Prof. Aoife McGrath

Professor of Dance

BA (Hons) Drama and German, Trinity College Dublin

PhD, Dance, Trinity College Dublin

FHEA

Staatlich Geprüfte Tänzerin/State-Certified Dancer (Bühnentanz/Stage Dance), Hochschule for Musik und Theater München/Univeristy of Performing Arts, Munich, Ballettakademie, Heinz Bosl Stiftung.

SWAN Co-Champion AEL

Research Interests

Aoife is a PaR dance scholar and choreographer who engages in practice-based choreographic research, critical dance scholarship, and dance engagement, policy, and advocacy work. She is interested in finding out how embodied knowledge can be valued and included within policy-informing collaborative research processes, and is currently involved in a number of interdisciplinary, collaborative research projects with researchers in sociology, psychology, education, and the health sciences.

Aoife's research interests include dance, practice-as-research, dance and science interdisciplinary collaboration, interdisciplinary creative processes, performance and philosophy, cultural policy and stakeholder engagement, and affect studies.

After a professional dance career in Germany and Ireland, Aoife has worked as a choreographer, director, community dance and theatre facilitator, critic, and as Dance Advisor for the Irish Arts Council.

External Leadership Roles:

Current

DSA Committee on Global Finance and Development

Previous

Co-President of the Irish Society for Theatre Research

Co-Convenor of the Choreography and Corporeality Working Group of the International Federation for Theatre Research

Chair of the Board of Directors of Dance Limerick

Member of the Board of Directors of Dublin Dance Festival

Projects

Her Dance and the Maternal project encompasses interdisciplinary dance/arts and health performance and engagement projects that communicate experiences of parenthood and maternal corporealities. Examples include:

Let Down (2018), a dance performance project communicating women's experiences of breastfeeding in collaboration with Dr Maria Herron (Ulster University), Dr Jennifer Hannratty (QUB, CESI), dramaturge, Dr Emily DeDakis, Composer Sorca McGrath and dancer Paula O'Reilly;

With/in (2018), a project with choreographer and dancer Aisling McCormick exploring women's experience of time in pregnancy;

Impossible Worlds (ongoing), Future Screens/AHRC, with Dee Harvey (PI), and mathematician, Dr Henry Segerman (Co-I) (Oklahoma State University), exploring the communication of women's experience of post-natal depression in 360 film.

She is also currently PrincipaI Investigator for the AHRC funded project, Parenting and Dance Network (2023-2025) in collaboration with Co-I, Professor Ali Duffy (Texas Tech Univerity), and academic partners Dr Madeline Harvey (Colorado State University), Professor Angela Pickard (Canterbury Christ Church University) and industry partners Dance Mama (UK), Balancing Act (Canada), and PiPA (UK). AHRC Parenting and Dance Network

Her Dance and Borders projects include engagement work such as the curation of the first all-island dance industry and research conference, Co-Motion (2019), policy-informing commissioned reports such as Dance Think Tanks (2020), and experiments with interdisciplinary collaboration between Dance and Sociology, particularly focussing on dance in a Shared Island context. Projects include:

Dance Conversations (2021) with Co-PI Dr Victoria Durrer (UCD), included the creation of a documentary film in collaboration with 6 dance artists from both sides of the Irish border co-directed with Mary Wycherley, with original composition by Dr Jürgen Simpson, and funded by an award from the Cooperation with Northern Ireland Funding Scheme of the Department for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media;

NI research partner for Buidling Capacity for the Cultural Industries: a Shared Island approach, led by PI Dr Victoria Durrer (UCD), funded by Department of An Taoiseach, Shared Island Unit / Irish Research Council New Foundations Scheme involved collaboration with project partners Arts Council Northern Ireland; Irish Theatre Institute; Theatre and Dance NI; Cavan County Council Arts Office. 

Youth Dance Matters (2023-2025), with Co-PI Dr Victoria Durrer, PDRA Dr Louise McKeever, and in collaboration with 80 youth dancers. Funded by HEA North South programme Youth Dance Matters Website ;

Sites of Significance (2023), with Co-PI Dr Victoria Durrer and RA Dr Argyro Tsampazi (QUB), investigating pathways to dance in rural border regions, funded by Cavan County Council/Creative Ireland, and working in collaboration with Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and the UNESCO Global Geopark at Marble Arch Caves;

Dance Connects (2023-2025), with Co-PI Dr Victoria Durrer, RA Dr Argyro Tsampazi, and Cavan Cavan County Council, funded by Creative Ireland, and working in collaboration with Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Monaghan County Council, 8 dance partners and various touring venues across the island.

Post-Doctoral Fellowship Mentorship

Aoife has also completed a H2020 Marie Curie fellowship with post-doctoral fellow, Dr Shonagh Hill, Generational Feminisms (2019-2021), involving collaboration with a diverse range of female Northern Irish Theatre practitioners, and public engagement activities with the Linen Hall Library and Maiden Voyage Dance Company.

