Michael Courtney

Michael (RAS Mikey) Courtney, is an internationally recognized dance practitioner and academic professional who is currently a doctoral candidate in Arts Practice Research at the University of Limerick’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, with the supported of the Government of Ireland’s Post Graduated Irish Research Council Scholarship. RAS Mikey has a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of the Arts Philadelphia (U.S.A.) and an Advanced 1st Class Honors Master of Arts degree in Ethnochoreology from the University of Limerick, Ireland. He has collaborated and performed on the world stage with companies and artists including Pilobolus Dance Theatre (www.pilobolus.com), Disney star Raven-Symoné, The Marley Family, Aster Aweke, Kenny Allen, and with his own company Fore Im a Versatile Entertainer (F.I.V.E.) Productions LLC. (www.fivedance.com). RAS Mikey has resided in Ethiopia since his marriage in 2006. He has taught, produced and performed in many places around the country including Ethiopia’s National Theatre in 2010 as the director of dance, and performer for the 2nd annual Reggae by the Nile Festival.
For close to twenty years RAS Mikey has used dance and the performing arts as a platform to connect the cultures of our global community. More recently he has been driven to share his knowledge of Ethiopian culture to communities abroad. Bridging Horizons: Embodied Cultural Understanding through the Development and Presentation of Ethio-Modern Dance is the title of RAS Mikey’s current doctoral thesis, which explores his amalgamated embodiment of global cultures with an emphasis on Ethiopia. This embodiment RAS uses as a tool in his creative process as an African American urban-contemporary dance artist. He has returned to Addis Ababa after three years of postgraduate research in Ireland, to produce his second major Ethio-Modern Dance production Common Threads, and further Ethiopia’s connection to world dance culture. RAS Mikey’s admiration for Ethiopian culture was evident in his first major PhD performance YeBuna Alem/A Coffee World (https://youtu.be/CTgTBNpbfVk). This production was funded by Irish Aid and Limerick City and County Council and was featured as part of Africa Day Limerick 2015. Not only was Yebuna Alem/A Coffee World entertaining for the audience of Limerick, Ireland, it also educated the participants on the culture of Arabica coffee. RAS Mikey’s works are a reflection of his lived experiences and he uses dance and the performing arts as a platform to bridge socio-cultural between our global communities.