Dance and Aerial Artist
KAthleen Doherty
ARTIST
A multidisciplinary artist merging contemporary, aerial dance, and performance art. Her work is emotionally potent, exploring personal growth and the essence of human existence.
Choreographer
Shaped by two decades of experience, seamlessly blending contemporary dance, aerial artistry, and performance, creating a captivating narrative that transcends conventional boundaries.
PERFORMER
Previous clients have included Google, Mercedes Benz, Boeing, Guinness Storehouse, Electric Picnic and Quinta do Lago
Portfolio
ANOIS
ANOIS,” which translates to “now” in Irish, is a site-responsive performance that transcends traditional performative boundaries, offering a deeply immersive experience tailored to the unique scenery, history, and current needs of each community.
“ANOIS” is a collaboration—a dynamic interplay between space, movement, and the people who inhabit it. The performance is meticulously crafted to resonate with the historical and cultural nuances of the site, creating a bespoke narrative that evolves with each new location. This fluidity ensures that no two performances are alike, each one a singular, ephemeral event that captures the spirit of “now.”
MARTyr
Female-driven, emotionally charged, visually captivating. Martyr is a direct and threatening view into the human psyche. From the raw realness of the female form, bound and trapped in a repetitive loop, to the chaotic movements of a soul driven mad. Heavily littered with esoteric and religious symbolism. This work is a daring use of body and props.
Martyr is a work by Alexandre Duarte and Kathleen Doherty, it is multi-disciplinary, blending dance, physical theatre, performance art and the aerial arts. Combining innovative atmospheric design with ropes, aerial equipment, intense soundscape, moveable lights and a chair. We invite you to enter what may be experienced as a nightmare that hints at current events and darker political agendas.
*Get in Touch for Project Portfolio
BROKEN WARMTH
Broken Warmth is an aerial dance performance that explores the impact our relationships have on our existence in the world. It is a ritual, an awakening, a journey through our darkness towards hope. How we all rely on our close relationships yet, how these can be both supportive and destructive at the same time.
It is an immersive experience that explores the duality of darkness and light, love and trauma, grief and connection investigating the effect that the complexities and contradictions within relations have on our psyche.. Through the combination of movement, sound, and lighting, this multidisciplinary, site-specific performance takes the audience on a literal and transformative journey towards our collective light.
Started as research at the creative intensive at the Irish Aerial Creation Centre in 2021, it won a residency at the IACC in 2022. This project was performed at Karosta, Latvia June 2023 and CINE Sineu, Mallorca.
TIME-This is My Eternity
‘TIME- This is My Eternity’ Through the art of aerial dance and performance, the enchantress weaves a tapestry that transcends beyond the realm of our perceptions of time, touching upon the essence of our shared humanity and the current climate crisis. The audience is transported on a journey of self-discovery, as they become immersed in a world that provokes contemplation, inspiring a deeper understanding of the fragility of our existence. This performance, a testament to the inevitability of death and the fleeting nature of time, illuminates the importance of cherishing every moment, both for ourselves and for the world we call home.
LIMINA *in progress*
““Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” – Dr Brene Brown
Set in the evocative backdrop of an abandoned factory, the decaying space becomes a symbolic canvas for the tragedy of disconnect both within fractured relationships and how that can influence our internal world.
What lies there between the said and unsaid, the gaps in connection. When we don’t speak of the needs and hopes that run through our veins. The moments of pause before speech. What is that long pause where we leave our bodies behind, existing in the dark silence, because the reality becomes just that bit too intense. That space in breath where you feel empty for a moment. Can we lean into this, can we take this space and create within it, can we change our paths and our narratives. Can we set ourselves free?
This will be a duo aerial dance film in collaboration with Scott Robinson
MARTyr
Female-driven, emotionally charged, visually captivating. Martyr is a direct and threatening view into the human psyche. From the raw realness of the female form, bound and trapped in a repetitive loop, to the chaotic movements of a soul driven mad. Heavily littered with esoteric and religious symbolism. This work is a daring use of body and props.
Martyr is a work by Alexandre Duarte and Kathleen Doherty, it is multi-disciplinary, blending dance, physical theatre, performance art and the aerial arts. Combining innovative atmospheric design with ropes, aerial equipment, intense soundscape, moveable lights and a chair. We invite you to enter what may be experienced as a nightmare that hints at current events and darker political agendas.
*Get in Touch for Project Portfolio
About Kathleen
“My name is Kathleen Doherty, and my work merges contemporary dance, aerial, and performance art. As a consequence of existence, my art is emotionally driven, with a thematic focus on personal growth and the eternal question of what it means to be human.
A graduate of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and Florida State University, I started performing and touring with various Irish and EU companies, including Fidget Feet Aerial Dance Company, Irish Modern Dance Theatre, and Ffin Dance in Wales. My work has been showcased at festivals across Europe, such as the Irish Aerial Dance Festival (IRE), Trengos (PT), Sziget Festival (HU), Fara (PT), Laois Dance Festival (IRE), and Derida Dance Festival (BG).
Currently, I am an artist in residence in Limerick, Ireland, engaging in research, creation, and performance across Europe and Ireland. ‘Martyr,’ a collaborative project with Alexandre Duarte, originated from the cross-border EU-funded residency, Island Connect, making its debut at the Irish Aerial Dance Festival in 2022. While touring with Fossetts Circus in 2022, I completed ‘Fall,’ a dance film scored by Dave Boyd, premiering at the Constructed Sight Film Festival (USA) in 2023. Recognised at international festivals, it earned the Audience Award for Best Dance Film at the Azores Fringe (PT).
The projects I am working on at the moment are ‘Limina,’ an aerial dance film and immersive theatrical happening, “ANOIS” a solo site-responsive work ‘Misneach,’ a performance art piece about empathy and collective awareness, and ‘TIME- This is My Eternity,’ an aerial dance and performance art piece.
‘Anois’ featured performances in Latvia and research at C.IN.E Mallorca, while ‘Misneach‘ was created for “A CASA SUA” in Agitlab and presented at the Marrakech International Street Arts Festival in December 2023 and in Arthur’s Quay, Limerick. Recently, I’ve been researching a new show initiated at the Irish Aerial Dance Festival and performed at LAMB- Land Art Moving Biennale. ‘TIME- This is My Eternity’ explores climate change, the passage of time, and the urgency facing both humanity and the world.
What’s on your mind?
Location
Limerick, IE
Phone
+353 86 3713514
kathleenwdoherty@gmail.com