She is currently Co-I/Mentor for a AHRC Research, Development and Engagement fellowship for Dr Shonagh Hill, Generations and Feminist Temporalities (2022-2024)

Publications

Her book publications include her monograph, Dance Theatre in Ireland: Revolutionary Moves (Palgrave, 2013) and the co-edited collection Dance Matters in Ireland: contemporary dance performance and practice (Palgrave, 2018). She has also published numerous book chapters and articles, and has been commissioned to write industry reports for the dance sector. 

Recent Choreographic / Directing Work:

Impossible Worlds (2022), a film exploring the experience of post-natal depression using 360 video. Directed by Dee Harvey, choreographed by Aoife McGrath, performed by Aisling McCormick and Michael McEvoy, tech support by Retinize. Funded by Future Screens Northern Ireland/AHRC.

Dance Conversations (2021), a cross-border film about dance artists' living and working conditions on the island of Ireland, co-created with Yumi Lee, Aisling McCormick, Maeve McGreevy, Kelly Quigley, Laurie Schneider, Maria Svensson, co-directed by Aoife McGrath and Mary Wycherley, edited by Mary Wycherley, original composition by Jürgen Simpson. In partnership with Dance Ireland and Theatre and Dance Northern Ireland and funded by the Cooperation with Northern Ireland Funding Scheme of the Department for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

Let Down, a dance theatre piece about women's experiences of breastfeeding incorporating sociological research on breastfeeding in Northern Ireland. Choreographed and performed by Aoife McGrath and Paula O'Reilly, original sound score by Sorca McGrath, dramaturgy by Emily DeDakis, commissioned by Dr Jennifer Hanratty (QUB) for Breastival 2018, and breastfeeding research by Dr Maria Herron (UU). Performances co-produced and funded by Being Human Festival (AHRC/British Academy), Breastival Belfast, and Northern Ireland Mental Health Arts and Film Festival (performances August to December 2018).

Within: Body + Time, a dance solo exploring the experience of time in pregnancy (co-choreographed and performed by Aisling McCormick, videography by Richard Lavery, produced by Emily Dedakis), produced as part of the Rapid Response platform by Accidental Theatre Belfast, 2018.

Please, a dance theatre work about the experiences of women struggling with eating disorders (performed by Leonie McDonagh, original composition by Marty Byrne, text by Emily DeDakis, research by Dr Carolyn Blair (QUB)), Northern Ireland Mental Health Arts and Film Festival, Brian Friel Theatre, Belfast, 2017.

Supervision and Mentoring:

I am interested in supervising research students working in the areas of dance studies, practice-as-research, dance and the maternal/parenthood, movement practices, interdisciplinary collaboration between creative arts and the sciences, dance and education, and collaborative creative processes.

Current PhD students:

Annalee Tull Lanier, 'Dance across the lands and hear the connection: An interdisciplinary study of dance from Scotland, Ireland, and Appalachia' (1st Supervisor).

Kristyna Ilek, 'Dramaturgy and Healthy Creative Practices: an investigation into working conditions and mental health care of artists in the performing arts' (1st Supervisor)

Chloe Hillyar, 'Including the Maternal Body: investigating the inclusion of maternal dancers into the UK professional dance sector' (1st Supervisor)

Aisling McCormick, 'Performing Arts and Maternal Health: an investigation into collaborations between artists and maternity health services' (1st supervisor)

Aideen Howard, 'Child Co-Creation in Professional Practice' (1st Supervisor)

Maggie Cronin, 'What are the lived experiences and unique challenges faced by women working within the theatre industry in Northern Ireland? A practice-as-research enquiry', (1st supervisor)

Graduated PhD students:

Dr Elien Hanselaer, 'A study of actor-actor performance connection' (1st supervisor)

Dr Argyro Tsampazi, 'The use of Terzopoulos' Method and Greek Rituals in Choreography' (1st supervisor)

Dr Paula Guzzanti, 'Embodied Consciousness and Affect in Movement-based Improvisation Practices' (1st supervisor)

Dr Caitriona Reilly, ‘Postfeminism and British and Irish Theatre’ (2^nd supervisor)

Selected Awards

Being Human Individual Award (AHRC/BA) (2018)

Faculty Research Initiative Award (2018)

Faculty Research Initiative Award (2017)

Irish Society for Theatre Research New Scholar's Prize (2011)

TaPRA Essay Competition Prizewinner (2010)

Society of Dance History Scholars Travel Award (2009)

IRCHSS (Government of Ireland) Research Scholarship (2008, 2009)

Trinity College Dublin Gold Medal (2007)

Trinity College Dublin Scholar (2005-2010)

DAAD Research Scholarship (Freie Universtaet Berlin) (2004-2005)

DRA3060 Dance Theatre

DRA3025 Dissertation

DRA2005 Introduction to Devising

DRA1003 Introduction to Performing

DRA1004 Introduction to Contemporary Performing Practices

DRA3006 Advanced Theatre Practice (mentor for directors)