ABOUT US
Off the Rails #OTR is a project-based dance theatre company, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland, founded in 2010 under the direction of choreographer Eileen McClory.
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At OTR Dance, our mission is to carve choreographic narratives that fearlessly explore topical themes, peeling back the layers of social conventions to reveal hidden voices. Our artistic quest revolves around authenticity as we explore the raw, highly physical movement material that mirrors the intricacies of the human condition.
Over the years, OTR has become synonymous with daring and innovative work. From various short pieces to three evening-length productions, including S(e)nsored (2011, Pick n Mix Festival, Belfast), The Dutiful Wife (2015, Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, The MAC, Belfast), to the critically acclaimed GUTTER (2020), Belfast International Festival), each piece is a testament to our commitment to pushing artistic boundaries.
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OTR is continuing to develop an exciting catalogue of work by experimenting with site-specific, immersive/non-traditional theatre spaces and performance incorporating film, projected visuals, archive documentation, social histories and collected testimony with movement and physicality at the helm of the work.
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Artistic Director
Eileen McClory
"McClory.. A name to watch out for...a maker of political, satirical and darkly humorous dance theatre..” The Guardian
Eileen was the recipient of the Major Individual Arts Award from the Arts Council Northern Ireland, in 2022, to develop a new work GUTTER.
Eileen has received commissions from Quotidian: Word on the Street, Nemesis: A movement Opera, in development for 2025 & BIND 2021, Maiden Voyage Dance Company: Epilogue 2021 & BRINK 2020, The Playhouse Derry: TURF 2018, Tinderbox Theatre Company: CUCK 2017.
Residencies include: CCN2 Grenoble, France 2022, Belfast City Council: Artist in Residence Bursary 2021, Belfast International Arts Festival: Artist in Residence 2020/21, 2016 Dansmakers, Amsterdam: The Game Show supported by Arts Council NI. The MAC Belfast, HATCH Artist, 2013/14.
As an established dance artist, Eileen has worked with: The Playhouse, Derry; Tinderbox Theatre Company, Theatre of Pluck, Replay, ponydance, Accidental Theatre, DU Dance, Bruiser Theatre Company and Assault Events (UK).
She has performed in international festivals such as Bauhaus Summary (DE) Christchurch Festival, Taranaki Arts Festival (NZ), Darwin Festival (AUS), Greenspace Festival (USA), Feile An Phobail, Pick n Mix Festival, Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival and Outburst Arts (all in NI) and her work as been presented at the Belfast International Arts Festival 2020, British Council & China Showcase 2020 and Attakkalari India Biennial 21-22
Eileen has worked extensively in Higher Education, as a guest choreographer at the University of Cumbria and throughout her post as Teaching Fellow and Course Director of the BA Dance Program at Ulster University 2014-2017, responsible for leading the dance programme during its phase-out.
She received a BA Dance from Liverpool John Moores University (04) and completed a two-year Professional Training Programme at Dance New Amsterdam, New York (09). In 2020 Eileen completed MA Contemporary Performance Practice, from Ulster University with Distinction.