Professional Dancer and Choreographer Laura Murphy receives first ever Cork Dancer in Residence Bursary. Awarded by the Arts Council, dance artist, performer, choreographer and lecturer, Laura is the first ever recipient of the Cork Dancer in Residence Bursary. Based in the Firkin Crane, the aim of the residency is to promote dance in Cork through dance classes, workshops, mentoring professional dancers and by providing platforms for dance artists to develop their own work. This is the first time that Cork has been selected as a recipient of the award.

Laura was delighted to be welcomed as Cork's first Dancer in Residence at The Firkin Crane, "My aim for the residency is to expand the practice of dance in Cork both within the community and amongst professional dancers and choreographers. It is very rewarding to be based in the Firkin Crane, an established venue for dance in Cork, and from where a very inspirational year of dancing activity has begun.” 

Running until June 2013, the residency will promote a series of exciting dance projects in Cork. Delivered by Laura Murphy and selected guest teachers, professional dance classes for experienced and professional dancers are now taking place every Tuesday in the Firkin Crane from 10am-12noon. To encourage creativity and the development of dance in Cork, aura Murphy has initiated a programme called Inquiry at the Firkin Crane whereby mentorship and free studio space are offered to professional dancers and choreographers to come and work in the studios in the Firkin Crane alone or with other dancers and collaborators for one day each week.

Every month the work of the choreographers and dancers taking part in the residency programme/Inquiry will be showcased in the Firkin Crane at an event titled Open Inquiry. This event is free to the public and will take the format of an open discussions and performance sharings. The aim of the public performance is to develop dance audiences and to provide a platform for dancers and artists in Cork to demonstrate their work at the early Inquiry stage of it's development. Choreographers Catherine Young, Siobhan Ni Dhuinnin and Ursula Champman will showcase their work at Open Inquiry on December 14 from 1.10pm-2pm.

Cork Native Laura Murphy is highly regarded in the field of dance and her choreographic work has been performed internationally in New York, Canada, Sweden and Ireland. She has received several awards including E-MOTIONAL, A European Mobility and Artistic Exchange Dance Programme. Laura has also been the recipient of International Artist Residency Awards from Movement Research (USA) Ten Gates (Canada) and Irish Dance Awards from Performance Corporation, Blank Canvas, Cork County Council and Kerry County Council.

As a professional dancer, Laura has worked with choreographers including Daria Fain and Mary Nunan, visual artists Nigel Rolfe and Monique Besten and has performed at leading events including the Biennale de Lyon. The Dancer in Residence Programme is supported by The Arts Council, Cork City Council and the Firkin Crane.

Picture: Clare Keogh