Helga Deasy (Ireland/Germany) is a choreographer, dance artist and community dance facilitator.
Grounded in choreology (the contemporary developments of Laban’s principles for the performing arts) and somatics, her practice spans performance making, socially engaged dance and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Central to her work is the significance of the body in perceiving and shaping experience as well as its immediate, expressive potential.
Helga has performed and presented work in Ireland, Germany, the UK and the USA. Recent credits include BUILT ON BRIDGES (Cork Midsummer Festival, 2023), CURA (Dance Cork Firkin Crane, 2022), OF BLUEBELLS AND BUTTERFLIES (Baboro International Arts Festival for Children, Cork Midsummer Festival and Dublin Fringe Festival, 2022) and HELICA (LIMS New York, Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre and Dance Cork Firkin Crane, 2018).
Helga feels passionate about the empowering and transformative potential of dance. She trained with Rosetta Life in the facilitation of dance and movement work in dementia and end of life care settings and has since worked extensively in dance and health. In 2019-2021 she was artist in residence with MusicAlive in collaboration with choir conductor Susan McManamon and writer Arnold Thomas Fanning on the Creative Enquiry - Arts and Older People Programme (Arts Council Invitation to Collaboration Scheme). She is a lead-facilitator on the Teacher Artist Partnership Programme (Arts in Education Initiative) and an early year's practitioner with Graffiti Theatre Company.
Helga has received awards from the Arts Council including the Dance Artist in Residence Award with Dance Cork Firkin Crane (2021 – 2023), a Dance Bursary (2019) and the Dance Artist in Residence Award with Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre (2017 & 2018) and as well as several project awards from Cork City Council and a Culture Ireland Grant (2018) among others. Currently Helga holds the post of Dance Artist in Residence with Graffiti Theatre with kind support from the Arts Council.
Helga trained at Trinity Laban, Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, where she completed an M. A. in Creative Practice with distinction (2012), a Specialist Diploma in Choreological Studies with distinction (2018) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Community Dance (2011). Further she holds a degree in Social Work with a focus on music and movement studies (University of Applied Sciences, Regensburg, Germany, 2008) and is a qualified yoga instructor and yoga therapist.