Culture
23 Apr 21

Niamh O'Flannagain and Alba Cid to perform ballet and verse for International Day of the Book

International Day of the Book is a global commemoration held every April 23rd with the aim of promoting reading, the publishing industry and the protection of intellectual property through copyright.

Instituto Cervantes Dublin will host a poetry reading today in both Galician and Spanish, with Alba Cid and ballet dancer Niamh O'Flannagain to celebrate International Day of the Book.

Alba Cid, winner of the National Prize for Young Poetry 2020, will perform verses, while O'Flannagain will bring dance and movement, with choreography by Laura Bruña of Ballet Ireland.

International Day of the Book has been promoted by UNESCO since 1988. In Catalonia (Spain), Saint George's Day is also celebrated with the exchange of books and red roses between loved ones.

Galician poet and researcher Alba Cid released first collection of poems, Atlas in 2019. Cid was then awarded the Miguel Hernández National Prize for Young Poetry 2020, granted by the Spanish Ministry of Culture. Her poems have been translated into Spanish, Greek, English and Portuguese, and have been included in anthologies, magazines and renowned websites. Over the last years, Cid has also been in charge of the John Rutherford Centre for Galician Studies at the University of Oxford.

Niamh O’Flannagain began dancing locally in Dublin with the Dunbar School of Dance before moving to the Goode School of Dance. Following this, she was accepted into Tring Park School for the Performing Arts where she completed her professional training. As a member of Encore Dance, Tring Park’s graduate company directed by Antony Dowson, Niamh completed two UK tours as well as appearing in a gala performance with the Royal Swedish Ballet School.

O’Flannagain completed three seasons with the National Young Ballet of Great Britain; working alongside the likes of Mikah Smillie, Jonathan Payn, Drew McOnie, and Terry Wright. Appearing in shows held at Sadler’s Wells, The Royal Albert Hall, and The Royal College of Music; Niamh later joined Ballet Ireland in 2018 and performed in The Nutcracker, Bold Moves (2019) and Swan Lake.

At this afternoon's reading, Alba Cid will read three poems from her Atlas project (Galaxia, 2019): 'Da envorcadura do mundo', 'A inmersión de Safo' and 'Unha columna Asmat'.

The cultural event will be streamed at 12pm from the Instituto Cervantes Dublín: