Film-maker and composer Thierry de Mey will give a masterclass for those with professional experience in film, composition and sound design in the Irish Film Institute on 16 May.

De Mey is internationally renowned for his extraordinary work in the area of contemporary dance. He has been a long-term collaborator with the Rosas Dance company whose work is at the centre of this year’s International Dance Festival Ireland (IDFI). With his fellow Belgian, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, (a choreographer regarded as one of the most important talents to emerge in Europe in the last two decades), de Mey has produced a series of diverse and highly accomplished films which belie any conventional preconceptions of ‘dance on film’.

With a background as a composer, de Mey’s work explores the complex and difficult relationship between music and film. His films (many of which will be shown at the IFI during the IDFI) include: Rosas danst Rosas, Musique de Tables, 21 Études de Danser, Love Sonnets and Dom Svobode. The festival will also screen the world premiere of his new film, Counterphrases, on Friday, May 14, featuring collaborations with composers such as Steve Reich and Stefan van Ecyken.

Thierry de Mey’s masterclass, which is presented by the International Dance Festival Ireland in association with the Irish Film Institute, takes place on Sunday 16 May from 11.00 am to 2.00 pm at the IFI. A highly articulate and informed speaker, he will take participants through his work in an in-depth and highly practical way. The workshop is aimed at those with professional experience and is suited to film directors, editors, composers, sound designers and sound recordists, as well as choreographers, theatre directors and dancers.

Further information: International Dance Festival Ireland. Email: info@dancefestivalireland.ie Tel. +353-(0)1-679 0524.