Let the Dance Begin Millenium Sculpture
on the North West Trail
To mark the new millennium Strabane District Council in conjunction with the Strabane Lifford Development Commision, The Arts Council of NI, Sustrans and The Ulster Wildlife Trust, initiated a unique cross-border scheme to represent a new and shared beginning for the community through the millennium sculpture, Let the Dance Begin, designed By Maurice Harron.
The initiative, a key element of Strabane District Council’s policy of developing cross-border links through partnership and of making a positive contribution to reconciliation, community regeneration and a shared cultural vision is represented in the form of 5 semi-abstract stainless steel and bronze figures each approximately 18 foot in height.
Music and dance are great unifying and highly popular art forms throughout the locality and constitute the core theme interpreted by their creator Maurice Harron,
“Two dancers stand still, poised and ready to begin. At the Lifford side stands a musician holding a fiddle and at the Strabane side a musician with a fife. A drummer stands proudly between them linking the musical ensemble.”
The site for the scheme is highly symbolic and poignant, once a focal point for division (the old border checkpoint) it now represents a confluence of minds and ideas, where the uniqueness and richness of two traditions and cultures merge in harmony and strength.
Photographt Credit: Strabane District Council
This project is supported by the EU INTERREG IIIA Programme for Ireland/Northern Ireland