Sites of Significance

Sites of Significance is a research report exploring pathways to engagement and work in dance experienced by dance artists and facilitators who live and / or work within territorial border areas of Cavan and Fermanagh-Omagh Council areas.

Combining dance and social science research methods, and taking inspiration from the underground rivers of the UNESCO Global Geopark that traverse the territorial borders of Ireland and Northern Ireland, Cavan and Fermanagh, the (often) invisible pathways to dance and connections between people and places were charted through movement, discussion, and auditing/mapping, allowing for choreographic and dialogic exploration and exchange.

The Value of Dance for Social Connection and Health
The report includes a series of recommendations for building capacity and nurturing dance in the region. Dance facilitators and professionals identified health and wellbeing as areas of their practice that they wish to develop further in the future. One of the report recommendations is for greater recognition and resourcing by local authorities of local dance facilitators for their contribution to social and health-based outcomes.

Sites of Significance was funded by an award from Cavan County Council / Creative Ireland in collaboration with Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and the UNESCO Global Geopark, Marble Arch Caves.

The report has been authored by Professor Aoife McGrath (Queen’s University Belfast), Dr Victoria Durrer (University College Dublin) and Dr Argyro Tsampazi (Queen’s University Belfast). 

Access the Report