Donnacha Dwyer

Workshop Uilleann Pipe

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The Italian Fusion Festival is happy to introduce the Uilleann PipeWorkshop lead by Donnacha Dwyer.

Donnacha Dwyer began playing the pipes in Na Píobairí Uilleann in the late 1980s where he was thought by Martin Nolan and John Murphy. By the mid ’90s he began to be influenced by recordings of Seamus Ennis, Willie Clancy, Leo Rowsome and Liam O’Flynn.

It was also in the mid ’90s where he began performing on the pipes and took a keen interest in reed and pipe making and began to study pipe-making, part-time initially with pipe maker Des Seery. Later he received an Arts Council grant to study pipe-making full time and has been a full time pipe-maker since 2008.

He has been a teacher in Henrietta Street for a number of years on Tueaday nights and has also thought a number of courses through NPU’s PipeCraft initiative.

In 2006 he released an album with fiddle player Malachy Bourke entitled “Bourke and Dwyer”.

He plays a D and a C set, both made by himself.

Website: http://www.donnachadwyer.com/

The Stoles

The Stoles

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We are happy to introduce the rock part of our lineup. This year the Italian Fusion Festival presents one of the most talented band in Dublin: The Stoles.

The Stoles are Antonio (Vocals/Bass),  Andrea (Guitar/Vocals), Ciaran (Drums/Vocals).

Since forming in 2015, the preceding years have proven very eventful for the band. 2016 started with the band writing and recording their debut album and ended with them signing a record deal with the largest independent record label in North America – Spectra Music Group. Following on from signing with Spectra The Stoles released their first single from their forthcoming debut album ‘Age Of Deception’ in February 2017. The single (titled ‘Getaway’) was released throughout Europe and America and received great reviews and mainstream radio play.

In support of ‘Getaway’ The Stoles launched an Irish tour which seen them play in some of Ireland’s most renowned venues for upcoming bands. Following on from that successful tour, and to coincide with the July 2017 release of their second single ‘Evelyn’, the band announced a further series of summer gigs in a select few venues throughout Ireland. This run of gigs also seen the band play at the Galway Fringe Festival.

In December 2017 The Stoles released ‘Age Of Deception’ – the third single and title track from their forthcoming debut album ‘Age Of Deception’.

The Stoles debut album was released on February 9th, 2018, with Irish and European tour dates expected to be announced.

Website: http://www.thestoles.com/

italian sausage sandwich

Fusciardi

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Radio Dublino is happy to introduce the second food stall at the Italian Fusion Festival: Fusciardi.

On the Beer Garden during the Festival will be available Porchetta, Arancini,  Chips and real Italian sausages!

Fusciardi is a historical Italian restaurant in Dublin where is offering traditional Fish & Chips, freshly minced burgers, great pizzas, proper Italian Espresso & coffees.

 

Seán Whelan

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We are happy to introduce the Irish contribution of our music session. This year the Italian Fusion Festival presents one of the best guitar player in Dublin: Seán Whelan.

Seán Whelan is a guitarist/mandolin player and producer working in the Jazz, Celtic and World music arena and is much in demand as both a studio and live musician.

Seán has established himself as a forerunner in Acoustic music by the passion, creativity and versatility of his playing.

He performs solo and also in a group setting. A former member of Swing Jazz group”Hotfoot”and “The Café Orchestra”Seán Whelan has performed and recorded in a wide range of styles including Folk, Jazz, Blues, Irish Traditional and World music. He has released two solo albums and his latest “From Gray to Blue”cd features many of his own compositions as solo pieces and also with a talented group of international and Irish players.

His music has been used for TV and Film productions. As a member of “Puck Fair”he has played with Flautist Brian Dunning for many years and has toured and recorded with singers and instrumentalists worldwide in an exciting and varied career.

Website: www.seanwhelan.com

Workshop Traditional Irish Dance

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Alan McGreek

Alan McGreek

The Italian Fusion Festival is happy to introduce the Traditional Irish Dance Workshop lead by Alan McGreek.

The Trad Rocks Ceili is an extremely fun, energised and interactive workshop on the group form of Irish (and Scottish) traditional dancing, popularly known as Ceili Dancing. With the help of your ceili caller ‘An Fhear An Ti’ (- Irish for ‘Man of the House’) you will learn all about how this form of dancing, which surprisingly is only about 100 years old, went from country house to Ceili house! With the meteoric rise of Riverdance, we’ll see how this traditional art has adapted to find its place in a contemporary world! Of course it wouldn’t be Irish dancing if this workshop was all talk so we have adapted a few Irish dancing ‘sets’ to make them easy and fun for anyone of any age or culture to learn in an informal environment. You’ll find out all about the counting the beats and finding your steps to match the music which will be performed live for you while you ‘step it out’! You’ll need all the vitality you can muster for this exciting and cheerful lesson in music and dance.

