IRIE! dance theatre’s applications are still open for the September 2026 intake of its pioneering MA Diasporic Dance Styles. This unique postgraduate programme is designed to empower dance artists, educators, and advocates to bridge the gap between professional practice and academic research.
As a distance education/low residency provision, the MA offers a flexible learning model that combines a robust Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) with two intensive in-person residencies at IRIE!’s home in New Cross. This structure allows international and UK-based practitioners to maintain their professional careers while engaging in deep, practice-based scholarship.
“The MA reinforced the importance of research, documentation, and understanding what came before us,” says Keisha Tonte Njoku, a 2025 graduate. “It affirmed the power of community, collaboration, and embodied testimony as tools for healing and transformation.”
The MA in Diasporic Dance Styles offers inclusive entry requirements that value experiential learning and welcome professional artists who may not have followed traditional academic pathways. Rooted in African and Caribbean diasporic traditions, the programme maintains a global focus and warmly invites practitioners from all non-Western dance forms and diverse cultural backgrounds. Students benefit from strong career-ready outcomes, culminating in the development of real-world proposals such as funding applications or research papers. The course is available as a one-year full-time or two-year part-time programme, commencing in September 2026. Validated by Goldsmiths, University of London, the MA continues IRIE! dance theatre’s 40-year legacy of championing diverse voices, while developing the next generation of policy change advocates for dance in the 21st century.
Prospective students are encouraged to get their applications in soon. Admission is assessed via CV, professional references and an interview.
For more information, application forms, or to book an interview, please visit www.iriedancetheatre.org/ma-diasporic-dance-styles or contact the team at ma@iriedancetheatre.org.
