Episode 55: Ben Sullivan

Honey & Lemon are multidisciplinary entertainers who bend the expectations of dance for its makers, audiences and participants. Experimenting with movement, voice and film, they use pop culture to create shared understanding in the mystique of contemporary dance. Founded as a creative partnership in 2020 by artists Millie Daniel-Dempsey and Amy Robyn Lyster, Honey & Lemon was built on a desire to make the work they would like to see and take part in. Their outreach practice is essential to their work, creating opportunities for people to get moving and be more confidently creative. Millie & Amy started working together while training professionally in the UK and have each been developing their own practice in Ireland, the UK and Europe as independent performers, makers and facilitators since then. These wide-ranging experiences have a strong impact on their work today, bringing together influences from collaborations and projects across the creative spectrum. Honey & Lemon are currently Dance Artists in Residence at Mermaid Arts Centre in partnership with Wicklow County Council. In 2023-24, they were resident at The Civic Theatre and at Axis Arts Centre in 2022. They were 2023 recipients of the Assemble Bursary from Axis Arts Centre and 2023 Offsite Artists with the support of Irish Theatre Institute and CoisCéim Dance Theatre. They are previous recipients of the Dance Ireland Mentored Residency Award, which began their ongoing relationship with their mentor, Lea Anderson MBE. Their work has been performed at Dancer From the Dance Festival, Five Lamps Arts Festival and Project Arts Centre. Their recent live work, DOUBLE ACT, premiered in 2024 to a sold out run with ★★★★ reviews. Honey & Lemon’s debut work for screen, MARGARET, premiered in 2025 with the support of Mermaid Arts Centre. Their upcoming work, DEATH BISCUITS: Dance for your life, an intergenerational dance odyssey, premieres in May 2026.

Honey & Lemon are multidisciplinary entertainers who bend the expectations of dance for its makers, audiences and participants. Experimenting with movement, voice and film, they use pop culture to create shared understanding in the mystique of contemporary dance. Founded as a creative partnership in 2020 by artists Millie Daniel-Dempsey and Amy Robyn Lyster, Honey & Lemon was built on a desire to make the work they would like to see and take part in. Their outreach practice is essential to their work, creating opportunities for people to get moving and be more confidently creative. Millie & Amy started working together while training professionally in the UK and have each been developing their own practice in Ireland, the UK and Europe as independent performers, makers and facilitators since then. These wide-ranging experiences have a strong impact on their work today, bringing together influences from collaborations and projects across the creative spectrum. Honey & Lemon are currently Dance Artists in Residence at Mermaid Arts Centre in partnership with Wicklow County Council. In 2023-24, they were resident at The Civic Theatre and at Axis Arts Centre in 2022. They were 2023 recipients of the Assemble Bursary from Axis Arts Centre and 2023 Offsite Artists with the support of Irish Theatre Institute and CoisCéim Dance Theatre. They are previous recipients of the Dance Ireland Mentored Residency Award, which began their ongoing relationship with their mentor, Lea Anderson MBE. Their work has been performed at Dancer From the Dance Festival, Five Lamps Arts Festival and Project Arts Centre. Their recent live work, DOUBLE ACT, premiered in 2024 to a sold out run with ★★★★ reviews. Honey & Lemon’s debut work for screen, MARGARET, premiered in 2025 with the support of Mermaid Arts Centre. Their upcoming work, DEATH BISCUITS: Dance for your life, an intergenerational dance odyssey, premieres in May 2026.

