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Taking Heart

Twenty years on from its beginnings, Croí Glan, meaning “clear heart” in Irish, has been a leading voice in integrated dance in Ireland. Based in the lush surrounds of rural West Cork, the company, which highlights disabled talent, has toured the world and won a slew of accolades and awards. Marking the occasion is a commissioned premiere from choreographic luminary Philip Connaughton. The duet “The Art of Existing” is performed by Ben Sullivan and Bobbi Byrne, who has just recently assumed the role of co-artistic director alongside founding member Tara Brandel. We discuss dancing in a time of extreme rhetoric, the strides the dance world has made in further integration, and what the next years hold for the company. This conversation has been edited for clarity.

 

Bobbi Byrne and Ben Sullivan in “The Act of Existing” by Philip Connaughton for Croí Glan. Photograph by​ David Keegan

Tell us a bit about this new collaboration with Philip Connaughton.

Tara Brandel: As part of Croí Glan's 20th anniversary celebrations we invited Philip to make a new duet with the company. Over the past two decades we have commissioned work from many of Ireland's leading choreographers including David Bolger, Liz Roche, Fearghus Ó Conchúir, John Scott, and Leonie McDonagh, as well as many international disabled and integrated dance choreographers including Caroline Bowditch, Adam Benjamin, Jess Curtis, and Kim Epifano. So, it seemed time to ask Philip too!

 

Bobbi Byrne: The decision to collaborate with Philip was made before I became co-artistic director. To be honest, I wasn’t terribly familiar with his work as much of it happened during a time when I was disengaged from dance. What I can say is that working with him has been a delight! His work with dementia, interest in older dancers, and sensibility towards power and privilege are all areas of overlap with Croí Glan’s ethos. Philip also has an eye for the weird, crooked, and even grotesque. These are qualities that intersect in interesting ways with disability, often deployed as stereotypes but also reclaimed and celebrated from within the community.

 

What was it that drew you to Philip in creating this duet?

Tara: In Croí Glan, as a disabled-led company, we are very aware of marginalised groups, privilege and power dynamics. Who has the power? How are they using it? Is it conscious or unconscious? We were aware that Philip touches on some similar themes in some of his work and we thought the collaboration might be interesting.

Bobbi Byrne and Ben Sullivan in “The Act of Existing” by Philip Connaughton for Croí Glan. Photograph by​ David Keegan

Bobbi Byrne and Ben Sullivan in “The Act of Existing” by Philip Connaughton for Croí Glan. Photograph by​ David Keegan

The piece touches on ideas of authority and control, which certainly is something that feels more present these days. This of course can be a distressing time for marginalised groups like the disabled community. How were these bigger emotions handled in the creative process? 

Bobbi: Primarily through constant communication throughout the process. This includes checking in with each other every day before the process starts, a longstanding Croí Glan practice, but also setting aside time within the process to talk about the themes and realities involved. As all three of us —myself, Philip, and fellow performer Ben Sullivan—are quite chatty, these conversations often spiraled into talking about tangential aspects of our lives. Some of which made significant contributions to the piece! 

The choreography does ask us to go to some difficult places, but those places are still always where we have chosen to go to, and even discovered ourselves. There is always a sense of ownership over ourselves as performers and our enthusiastic consent has been sought consistently. 

As a recently out transwoman this is certainly a very distressing time. The combination of rising anti-trans rhetoric, the increasing pressure of hypercapitalism and personal factors like the difficulties of transition can be a lot to deal with, but there is also joy. Joy in community and variety and creativity. In my experience this joy has always been a part of disability, and now queer identity. Although the piece asks us, and the audience, to travel to some challenging places, it is as much about that joy as anything else.

 

Bobbi, you have also recently been named as co-artistic director. How is shifting into that role going? 

Bobbi: It’s a work in progress! It’s a big shift in perspective for me and I’m still figuring out exactly what it means. I feel like I have a lot to learn about the practicalities of the role, but luckily Tara is there to learn from and she has been very generous and patient about it. I was a little cagey about taking on the role at first, feeling safer as a dancer, but I’ve become more excited by the possibilities as time goes by.

Bobbi Byrne and Ben Sullivan in “The Act of Existing” by Philip Connaughton for Croí Glan. Photograph by​ David Keegan

Bobbi Byrne and Ben Sullivan in “The Act of Existing” by Philip Connaughton for Croí Glan. Photograph by​ David Keegan

Twenty years on since founding Croí Glan, do you feel the dance landscape has changed in terms of further integration and accessibility?

Tara: Yes, thankfully, it has somewhat. And Croí Glan has definitely been instrumental in making these changes happen. Our focus has always been on making good art and the artistic validity of making professional disabled-centred dance works. I think there is greater understanding now about the value of professional disabled dance artists and the aesthetic choices we make. But we definitely have further to go!

 

Now that you’ve reached this achievement of twenty years of making work, what do you think is next for Croí Glan?

Tara: Like many other professional integrated dance companies in Europe and in the UK and the US, we have been moving towards only creating works made by disabled and neurodivergent choreographers in the past few years. It is important that we support the development of disabled choreographers and that we make a platform for their voices, experiences and aesthetic perspectives. Since 2019 most of our work—other than Philip's duet—has been made by disabled and neurodivergent choreographers. Caroline Bowditch, Linda Fearon, and Croí Glan associate artist Tanya Turner. 

This year Croí Glan associate artist Oran Leong will begin research for a new piece exploring his ASD and Bobbi will begin work on a new trio to premiere in 2027, looking at disability and the cinematic gaze. As we move forwards we need to find better ways to understand the needs of disabled and neurodivergent choreographers, the value of their voices, and how we can best support them as a dance ecology in Ireland.

 

Bobbi: We intend to continue supporting and platforming disabled and other marginalised creators. Increasing the visibility of disability led art is vital. It creates further opportunities for current practitioners, increases awareness and diversity of viewpoint, and leads to more disabled voices down the road. Most of Croí Glan’s work over the last several years has been made by disabled creators and this will continue, although I do think it’s important to invite others to our process too. 

Next year we hope to start a Dance in Education programme in a number of Dublin schools with a strong disability focus. One of the major bottlenecks to integrated practice is a dearth of disabled practitioners and I feel that early exposure to dance is an important first step in solving that. Many disabled dancers, myself included, came to it very late simply because we weren’t aware that it was an option, having never been offered the opportunity. 

In addition to Croí Glan, there are several other inclusive/integrated dance companies in Ireland with whom we are looking to form strong creative relationships going forward. There is a shared desire to build a more cohesive community around integrated dance and Croí Glan will be a vital part of that community.

 “The Art of Existing” tours to Backstage Longford on the 30th of September. Further dates are to be announced.

Eoin Fenton

Eoin (they/he) is a dance maker and writer based in Cork (Rep. of Ireland), and London (UK). They have danced across Ireland and London in venues including The Place, Project Arts Centre Dublin and Galway Cathedral. Eoin graduated with a BA in Choreography from Middlesex University in 2024 and began writing as part of the Resolution Reviews programme. They are a regular contributor to A Young(ish) Perspective. 

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