SHIFT! Young Dancers & Musicians From Across Ireland Create Spectacular Climate Change Protest Performance

Climate change. It’s arguably the most pressing global issue of our times. Nobody is engaging with its implications more energetically or effectively than the current international generation of young people.

SHIFT is the response of a group of some 70 young dancers and musicians from across Ireland, who - on 21 and 22 August - will take part in an epic performance, recreating the sights, the sounds and the atmosphere of a full-blown climate change protest.

This immersive show explores young people’s perspective on the climate crisis, migration, and human resilience through breathtaking dance, music, and visual projections.

From the fearless examples set by climate activists like Greta Thunberg, young people the world over are leading the way in expressing their concerns about the environmental emergency affecting our planet. And well they might, for it is they who will inherit this piece of earth and who will be tasked with dealing with the fallout.

The impetus for SHIFT came from the youth steering group of Belfast’s leading dance development company DU Dance (NI). Its members were outspoken in their opinion that much more needs to be done publicly to address the environmental crisis.


Over the past 12 years, the company has presented Unanimous, an annual showcase of youth dance, which brings to Belfast groups of young performers from across the island of Ireland. The ensemble for SHIFT, with companies from Belfast, Dungannon, Omagh, Laois, Limerick, Moira, Roscommon and Wicklow, has been built though the momentum, the spirit and the personal connections which have grown out of Unanimous.

SHIFT is directed and choreographed by Omagh-born Robby Graham, artistic director of Southpaw Company (based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne) and one of Europe’s leading dance theatre practitioners. Graham has a long professional association with DU Dance and its artistic director Mags Byrne, which dates back to early shared community dance assignments in the German town of Detmold. After all his work in Europe and far beyond, this will be Graham’s first performance on home territory.

SHIFT’s producing partnership is completed by Music Generation, Ireland’s National Music Education Programme, which transforms the lives of children and young people through access to high quality performance music education. Ten young musicians from Music Generation Roscommon, with support from their Musician Educators, will develop the music integrated into this collaborative performance. Roy Branagan, young musician commented:

Invaluable academic expertise is in the hands of Professor John Barry, a former Green Party politician and professor of green political economy at Queen’s University Belfast. He has long been keen to take his concerns about the environment beyond the lecture theatre and directly into the hands of young people, engaging them in the necessity of changing lifestyles and thinking big about threats to the planet.


The overall project comprises a digital rehearsal period in July, a seven-day residential programme, community workshops with local children and, finally, the huge live performance piece, which will integrate movement, dance, music and dialogue in a presentation never before seen on this scale - or on this subject - in Northern Ireland.


Tickets for SHIFT are available to purchase at SHIFT Tickets, Multiple Dates | Eventbrite

Tickets are priced at £5. Contact info@dudanceni.com for information about group rates. This is an event for families, community groups and individuals of all ages. The performance will last 45 minutes.

DU Dance (NI)’s principal funding is provided by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council. DU Dance (NI) is Northern Ireland’s only dance development company. Its aim is to introduce people to dance and the creative arts and to advocate dance as a tool for facilitating personal and social development.