Next year looks good for Irish dance. After working during January with the French/American choreographer Susan Buirge on a millennium project, Irish Modern Dance Theatre heads for New York in April to perform Irish/American Sean Curran's That Place, Those People (seen here last November) at the prestigious Danspace in St. Mark's Church. Irish Modern Dance Theatre presents a new piece by artistic director John Scott at Dublin's Project in October.

Marguerite Donlon from Longford, currently a soloist with Deutsche Oper, Berlin, has choreographed a piece, We Three Sheep, with which the Cathy Sharpe Dance Ensemble will tour Ireland in May, while Northern Ballet Theatre returns to Belfast - this time to the Grand Opera House - with the late Christopher Gable's new version of Carmen.

Dance Theatre of Ireland's major production will be Soul Survivor by artistic directors Robert Connor and Loretta Yurick. Meanwhile, Made to Measure will premiere at Dublin's Tivoli (March 2nd-6th) after touring Kilkenny, Cork and Waterford. Comprising two pieces: Wolfgang Bitte . . ., set to Mozart, and Ordinary Events, to explosive drumming by Les Tambours des Bronx, it has choreography by Rui Horta.

Ballet Ireland opens a six-week nationwide tour in Cork on February 17th, ending at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, on March 28th. Extravaganza 2 is mainly choreographed by Gunther Falusy and set to Strauss, Mahler and Schubert.

During spring, CoisCeim tours Seasons (Project, December). They present a new piece by artistic director David Bolger in early autumn, subsequently reviving Ballads (Project, November 1997).

In January, Paul Johnston, artistic director of ManDance, develops his Work-in-Progress (Samuel Beckett Dance Studio, August), guided by the Canadian choreographer Ted Senmon in the Firkin Crane Righting Dance - Time Out Project. He continues his residence with the Project, where the Jonathan Burrows Dance Group (last here in 1994) returns in July.

Mary Nunan, artistic director of Daghdha Dance Company, and Adrienne Brown, artistic director of New Balance Dance Company are also developing pieces during the Righting Dance Project. The latter's piece will be seen in the 1999 New Works Series at the Firkin Crane, while the former's piece will not be seen until 2000. Meanwhile she will tour Chimera (Project, October) in April/June, running Daghda's Education Programme August/December.