Dylan Quinn shares some insights into his passion for dance

Perhaps her words somehow skipped across the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Fermanagh and embedded themselves firmly into the heart and soul of a young boy from Enniskillen who was born to dance.

Attending St. Michael’s Primary School, and then St .Joseph’s Secondary School, Dylan Quinn’s creative yearnings led him first to the Northern Regional College in Ballymoney, and then to the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds, followed by brief spells in London, Lancaster and Spain before establishing the Dylan Quinn Dance Theatre in 2009.

With three brothers and one sister, Dylan grew up in a busy household.

The Quinn family had a revolving door policy and regularly welcomed friends and family to their home, often to the strains of his father playing the guitar,

“Our youth had a musical soundtrack, thanks to my dad, who was a major Bob Dylan fan, but we had no connection with the performing arts to speak of.

“I always wanted to be creative, and thought about acting and theatre for a while.

“But the freedom and excitement I discovered in contemporary dance drew me like a moth to a flame.”

That creative fire still burns brightly and continues to inspire and sustain the ongoing search to express himself in physical presentations.

He has worked with the Birmingham Royal Ballet and Dance Exchange, and performed with Belfast-based Maiden Voyage Dance Company, Ludus Dance Company, at Spring Loaded in London, the Baryshnikov Theatre in New York, the Dublin Fringe and Dance Festival, the Happy Days International Beckett Festival and at the Edinburgh Fringe, as well as in India and Hong Kong with the British Council Support network.

Since its formation, the Dylan Quinn Dance Theatre has been responsible for an extensive programme of community and education work across Fermanagh and neighbouring counties.

Three years ago, the company continued to push the boundaries of physical theatre with a challenging piece of work, entitled ‘The Cairn’.

Written by Dubliner Carlo Gebler and fellow Fermanagh man Seamas Mac Annaidh, it was devised and performed by Dylan in the unique setting of Pollnagollum Caves at Boho.

A fusion of dance, art and theatre, the innovative presentation commemorates the names and final moments of people killed in Fermanagh and its hinterlands between August, 1920 and August, 1921 during the War of Independence.

“The Cairn is a reflection on our past, an opportunity to consider who we are and who we want to be.

“Our creative voices play a vital role in helping to explore our human experiences and facilitate creative solutions to the challenges we face.

“It was created to provide an intimate scrutiny of a specific period of time in our history, and to reflect on its impact in a physical, emotional and creative way.”

In Lockdown, the company continued to deliver creative projects, including an ongoing health and wellbeing programme, and Fermanagh’s first online festival, Inside Outside.

This provided unique experiences for the community, developed international connections and provided income and employment for artists during a very challenging period of time.

Dylan admits to a cerebral dimension in all of his productions. Most recently, a collaboration with five artists resulted in ‘Anything To Declare’, an ingenious series of presentations staged at various venues throughout the Border village of Swanlinbar to great critical acclaim.

“We were commissioned to produce and present five pieces of work around Swanlinbar.

“Vocalist and composer Andy Garbi made audio recordings from inside the Marble Arch Caves to represent the three rivers that meet underground to form the Cladagh River.

“The idea was to engage in conversation in a variety of ways about the Border, what its purpose really is, the experiences of people in Border communities, and the impact of this boundary from its creation back in 1921.”

The old Methodist Church, the Church of St. Augustine and the community hall were among 15 locations used as performance and presentation spaces around the village.

It was entirely interactive and all the pieces were based around the number 21, and 21 minutes in duration.

There was also an 8-foot-tall, 19-feet-wide neon installation at the entrance to the village designed to stop people in their tracks with the words, “Anything to Declare”, lit up in red.

The notion of the Border has occupied Dylan’s creative grey cells for many years.

“What's been fascinating about the work I've been doing is people talking about the changing nature of Border villages and the fact that they were thriving 25 years ago at the time of the Good Friday Agreement.

“Then suddenly a lot of the infrastructure disappeared, the economy suffered, and many places were left devastated by that.”

The irony of the situation is not lost on him, and he accepts that while the removal of the physical infrastructure of the Border was a vital and positive move, the loss of jobs resulted in a serious decline in the financial security and prosperity of many places.

Dylan concedes that for many of his productions, the audience has to be fairly adventurous, but he also remains focused on providing accessible contemporary performance art in rural communities.

He is already working on an audacious new enterprise with Luail, the National Dance Company of Ireland.

“I am the commissioned artist for Ulster, and the piece of work I’m creating will tour to 18 locations across each county throughout Ulster between November this year and August, 2025.

“It’s a touring dance space inspired by landscape and community that will invite people to come and dance with me in whatever style they wish: sean-nós, contemporary, improvisation, breakdance, even hip-hop freestyle.”

Dylan, his wife Hannah, and their four children live in the Fermanagh countryside near Monea, looking over Carran Lough and Belmore Mountain.

The beauty to be found in the lakes, rivers and mountains of his home county is a constant source of inspiration,

“I love to walk our dogs, Barney and Milo, at Lough Navar and anywhere around Lough Erne, which is always beautiful and stimulates my imagination.

“Working in the garden also helps me to unwind, and I’m trying to do better at growing our own food.

“On this island we grow and sell a small proportion of the food we consume, and I think we should try to be more self-sufficient.”

He acknowledges that being a professional artist is not an easy way to make a living, but he is quick to point out that, for him, this is part of the challenge.

“Northern Ireland is a complicated place and I think it’s important that we have creative voices making new work in all parts of this place so that we can develop a cultural confidence and engage in complex and challenging conversations about ourselves and where we live.

“I continue to dance because it is just part of who I am. For me, the idea of not dancing seems almost impossible to comprehend.”

There is no doubt in Dylan’s mind about the power of dance to engage, provoke and effect change.

Conversations with him are uplifting and enlightening, and his sense of optimism is compelling.

It’s difficult not to bring to mind the powerful lyrics from the refrain in the renowned hymn, ‘Lord of the Dance’.

Written in 1963, it is part allegory, part celebratory, but above all – like the motif used in the lyrics, and perhaps like the boy from Enniskillen – the message is both magical and spellbinding.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,

I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,

And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,

And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he.

Anne Marie McAleese is a broadcaster, writer and author who considers Fermanagh as one of her favourite places. You can listen to her every Saturday morning on BBC Radio Ulster’s, ‘Your Place and Mine’, 8am-9am.