Honey & Lemon are multidisciplinary entertainers who bend the expectations of dance for its makers, audiences and participants. Experimenting with movement, voice and film, they use pop culture to create shared understanding in the mystique of contemporary dance. Founded as a creative partnership in 2020 by artists Millie Daniel-Dempsey and Amy Robyn Lyster, Honey & Lemon was built on a desire to make the work they would like to see and take part in. Their outreach practice is essential to their work, creating opportunities for people to get moving and be more confidently creative. Millie & Amy started working together while training professionally in the UK and have each been developing their own practice in Ireland, the UK and Europe as independent performers, makers and facilitators since then. These wide-ranging experiences have a strong impact on their work today, bringing together influences from collaborations and projects across the creative spectrum. Honey & Lemon are currently Dance Artists in Residence at Mermaid Arts Centre in partnership with Wicklow County Council. In 2023-24, they were resident at The Civic Theatre and at Axis Arts Centre in 2022. They were 2023 recipients of the Assemble Bursary from Axis Arts Centre and 2023 Offsite Artists with the support of Irish Theatre Institute and CoisCéim Dance Theatre. They are previous recipients of the Dance Ireland Mentored Residency Award, which began their ongoing relationship with their mentor, Lea Anderson MBE. Their work has been performed at Dancer From the Dance Festival, Five Lamps Arts Festival and Project Arts Centre. Their recent live work, DOUBLE ACT, premiered in 2024 to a sold out run with ★★★★ reviews. Honey & Lemon’s debut work for screen, MARGARET, premiered in 2025 with the support of Mermaid Arts Centre. Their upcoming work, DEATH BISCUITS: Dance for your life, an intergenerational dance odyssey, premieres in May 2026.

Ben Sullivan is a multi-award winning dancer/choreographer based between Dublin and Belfast with a keen focus on progressive artistic practice. Recently they have closed out two National Tours with Rachel Ní Bhraonáin’s “MOSH” and NAF Dance’s “Ham Sandwiches and Discipline”. Their recent choreographic works include; Dogsick (Scene and Heard 2026), Turf v0.01 (Dance Ireland's A/W 2025 Residency), “dublinitgirl_vs_dartlinediva” (Dublin Fringe 2025), and“Dogbody” (DYDC Gala 2024). In addition to recent work, Ben has worked on various theatre and dance productions including; Cabaret Company “Ping Pong Disco” for The Visual Carlow’s Culture Night, "Rebellious Hope" by Philip Connaughton, and dance film "CASTLE X" by Eoin Heaney.

Laura is an upcoming theatre maker based in Zwolle, the Netherlands. She studied at ArtEZ University of the Arts, where she completed the course of ArtistcourseArtist Educator in Theatre & Media in Zwolle. Her work is often socially engaged and centers on our human nature and the worlds and systems we build around us. Approaching these situations with a playful, open, and fresh perspective is what inspires her to create.Her experience and practice are versatile: she has appeared as a performer in _‘’VERSUS’’_ for Theater Na de Dam with SubSub and in the opening performance ‘_’Bespiegelingen’’_ for the art festival Woest & Bijster. She has worked as a social community artist in Belfast for the Art & Conflict Transformation module and has interned at Theater De Makkers. One of her autonomous works is ‘_’Man in de Gracht’’_, a biographical research performance that highlights the story of an individual from Zwolle, discovered through curiosity.

Raquel Montero Calero is a multidisciplinary artist with a rich background in drama, dance, and visual arts. Raquel brings a vibrant and inclusive energy to her work. As a performer, playwright, choreographer, and facilitator, she is passionate about creativity, expression, and the transformative power of the arts and the importance of collaboration between artists from different backgrounds and artistic mediums Raquel has worked extensively across youth and community arts programmes, having worked with Gonzo Youth Theatre in Cavan and Pod Youth Theatre in Virginia. She has also collaborated with Backstage Youth Theatre and devised original productions with local schools and groups. Her facilitation style is informed by her training in drama facilitation with Youth Theatre Ireland in NUIM, physical theatre with The Lir Academy, and storytelling with Storytellers of Ireland. Raquel has been awarded multiple artist development residencies and grants from Creative Ireland, Cavan Arts Council, and Town Hall Cavan. She is a dynamic and intuitive artist who values both movement and stillness in her creative practice. Currently studying Youth Arts through the Department of Social Studios in Maynooth University.

