Alex Ayvazova
Anseo

Alex Ayvazova

Anseo

26 to 30 May 2026

Anseo, work-in-progress sharing by Alex Ayvazova, Saturday 30 May, 1.30pm

20 mins followed by Q&A – no booking necessary, pleasearrive 5 mins prior to start time

Anseo is a solo dance work blending breaking, hip-hop,waacking and contemporary movement to explore identity, belonging and the tension between who we are and
who the world expects us to be.
Led by my free-spirited 7-year-old inner child named Oisín, the piece follows a hero’s journey between the real and mythical — drawing on folklore, instinct and mischief to ask: what if finding yourself means going back, not forward?
Part performance, part conversation, Anseo invites the audience into something collective, unpredictable and alive.

Anseo explores themes of identity, social expectations and self-expression.
As adults, we learn to fit in. We think we’re in control, but we simply follow the rules losing our true selves in stereotypes. And yet, as children, we dare without hesitation. So what if the key to finding yourself isn’t growing up but daring to reconnect with your younger self, someone you used to be before the world forced you to change? To explore this question, I will give a voice to my own inner child, a 7-year-old Skibbereen boy named Oisín, that free-spirited fellow that my adult self suppresses.

I also aim to raise awareness of Irish folklore and local storytelling by incorporating them in the piece. And as a multidisciplinary artist, in this project I would also like to communicate with the audience using not only movement but my own voice. Opening a dialogue will allow me to challenge my own performing abilities, establish a deeper connection with the viewers and allow them to share and respond, making the work a collective creation.
My previous research helped me establish the mythological framework and Oisín’s character and physicality, but the choreography, storyline and the integration of voice remain undeveloped.
This residency will allow me to:
Develop a full script/storyline that will be used as a core of the dance piece;
Explore and move beyond contemporary dance boundaries by incorporating street dance techniques and voice, exploring questions, observations, and truths that children have and that the adults are taught to silence;
Using the outcomes of my previous theoretical and movement research, choreograph movement that explores and reflects the idea of the piece to develop a work-in-progress show.
At the end of the residency I aim to produce a complete 20-minute work-in-progress piece and share my work with the public through a free performance. As this work was created with help from the Skibbereen community, this residency would give me an invaluable chance to reconnect with the town citizens, landscape and traditions. It is especially important for me to have the first showing of the work in town and receive the local audience’s feedback, which is crucial for future development of this piece.

Originally from Russia, Alex moved to Ireland twelve years ago and is now continuing her professional dance career in Dublin. Over the past fifteen years she has received professional training in Ballet, Russian Folk Dance, Street Dance and Contemporary Dance.
In her own practice Alex focuses on exploring connections between Contemporary and Street Dance styles. Her performances usually present a combination of those styles and she is interested in developing her career in both directions. Over the years she has worked with acclaimed Irish and International choreographers, including Liz Roche, David Bolger, Lucyna Zwolinska and Mickael Riviere.

Instagram: @vernisasha

Image: Alex Ayvazova, CoisCéim Dance Theatre (Dublin), 2020. Photo Anna Gourinovitch

Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre acknowledges the financial support of The Arts Council  / An Chomhairle Ealaíon in making these residencies possible.