Lisa Cahill took up her position as Dance Artist in Resident at the Froebel Department at the National University of Maynooth in March 2014.
     
    Since completing her MA in Contemporary Dance Performance at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick, she co-founded Spoken Dance. Spoken Dance Company is an integrated contemporary dance company, of which she is co-artistic director with Mary Hartney. Through this, Lisa has produced four dance works, of which ‘Getting to Know You’ was selected for performance for President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins in 2012. In April 2012, Spoken Dance collaborated with Colum Sands, musician and song writer to produce ‘Don’t Go’. This piece featured on the RTE 'Nationwide' documentary about Spoken Dance. In July 2013, Lisa performed with Spoken Dance at ‘The Music of Healing’ event at the Fiddlers Green Festival, Rostrevor, Co. Down. This event uses music and art to build bridges between conflicting communities. The event featured Bill Whelan, Riverdance dancers and Steve Cooney.

    Lisa has trained with Axis Dance Company, an internationally renown integrated dance company based in San Francisco.  In 2014, Spoken Dance features as a highlight event on the Limerick City of Culture  programme with the performance event, 'Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes'.
     
    Lisa’s passion for the development of contemporary dance in the community and in education contexts will bring a new energy to the Froebel department. The student teachers of Froebel will have the opportunity to work alongside Lisa and engage in her arts practice. The students will engage in a contemporary dance exploratory process as both performer and a reflective practitioner. Students will engage in a process of planning and delivering creative movement opportunities for the school children they work with. Emphasis will be placed on the creative process of generating movement and expanding vocabulary. Alongside this the development of performance skills and the viewing and appreciation of professional contemporary dance work will be an important element to the dance programme.
     
    Lisa Cahill completed her degree in Primary Teaching and Drama at St. Mary's College, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, London in 2004. She worked as a primary teacher in both England and Ireland until 2008. It was during her degree, that Lisa took an opportunity to engage in a dance performance project with Maxine Doyle, a contemporary dance choreographer. This experience fundamentally inspired Lisa to pursue her passion for physical creative processes. Lisa feels that this opportunity to work with the students and staff of Froebel and the school children of Kildare will give others the chance to experience the joy of movement, the satisfaction of truly embodied learning experiences and the absolute delight of shared creative work.
     
    Lisa has worked as the Dance Development Officer at Waterford Youth Arts, where she has engaged in the delivery of classes and productions with young people aged 2 to 18 years. Lisa has a strong record of collaboration in dance education and development, having worked alongside Libby Seward in Waterford, Legitimate Bodies Dance Company in Offaly, the Youth Arts Coordinator of South Dublin County Council and the former Limerick County Arts Officer Joan MacKernan. In 2011, Lisa received an Artist in Youth Work Residency and Development Grant in partnership with the Co. Limerick Youth in Action programme to establish Co. Limerick Youth Dance Theatre.
    Lisa has performed with Animated State Dance Theatre Company Waterford, Myriad Dance in Wexford, with independent choreographer Louise Costelloe.
     
    Lisa is currently a student of Joan Davis, completing the only programme of its kind in Ireland in somatic movement education and therapy, ‘Origins.
     
    Lisa is familiar with the dance community of Kildare, having had many early dance experiences with Cathy O Kennedy. Lisa also has strong links with the Laban Guild community and she will teach at their summer school at Maynooth this July. Lisa looks forward to building further relationships with the artistic community of Kildare and the County Arts Officer, Lucina Russell.
     
     
    It is with great pleasure and excitement that Lisa takes up her new role at the Froebel a Department. She looks forward to building relationships with students and staff of Froebel.