Ami began her actor training at the age of three and has performed in numerous TV dramas and theatre productions, including Marie Antoinette: A Musical, directed by Tamiya Kuriyama, and the opera The Magic Flute, directed by Emmanuelle Bastet. Alongside acting, she became a versatile dancer, training in classical ballet, ballroom dance, street dance, and Tanztheater, winning multiple national and international ballroom dance competition prizes. Before relocating to London in 2022, she honed her acting techniques through American Realism plays and Japanese martial arts breath practices, while also writing and directing two plays in Japan. She recently completed her MFA in Movement: Directing and Teaching at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Her movement direction credits include the opera L’Olimpiade at Vache Baroque, and her directing credits include Net Café Refugee at Camden People’s Theatre.

Masha is an actor and theatre-maker originally from an eastern border city Kharkiv in Ukraine, where she had over 14 years of theatrical experience. She began performing in 2009 with the National Children’s Theatre of Ukraine (‘Sorvantsy’), and later earned a degree in Marketing and Public Relations from Kharkiv National University. After relocating to Ireland, She joined Lúminaria’s national children’s show tour in 2022, which re-ignited her passion for performance, resuming her work in theatre. Since then, Masha has continued to study acting and expanding her theatre practice in the following years, as an actor, theatre maker, stage manager and marketer in theatre productions. Currently, Masha serves as a Young Curator at Backstage Theatre as part of their Young Curators Programme (2026), and working on the theatre piece ‘Back Home’ which will be shown as part of Scene and Heard Festival of 2026.

Chander van Daatselaar is a movement director, dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher from The Netherlands.Chander began his formal training at RijnIJssel, completing the Fast Track Dance program in 2016. He further developed his skills in Modern Dance Theatre at Fontys School of Art in 2017 and earned a BA (Hons) in Contemporary Dance with Foundation Year at the prestigious Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in the United Kingdom, graduating with first-class honours in 2022. He completed an MA in Movement: Directing and Teaching at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2024. Throughout his career, Chander has collaborated with renowned artists and companies. He walked and performed for S.S. Daley's SS22 collection at London Fashion Week and worked as a dancer for distinguished choreographers and collectives, including Alison Curtis-Jones, Fubunation, Jorge Pérez Martínez, Jose Agudo, K2CO, and SID.​As a choreographer, Chander created 4 Seasons for the Waterperry Opera Festival and has contributed to theatre and musicals as a movement director. His credits include Conjured! at the Golden Goose Theatre and Much Ado About Nothing at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, as well as plays such as Happy Days at the Arcola Theatre and The Penelopiad at East 15 Acting School. He also served as Cover Assistant Choreographer for the acclaimed musical Passing Strange at the Young Vic.

Sarah McKenna Dunne is an award-winning writer, storyteller and arts facilitator known for her work in theatre, film, and socially engaged arts projects. Her writing credits include A Border Cure (Scene+ Heard 2026), The Girls of the Sacred Heart (Culture Night 2024), a tribunal play on the Cavan orphanage fire, and Grief of the Seventh Child (Creative Cavan 2023), an upcoming documentary on traditional cures in the border region. Sarah has received numerous awards including the Arts Council Agility Awards (2021, 2023), Creative Cavan Awards (2021, 2023, 2024), the Professional Artist Award from Cavan Arts Office (2023), and the Emerging Artist Award (2020,2022). Additionally, she was awarded a Playwrighting Scholarship by Cavan County Council and Town Hall Theatre in 2022 and was recognized with a short play bursary from the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival (2020), with her work published in their anthology Plays Inside. A UCD graduate with an M.A. in Theatre Practice, Sarah's creative work often explores Irish folklore, mythology, queer representation, and trauma related to children and women. As an arts facilitator, she is dedicated to empowering young people and marginalized communities through storytelling and performance.