DANCE NIGHT is for all bodies – everybody. Spectators and dancers welcome.

This is a dance takeover: multiple floors, all genres, no hierarchy just rhythm, style and beat.

This is a celebration of dance. From the set dancing to hip hop, dance schools to street styles, trad to cabaret, this night invites us to move and celebrate the joy and importance of dance and movement in our lives.

Featuring Deirdre Griffin with the Panadolls and Ping Pong Girls; break dancers from Carlow and beyond for a Battle of the Zen with Jessie Thompson; set dancers, sean nós dancers and trad musicians from the region; Jessie Thompson’s Dance Music for the Apocalypse, film screenings including Rebellious Hope by Philip Connaughton; DJs, Live Music, dance competitions, prizes and much more.

Curated by Emma Martin (United Fall) and Emma Lucy O’Brien (VISUAL).

Supporting Partner: Carlow County Council Arts Service.

REBELLIOUS HOPE

A film by Company Philip Connaughton

What keeps us going? In the face of physical change, financial uncertainty, and the passing of time, Rebellious Hope is an attempt to stay in motion - not out of habit, but from a deep need to connect. These dancers don’t just inspire; they sustain. Their presence, their history, and their refusal to disappear offer a kind of hope that feels both grounded and urgent.

Commissioned by Bealtaine and Project Arts Centre, and produced by Once Off Productions, this new short dance film by choreographer Philip Connaughton, filmmaker Luca Truffarelli, and composer Mel Mercier, explores the enduring artistic drive, growth, learning, and the relentless pursuit of creative evolution.

Throughout the night...

PANTASTIC!!

In film and real life on the night. Featuring dance captain Chlorine and The Panadolls.

Behind the scenes and away from her Panadolls, Chlorine leads a carefree life... or so it seems.

THE PING PONG GIRLS

Flashy, trashy, and dripping with sass, the PING PONG GIRLS will be storming the Culture Night stage with explosive energy and routines so unforgettable, they'll haunt your glitter-soaked dreams.

Get ready - they don’t just light up the stage, they burn it down.

GAFF E

Some late-night cosmic disco magic from Gaff E.

Hi-energy punk disco queen Gaff E is unapologetic in her bodily animal energy – as infamous as she is dedicated to colour and femme vibrance. Gaff E loves intimate surroundings of your typical or more obscure discoteques and has enthralled audiences with her cosmic disco magic at renowned parties and festivals world-wide for many MANY moons.