Leitrim dancer Edwina Guckian received Outstanding Contribution award at this year’s Gradam Ceoil TG4 which was held in the National Concert Hall on Easter Sunday 2022.
Edwina Guckian is a dancer, choreographer, film maker and cultural producer from Drumsna, Co. Leitrim. Growing up in a household surrounded by traditional music and dance, her style is greatly influenced by the local music of Leitrim and Roscommon. She began teaching dance at age 16 and in 2004, she founded Áirc Damhsa Culture Club – a traditional dance club for children and young people.
Edwina is also the Artistic Director of Leitrim Dance Project and has produced events focused on traditional arts and dance. In 2020 and 2021, she managed the Modern Day Mummers project, where she – along with singer Fionnuala Maxwell and accordionist Brian Mostyn – visited the homes of elderly people across Leitrim, dancing, playing music and performing.
The project aimed to revive the mumming tradition and break the social isolation experienced by many elderly people during the pandemic.
Other recent projects include Steps of Freedom, a documentary on the history of Irish traditional dance (2021); Sowing the Seed, a project aimed at reviving the customs and folk traditions of Ireland associated with straw (2021); and in November 2020, she featured in an episode of the Irish Traditional Music Archive’s Drawing from the Well online series.