AN FHEAR AN TI (Man of the House – the caller of the steps)

The Fhear an Ti for the workshop is Alan Mac. Essentially, he is the man in the middle and he helps you learn the beats and steps of the dances. Alan is a popular musician in the Irish Traditional music circuit of the Dublin area and has be also calling ceilis for over 10 years. His experience in calling the steps of the dance has enabled him to adapt and construct a workshop suitable for all ages and backgrounds, and his knowledge of the traditional Irish music scene makes this workshop both interactive and informative.

 

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Order of the mess

Order of the Mess

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We are happy to introduce the alternative rock part of our lineup. This year the Italian Fusion Festival presents a talented Italian band from Cork: the Order of the Mess.

Order of the Mess are an alternative/stoner-rock power duo formed in 2013 by Alessandro “TheLast” Vinci (guitar/voice) and Massimo “Maxeggio” Calò (drums) and hailing from Cork, Ireland.

With Alex also taking care of punishing low frequencies through a three amps set-up and Max providing thunderous skins work, the duo early on hit on a distinctive sound and set on to write. They soon started making the rounds playing live everywhere they could. Every performance saw them winning over more and more appreciation as their mix of melody, groove and enormous riffs truly comes to life on stage through the duo earnest, give-all-you-have energetic attitude and Alex passionate, larger-then-life stage presence.

In 2016 they locked themselves for a week in the historic Dublin’s Westland Studios to record their debut album, set to be released in early 2018.

“Life is to Love. Life is to Rock. Rock is to Love”

Website: http://orderofthemess.com/

Istituto Italiano di Cultura Dublino

Istituto Italiano di Cultura – Partner of the Italian Fusion Festival

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The Italian Fusion Festival is proud to present the event partner Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Dublin.

Currently active across the major cities of the five continents the Istituto Italiano di Cultura network represents not only an ideal meeting point for intellectual and artistic dialogue, but also an excellent opportunity for Italian and foreign citizens who wish to establish or maintain a relationship with our country.

The Istituto Italiano di Cultura is the fundamental reference point for the Italian community abroad and centre of the growing demand for Italian culture around the world. The network offers the possibility to discover and learn more about Italian language and culture by offering courses, operating libraries and providing educational and editorial material; moreover, it supports the initiatives that enhance intercultural dialogue based on the principles of democracy and international solidarity.

The Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Ireland was established in 1954. It is situated in an early nineteenth century Georgian building in the centre of Dublin, in Fitzwilliam Square, architecturally one of the most ‘historic’ and interesting squares in the city, facing a beautiful private park.

The Istituto Italiano di Cultura was founded with the aim of fostering and increasing the already existing cultural links between Ireland and Italy through joint initiatives in the fields of education, culture and science.

These initiatives range from the promotion of teaching of Italian with relevant opportunities for cultural exchange, to the valuation of academic qualifications and the awarding of Italian Government scholarships to Irish scholars, University students, researchers and artists.

With regard to cultural activities, the Institute strongly believes in co-operation with Irish institutions and other European cultural bodies in Ireland, while providing regular cultural services through various facilities: library, language courses and lectures on various topics embracing different areas of Italian culture to be given either at the Institute or at other venues by eminent scholars and specialists.

Learn more about Italy on : iicdublino.esteri.it/iic_dublino/en

The IIC hosts cultural events such as seminars, conferences, book presentations, exhibitions, concerts, theatre and film screenings every week. The full programme of events can be found on iicdublino.esteri.it/iic_dublino/en/gli_eventi/

Italian language courses at the IIC will resume in September. Through their Italian classes, students can develop listening, reading, speaking and writing skills in a structured and gradual manner with the help of highly qualified native speakers. Check their website for further details and updates: https://iicdublino.esteri.it/iic_dublino/en/imparare_italiano/i_corsi_di_lingua/i-corsi-di-lingua.html

Dolce Sicily is coming back to the Italian Fusion Festival

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Radio Dublino is happy to announce the first food stall at the Italian Fusion Festival 2018. After last year’s success Dolce Sicily is coming back to our event!

On the Beer Garden during the Festival will be available the famous pastries and dessert handmade by Dolce Sicily… included the famous cannoli!

 

 

eliana valentini

Workshop Traditional Dance from the South of Italy

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pizzicaThe Italian Fusion Festival is happy to introduce the Traditional Dance from the South of Italy Workshop lead by Eliana Valentina.

The Pizzica is a dance for couples which forms part of the Popular Italian Tradition of the South. It is linked to the therapeutic ritual of Tarantismo, which started and thrived in the geographical area amongst the three towns of Bari, Taranto and Lecce.

The Tarantismo ritual was focused on the power of music to aid in the healing of physical and psychological disease during the Medieval Age, but its origins go back even further in time.
During the intervening centuries it became a social phenomenon that evolved into a dance for couples called Pizzica Pizzica. By the 1970’s the Tarantismo ritual had died out. However, a new movement arose to rediscover this traditional music and dance and this has generated both national and international interest.

