Mapping Dance Research Ecologies

Research Week 2026

Join dance researchers from the Irish World Academy for a special performance and a vibrant panel that maps the evolving ecologies of dance research across arts practice, ethnographic inquiry, and transdisciplinary innovation. This interactive session showcases how dance-based research extends far beyond the studio by shaping pedagogy, informing community collaborations, and opening fresh pathways for creative and scholarly discovery at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

The Academy’s dance research spans a rich spectrum of inquiry, including:

• Arts practice research that pushes the boundaries of creative process through performance, critical reflection, archival exploration, digital technologies, Somatics, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Transdisciplinary research in dance and health, addressing wellbeing, chronic pain, ageing and mobility, and dance for Parkinson’s; revealing how movement-based knowledge can transform health practice.
• Ethnochoreological research that explores cultural, social, and migratory contexts of dance, examining dance as intangible cultural heritage and advancing decolonising approaches to tradition and pedagogy.

Expect thought‑provoking presentations from each panelist, accompanied by live dance performance, culminating in an open discussion on how dance research continues to reshape artistic, cultural, and academic landscapes.

This event may be recorded for future promotional use by University of Limerick.

All venues are wheelchair accessible but should you have any specific accessibility queries, please contact us at: research@ul.ie

Speakers

Professor Helen Phelan

Helen is Director of the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance. As Professor of Arts Practice, she is an internationally recognised advocate for the integration of artistic methods into research cultures. She is a multi-award-winning Irish Research Council recipient for her work on music and migration, including her current IRC COALESCE award (ADD: The Arts, Data Literacy and Diversity) with Professor of Biomedical Statistics, Ailish Hannigan. She is founder of the UL Singing and Social Inclusion research group, co-founder of the female vocal ensemble Cantoral, and current Chair of IMBAS, a national network for artistic research in Ireland. Recent books include Singing the Rite to Belong: Music, Ritual and the New Irish (Oxford University Press), and The Artist and Academia (Routledge) edited with Graham Welch. Since 2023, she is the co-director, with Professor Anne MacFarlane, of the Participatory Health Research Unit, a World Health Organization-collaborating centre at University of Limerick.

Associate Professor Jenny Roche

Jenny is Associate Professor and Course Director of the MA in Contemporary Dance Performance at IWAMD. From 2013 to 2017 she was Senior Lecturer in Dance at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane. She has worked extensively as a dancer and published widely on the creative practice of dancers, dance and Somatics and arts practice research. Her book Multiplicity, Embodiment and the Contemporary Dancer: Moving Identities was published in 2015 and Choreography: The Basics, with Stephanie Burridge in 2022. From 2007 to 2011 she was dance advisor to the Arts Council of Ireland. She continues to work as a collaborator and performer in various creative arts research contexts, including Expanded Fields (2019) with London-based digital artists Gibson/Martelli and Alternately Terrific and Gentle (2023) with Liz Roche and Jodi Melnick for Lightmoves Festival of Screendance. Her recent research has used Micro-phenomenology as a method for articulating embodied dancing knowledge.

Dr Orfhlaith Ní Bhriain

Orfhlaith is an Ethnochoreologist and Course Director of the MA Ethnochoreology and MA Dance Studies programmes at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, where she teaches Irish dance skills, Irish music and dance studies, Western Art Dance History, Music and Dance education and ethnochoreology to undergraduate and postgraduate students. As an accomplished performer and teacher of Irish music song and dance, she delivers workshops and seminars internationally and is a recognised expert in the Irish traditional music and dance world featuring in many broadcasts and documentaries on radio and television as cultural commentator. Her current research involves collaborative work with physiotherapist Amanda Clifford, investigating the potential benefit of music and dance for older adults. They have published extensively on arts and health interventions in an applied ethnochoreological context. She is the current director of Scoil Rince Uí Ruairc, her family dance school, where she has been teaching Irish dance for over 30 years.

Dr Grant McLay

Grant is Course Director, BA Contemporary Dance, UL and brings a rich and diverse background through his research, blending 40 + years of professional dance experience including academic and interdisciplinary inquiry. His professional expertise strongly influences his academic work, particularly in teaching and collaborative engagement with students and colleagues. Grant has taught dancers at pre‑professional and professional levels, as well as adults in recreational settings. He also has significant experience facilitating classes for individuals experiencing motor-skill decline through Dance for Parkinson’s, fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment. As a scholar and researcher, Grant’s work is shaped by dance pedagogy and interdisciplinary inquiry. His practice‑led research explores collaborative approaches involving sports science, motion capture technologies, and computer programming. This research contributes to emerging conversations in data visualisation, realisation, and dramatization within dance studies.

Dr Breandán de Gallaí

Breandán is a dancer, choreographer, and academic specialising in Irish dance and contemporary dance-theatre. He is Course Director of the BA Irish Dance and MA Irish Traditional Dance Performance programmes and Artistic Director of Ériu Dance Company. His practice-led research explores the expressive and theatrical potential of Irish dance, bridging tradition and contemporary performance. A former principal dancer with Riverdance, Breandán has created numerous acclaimed works including The Village, Walls Talk, Salómae, Lïnger, Rite of Spring, and The House of Bernardó Alba, which have toured nationally and internationally. His performance-based PhD, Imeall-Siúl, was the first Arts Practice doctorate of its kind in Irish dance. Current projects include Manly Men, a dance-theatre work interrogating masculinity and identity in Irish dance, and Every Silver Lining, a comic duet that playfully explores self-reflection, vulnerability, and the uncomfortable truths of lived experience.