Dancing around the issues
Premiere of major arts project examining the Border set for Swanlinbar this evening
A thought-provoking arts project combining four artists and five complimentary pieces will be staged throughout the border village of Swanlinbar later this week.
Over three nights (7-9pm) - Thursday, July 25; Friday, July 26; and Saturday July 27- the Enniskillen based Dylan Quinn Dance Theatre will deliver ‘Anything to Declare’ as a way to shed light on the impact the border has had on communities that reside along the geo-political line.
Reflecting on the Border from a perspective informed as much by emotion as political the event includes work by composer and musician Róis (from Ached Gé, Newtownbutler); filmmaker Róisín Loughrey (living in Manorhamilton but originally from Dublin); composer and vocal artist Andy Garbi (from the UK Midlands but of British Himalayan descent); and choreographer and dancer Dylan Quinn.
Enniskillen born Quinn is the Programme Director for this two hour event, which encourages audiences to weave their way through the West Cavan village observing this unique collection of work through a range of artistic mediums.
This is the second phase of ‘Anything to Declare’. The first saw a Creative Artists Residency take place at the community hall in Swanlinbar in May, overseen by Irish choreographer Liz Roche, and involving 14 dancers and local musicians. It also featured the input of Quinn, Production Manager Christine Clark and dance artist Dr Jenny Roche, who lectures at the University of Limerick.
Each were also asked to investigate the border landscape and the cultural realities through local engagement.
Audiences attending ‘Anything to Declare’ will experience a 21 minute dance, a 21 minute audio visual performance, a 21 minute compositional presentation, and 21 moving images to be explored at the viewer’s own pace.
It also includes an installation, a bright neon sign that straddles the border, as well as a customs’ hut.
The Arts Council/ An Chomhairle Ealaíon funded the project.
Quinn explains: “The project encourages reflection. This part of the island is defined by what happened in 1921. It continues to be contentious. There are those who still want it, people who don’t. There are also a lot of people who couldn’t care one way or another. But it’s about how we talk about talking about the border that’s important.”
He says the Good Friday Agreement set in chain a series of events that may well lead to a border poll in this lifetime. Like the debate on Brexit, Quinn believes it would be ignorant to “not engage” with the process now beforehand, and he sees art as having a crucial role in facilitating “grey and even confusing, nuanced conversation” that aims to open eyes and expand minds on the subject.
“There are complex and culturally sensitive conversations to be had,” acknowledges Quinn, who has in the past staged other border-based works in the likes of Pettigo on the Donegal/Fermanagh border and Kiltyclogher on the Leitrim/Fermanagh border.
“You ask a lot of people living in these villages and they’ll tell you openly that the areas are doing worse now than during the conflict. Why is that?
“The question we need to be asking now is now, is with our collective experience, how do we begin to support people? Swanlinbar exists in Swanlinbar, but it could be any one in a rosary beads of villages along the border just the same.”
Tickets for ‘Anything to Declare’ are available through the Dylan Quinn Dance Theatre website, and are still available for Friday and Saturday evening.
For more see www.dylanquinndance.com.