Ms Loretta Yurick:

We need more funding for dance and health and more sustained two and three-year funding, including full-time administration, for more dance production companies. However, the 2020 Arts Council allocation of just over €80 million is lower than the funding level in 2008. Dance accounts for a very small part of that allocation. Dance is one of the greatest celebrations of the human spirit. It has existed since the beginning of time as ritual, recreation and spectacle. As a theatre art, it communicates with a directness unlike anything else. It is worthy of increased funding and recognition.