News

DCU President Brian MacCraith congratulates winners of the 2011 Arts Bursary Awards

22 March 2011

Sinead Kelly, 3rd year Irish and Journalism studies student, Lisa Craddock 2nd year Education and Training student, and Rob Walsh, 3rd year Communication Studies student are winners of this year's DCU Arts Bursary Awards.

The Arts Bursary award was launched in 2009/2010 and is funded by DCU's Educational Trust and the Office of Student Life. The aim of the Arts Bursary is to promote excellence in cultural activities at Dublin City University through the award of bursaries to selected students. The awards are given to assist and encourage those students who represent DCU with distinction at national and international level in performance, or produce work at a level the panel considers as being the equivalent.

The Arts Bursary will help individuals who aspire towards high levels of achievements and encourage present and future students to identify DCU as an institution promoting excellence in academic and cultural activities.

This year's winners are:

Sinead Kelly is Chairperson of DCU Dance and editor of The Look, The Style Society's fashion magazine. She was Producer, Creative Director and Stylist for the All Ireland Dance Experiment in 2010 and is choreographer of DCU's Fashion Show 2011. She represented Ireland at the World Hip Hip Championships in Las Vegas in 2010 and has won numerous Dance Championships at Intervarsity & All Ireland levels. Sinead would like to use the Arts Bursary to undertake a Fashion Stylist course and further her dance training in the hope of joining a Dance Agency in London.

Lisa Craddock has been training in Hip Hop since she was 6 years old and she has been teaching it since she turned 18.  She has travelled the world learning Hip Hop and meeting many of the creators of its different styles. As part of DCU Dance Society, Lisa qualified and competed in the World Hip Hop Championships in the USA in 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2010. In 2010 Lisa choreographed the routine that DCU Dance performed.  She is currently choreographer of DCU Dance.

Lisa is part of the group Ghetto Fabulous. Ghetto Fabulous have achieved great success among them;
* being placed 7th in the semi-finals of the World Championships out of 43 Countries.
* representing Dublin in the All Ireland Talent Show.
* performing as a support act for Jedward's Irish tour.
* winning numerous Irish titles including Irish Hip Hop Championships

Lisa was one of four to be picked to be one of Jedwards backing dancers when they supported Westlife in Croke Park in front of 85,000 people. Lisa would like to use the Arts Bursary to pay her term fees in Streets Ahead Dance School and to continue to attend dance workshops in London & Ireland.

Rob Walsh is a 3rd year Communications Studies student. Rob is Webmaster for the DCU Dance Committee and was previously Webmaster for the DCU Drama Committee.

In 2010 Rob;
* played the role of Ernst in Spring Awakening in The Helix and the Waterford International Music Festival, where it won Best Musical.
* was awarded a DADA for Best Supporting Actor in Hair the Musical and was nominated for Best Male Vocal.
* worked on the production team for the All Ireland Dance Experiment.

Rob would like to use the Arts Bursary to prepare to undertake an MA in musical theatre.'.

More information on the Arts Bursary is available by contacting Audrey Power, Student Engagement Administrator, 1st Floor, The Hub, tel: 01 - 700 6163 or email audrey.power@dcu.ie