutt and Rachel Sheil have facilitated these youth groups.