Blog | Cultural Bridge

This press release was produced and issued by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland's communications office on 23rd March 2026. You can read the full press release on their website.

Young people with learning disabilities in Fermanagh and Germany connect through dance to discover new skills, confidence and cultural experiences!

Dance Ability Bridge aims to get young people with learning disabilities moving in a shared dance and movement project between Fermanagh and Bremen in Germany. The project is led by partners Dylan Quinn Dance Theatre (Enniskillen, Northern Ireland) and unperform e.V. (Bremen, Germany) and is supported by National Lottery funding through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland backed Cultural Bridge Programme.

Watch the video below:

Dance Ability Bridge is a collaborative UK-Germany social arts project which connects members of the community with learning disabilities from Germany and the UK in a creative dance experience, offering new cultural experiences and expressions. This initial project, which is led by professional dancers and choreographers, is a first stage creative exploration that will provide the foundations for future development opportunities.

Dylan Quinn, Artistic Director at Dylan Quinn Dance Theatre, discussed how the project has helped to develop shared understanding and confidence among young people from different countries who can often face similar difficulties in life because of their learning disability.

Image Dance Ability Bridge participants © Arts Council of Northern Ireland

Dylan Quinn, Artistic Director, Dylan Quinn Dance Theatre, added, “This month we had dancers from unperform e.V. in Bremen, Germany over with us for the week in Enniskillen where they worked with young people from Fermanagh Down Syndrome Support Group and members of Fresh Focus. Together we worked on a creative project over four days that explored different movement and contemporary dance activities. Out of this we saw powerful examples of peer leadership from within the Down Syndrome Community, people connecting through dance and movement, and everyone was just having a lot of fun gaining new skills and learning about each other.”

Dance Ability Bridge is funded through the Cultural Bridge Programme, a funding scheme available to arts and cultural organisations across the UK and Germany, to develop partnerships that explore social arts practice. By enabling new and existing partnerships, Cultural Bridge supports a growing network of organisations committed to sharing skills and expertise, exchanging ideas and collaborating on projects that explore themes and issues faced by communities across both countries.

The fund was established in 2021 as a unique investment partnership between all UK arts councils and leading German cultural institutions. Since 2021 the programme has supported 68 partnerships through 85 awards.

Gilly Campbell, Director of Arts Development, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, said, “The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is delighted to partner with Fonds Soziokultur, Goethe-Institut London and our arts funding colleagues across these islands in the Cultural Bridge programme. The importance of the Arts Council's involvement in the Cultural Bridge programme can't be overstated. The Arts Council is committed to supporting our artists to collaborate, connect and exchange internationally, and Cultural Bridge offers an incredible platform for artists from Northern Ireland to do just that. Congratulations to Dylan Quinn Dance Theatre, unperform e.V. and all the brilliant young people taking part in this terrific initiative which helps to ensure that more people from all backgrounds can enjoy arts experiences.”