Irish Dance & Music Training & Development Programme

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The aim of Shaylyn is to actively enable the local community to meet social, cultural and economic need through the development of a resource i.e. Irish Dance, Music and Song. Furthermore Shaylyn aim to increase national value, practice & appreciation of our traditional performing arts and to promote excellence in the practice of these. For the INTERREG project Shaylyn developed a partnership with the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick to establish a dedicated Traditional Performing Arts centre in Ballinamore and the University would site a Diploma in Irish Music & Dance at the centre. Through continued work with UL from the relationship formed via the project, courses in Irish Dance & Music at this level can be delivered locally and not just on a full time basis in Limerick. Other innovative actions of the project included; delivering an intensive training programme in Irish Music & Dance Skills for adult beginners and improvers - the only one of its kind in Ireland, hosting an International Conference on the achievements and potential of Irish Dance & Music, a theatre performance tour by Shaylyn of the Central Border Counties and establishing Irelands first Traditional Talent Agency. Through the actions of the project Shaylyn have established a centre for excellence in Ballinamore, Co Leitrim for the promotion of Irish Traditional Arts, the only one of its kind in Ireland. The project has delivered training in Irish Dance & Music and related areas to approx 100 adults on across border basis. They have performed for approx 1,400 people as part of their central border performance tour thereby educating audiences of different communities on both sides of the border on the history of Irish Dance & Music development through the ages. A database of over 120 artists has been developed and new part time additional employment opportunities have been sourced/created by the project for these artists through the agency and the activities of the centre itself e.g. classes and training courses. Their conference on Irish Dance & Music, its achievements and potential for development was a major success in that it aided Shaylyn’s research into the needs and potential of the sector and has laid the foundations for a number of exciting future projects currently in the planning stages. Through the course of the project Shaylyn have developed existing cross border/community partnerships and added to these with new working partnerships based on a mutual love of traditional dance, Irish and/or Scottish.

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