CCI Draíocht Residency Reflections - Monica Muñoz

We caught up with dancer and choreographer Mónica Muñoz who has completed a month residency in Centre Culturel Irlandais, in association with Draíocht, and she happily shared her thoughts and experiences with us ... 

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"My time at the CCI has been absolutely wonderful in many ways. There were many connections to Draíocht, including my previous HOMEGROUND Award (2020-2022), as I met again with mentors Sharon Murphy and Fearghus O Conchúir, at the CCI, and it was really great to chat to both and to give updates. 

The past weeks allowed me to be slow and meditate on my ideas, giving me much needed time to focus, to journal and to craft my choreographic practice more creatively; to peel back the chaos and concentrate on what is important to me.

I was mainly working on a commission I've received for Maiden Voyage that will be presented in Belfast in Young at Art 2026 and another work for Tipperary Dance Festival in October 2025.

Connecting to fellow artists in residency was also a beautiful experience, and I know that we will stay connected for a long time.

Being in Paris allowed me to connect with Académie Fratellini, a Circus school, as I want to work with an acrobat-dancer in future projects, and with French choreographer Céline Gayon, and we looked at different ways of collaborating together.

I went to lots of dance and music performances: Opera de Paris, Théâtre de la Ville, La Villette and Chaillot ... with lots of food for thought ... finishing with La Fête de la Musique - what an extraordinary day of music and celebration in every corner of the city.

It was so joyous to be creative with no demand for outcome. It was a breath of fresh air for me just to be in Paris and in the CCI. 

I can see the impact within, of dedicating time to me and my practice. It was a real gift ... such a great place!

And the staff at CCI - what a generous, welcoming, friendly, open and efficient team they have!

So overall a beautiful experience ... I feel I will be back to the CCI ... thanks again Draíocht for this opportunity."

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Draíocht is delighted to continue our partnership with CCI, supporting an artist to travel to Paris to participate in the annual Residency Programme, tapping into the resources of the CCI and the city of Paris, as well as having the opportunity to showcase their work on an international stage.

The recipients of Draíocht supported residencies are artists working in any discipline with a clear focus on children and/or young people.

Monica Muñoz is a dancer, performance-maker and educator originally from Barcelona and based in Dublin since 2014. She graduated at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen/Germany and completed an MA in Dance Education at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. As a dancer she worked for over 20 years throughout Europe and performed across the globe with choreographers and companies such as: Tanztheater Heidelberg-Freiburg (GE), Cie Toula Limnaios (GE), Rui Horta (PT), Joachim Schloemer (GE), Cie Drift (CH), Konstantinos Rigos (GR), Tabea Martin (CH) and Public in Private (GE) among many others. She was nominated Upcoming Dancer by the magazine Ballet International/TanzAktuell.

In Ireland, she has collaborated frequently with CoisCéim Dance Theatre as performer, assistant and teacher. Monica is passionate about facilitating dance for all ages and abilities, from toddlers to elders and also professionals in education and community contexts. She has facilitated explorations into the creative body for Dance Ireland, Dance Limerick, the Creative Schools Programme, BA in Contemporary Dance at the University of Limerick, Dance Theatre of Ireland, Step Up Project and CoisCéim, amongst others. In 2018, she received the Docklands Arts Funds from Business to Arts to bring access to performances and dance workshops to schools from the Docklands area. Last year, Monica created Groovy Movers, a dance participation programme with young children and parents/caregivers supported by Dun Laoghaire County Council. Her dance show for young audiences, Princesses Can Be Pirates, has toured nationally to 12 venues supported by the Arts Council, and to Germany supported by Culture Ireland. Recently, The Ark selected her to participate in an artists’ lab as part of the PUSH+ Creative Europe project for artists working with young audiences. Currently she is undertaking a research period supported by the YPCE Bursary Award from the Arts Council about dance for and with children in the early years.