Tara Brandel
Silenced and Missing

Tara Brandel

Silenced/Missing

18, 19, 23, 24, 25 March, 31 May and 6, 7, 8 & 13, 14, 15 October – Silenced
3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 June’ and 10 to 12 July – Missing

Working on 2 new queer multidisciplinary works:
Silenced (We’re still here) a new multidisciplinary research project looking at how Queer and Trans rights are currently being eroded in many parts of the world, working with queer artist activist Keith Hennessy as mentor, dancer Isabella Oberlander and actor Adam Kashmiry, mixing devised theatre, dance and aerial.

Missing a solo work exploring how pivotal queer women were erased from history by the rise of the far right in the 1930’s, mixing burlesque, aerial, scripted theatre and dance.

Research of Silenced leading to a work in progress performance at UDS26.

Development of Missing leading to Fit Up Festival Performances 26.

I am taking time away from my role with Croí Glan to focus on my own queer multidisciplinary work in 2026.

I would like to run workshops with locally based LGBTQ+ people exploring the themes of the works I’m working on, especially Silenced.

I am delighted to have this opportunity to use this beautiful studio to develop these 2 new queer works. As a native of West Cork I deeply appreciate the ongoing support that Uillinn gives me to develop these timely and socially relevant multidisciplinary pieces. In the craziness of the world right now I deeply value the artistic haven and support for queer and trans artists that Uillinn so actively promotes and provides.

Tara Brandel is an award-winning queer neurodivergent choreographer, director, contemporary dancer, and aerialist originally from West Cork. She has been making work extensively since 1990 in London, Berlin, San Francisco and Ireland.

She trained in contact improvisation and acrobatics with Steve Paxton, Laurie Booth and DV8 Physical Theatre as a teenager, and in aerial with aerial pioneers Terry Sengraff USA (Motivity low flying trapeze) and Genevieve Mazin France (Vertical dance, wall running), and with members of No Fit State Circus UK (hoop and trapeze). She holds a BA in Dance Theatre and an MFA in Interdisciplinary Performance.

As artistic director of Croí Glan Integrated Dance since 2006, her integrated dance work has been commissioned by the Unlimited Festival Southbank Centre London 2012, Propeller Integrated Dance Company Ottawa, Canada, and D-CAF Cairo, Egypt.

Her most recent solo work includes Circus 2019 which toured to San Francisco International Arts Festival, Seattle International Dance Festival, Cork Midsummer and Dublin Fringe. She is currently working on a new multidisciplinary solo show Missing about pivotal queer women who are missing from history, to premier in 2026.

Keith Hennessy, MFA, PhD, is a dancer, writer, choreographer, activist, healer, and teacher. Raised in Canada, he has lived in San Francisco since 1982 and tours internationally. Emerging in response to the AIDS pandemic during the 1980s, Keith’s work helped to shape the aesthetics and politics of Queer performance.

Keith’s work has been presented at Ponderosa/Germany, Impulstanz/Vienna, NYLA, Institut Français/Dakar, Black Box/Oslo, YBCA/SF, SNDO/Amsterdam, Arsenic/Lausanne, Hollins/VA, Cornell/NY, mumok/Vienna, New Museum/NYC, SF MOMA, CounterPulse/SF, Folsom Street Fair, and countless improvisation festivals.

Hennessy’s work is multidisciplinary and experimental, motivated by anti-racist, queer-feminist, and anarchist movement. Hennessy engages practices of improvisation, ritual, collaboration, and play to respond to political crises. Keith’s recent collaborators include Ishmael Houston-Jones, Sarah Crowell, Meg Stuart, Brontez Purnell, Snowflake Calvert, and many others.

Awards include Guggenheim, USArtist, NY Bessie, and Isadora Duncan Awards. Hennessy directs Circo Zero and was a member of Sara Shelton Mann’s Contraband, 1985-1994. His writing is widely published in both artist and academic contexts.

https://www.facebook.com/tara.brandel

https://www.instagram.com/brandeltara/

https://www.danceireland.ie/members/directory/tara-brandel

Tara was awarded a Multidisciplinary Bursary Award Arts Council 2025 (for Silenced) and a Cork County Council Award 2024 (for Missing).

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