A new generation has grown up in a modern social context and is reinterpreting the ancient tradition that today is known as Neo-Pizzica. To excavate the depths of this tradition it is necessary to study the original historical documents and written testimonies of those who lived and witnessed the magical and pseudo-scientific aspects of the “Aracnideo Myth “ (the original spider rituals and social events).

The Workshop

We are going to pass on the history and meaning of these dance through our personal experience and passion for them. We are hoping to give a greater awareness of these dances which today are part of a living tradition in the South of  Italy and can be experienced at first hand in festivals and celebrations by any interested traveler.

Eliana Valentini

Eliana’s arrival in Dublin on July 2008 marked an important moment in her life, a decision to give a concrete expression to her previous dance experience. Eliana was born in Milan where she lived and spent many years particularly studying and researching ancient dances.  Several holidays in the South of Italy reawakened a particular interest in the musical rhythms connected to the ritual of tarantism. With the musical band “Briganti” in Milan she practiced Pizzica, Tammurriata and other Tarantellas (Traditional Dances from the South of Italy), bringing her closer to other European folk dance traditions. Eliana’s project of multicultural fusion through the bodily communication of dance was born in Ireland, hich for her has been a place full of creative vibrations. In the process of getting used to a new culture, she chose folk dance from her own background as ameans of cultural and historical heritage of the world. Eliana hopes to reawaken in our modern society the ancient human instinct to express oneself through the movement of the body, enabling a communication without words, of deep values that seems destined to disappear.

Website: https://infinitwirl.weebly.com/

Book Now

Volunteer Open Call

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Become an Italian Fusion Festival volunteer!

An unmissable opportunity to be part of the vibrant creativity that makes the Italian Fusion Festival the bigger Italian festival in Europe!

The ENIT Italian Fusion Festival is an event that will take place on the 8th of July in Dublin from 3 o’clock ’til 11pm at The Grand Social, Liffey Street, Dublin 1. The festival is organized by Radio Dublino, the only Italian language Irish Radio programme, running since 2013.

The festival holistic lineup spans from jazz, folk, trad, blues to rock music and will also showcase art performances, videos, workshops of Italian and Irish trad music, Italian gestures and traditional Irish and Italian music instruments and Italian artisan food will be available.

APPLY NOW at: https://goo.gl/forms/CIIXTEHAFpAvcFTz1

Volunteers Roles

The Italian Fusion Festival is run by a small team of staff, we couldn’t do it without the help of amazing volunteers who assist us with many different aspects of running the festival. Volunteers work in pairs or small groups with the support of IFF staff. Shifts usually last 1-2 hours and volunteers can work as many or little shifts as they like. Here are some of the ways volunteers help make the festival a success.

Check out the roles below to see how you can get involved.

Pre-Festival Team (May/June): In the run up to the festival volunteers focus on Distribution & Marketing, we pair volunteers into groups of two or three with the teams of volunteers distributing programmes, promoting events and putting up Festival and Artist posters.

Festival Team (8th July):

  • Customer Service: Volunteers are the face of the festival, they REPRESENT! Volunteers are a go-to point for people looking for information about shows, venue, places to eat, you name it! It is important to have a very sound understanding of the festival programme and to be friendly, enthusiastic and patient.
  • Ticketing: It is extremely important that we have accurate information about how many tickets we have sold and what our audience numbers are. During the festival Volunteers will be taking ticket stubs on the doors and using a clicker to count audiences as they enter. Attention to detail, concentration and calm are key; it sounds like an easy task but things can get pretty hectic when there’s a throng of people waiting in a foyer and someone announces that the doors are open!
  • Stewarding: Stewarding volunteers are onsite at IFF shows, looking out for the public and the performers, making sure they’re safe and alerting the supervisor if there is a problem.
  • Roadie on Stage: Volunteers support musicians and Stage Manager and Sound Engineers. Rock it!
  • Promotion: Handing out flyers/programmes and helping put up posters for our different events. Promotional volunteers also gather media – audience quotes, testimonials, photographs and pass these on to the Social Media team.
  • Photos and Videos. Express your creativity with short videos and photos.
  • Surveying: Volunteers carry out surveys to gather information about how people have heard about the festival. Volunteers ask audience members if they would like to take a survey, gather answered surveys and make sure they get to the right person. Being friendly, confident, and comfortable with approaching people are all very important.

Please note: Volunteers must be over 18 years of age.

How to get involved

Fill out the online volunteer application form here: https://goo.gl/forms/CIIXTEHAFpAvcFTz1 Please note that there are a limited number of volunteer posts available. Applications to volunteer at IFF 2018 are on a first come, first served basis. So submit your application for consideration without delay!

Volunteers Rewards!

  • Learn new skills
  • Improve your local knowledge
  • Enhance language skills
  • Boost your CV
  • Enjoy great shows
  • Free Entry to the Festival
  • Meet great people
  • You’ll get to know local arts venues and staff
  • Enjoy the exclusive Festival Closing Party!
  • Volunteers will receive the famous Radio Dublino T-shirt