A question of taste: Dylan Quinn

Dylan Quinn is a dancer and choreographer from Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, and is about to tour with the Firkin Crane’s Dx2, a double bill of contemporary dance duets. Venues include Firkin Crane, Cork, on November 18; and Siamsa Tíre, Tralee, on November 22. Details at www.firkincrane.ie

Best recent book you’ve read: Had a great laugh working my way through Ciaran Mc Menamin’s debut book, Skintown… recognising more than I probably should.

Best recent film: One I have rewatched recently, and really appreciated, is Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry.

Best recent show/performance you’ve seen: I am a little biased, as I worked on the performance, but I really enjoyed Prime Cut’s ‘RED’, at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast in April this year. It was a visually-striking performance and did what I love about theatre, as it made me feel and think about things I am interested in.

Best piece of music you’ve been listening to lately (new or old): ‘CC’, by Sega Bodega and Shygirl. It’s superb. Also, I have really enjoyed Morrissey’s recent album, which is a return to form.

First ever piece of music or art that moved you: Seeing British dance company Phoenix Dance at my local theatre in Enniskillen, at the time an all-black, male contemporary dance company. I just remember thinking ‘that is what I want to do’. I have moved somewhat from that aesthetic, but remember the feeling I experienced at the time.

The best dance performance you’ve ever seen: I remember, during my training, going to see Rosas and Ultima Vez in Brussels and being totally blown away at the time… but for artistic creativity, I just love Meg Stuart: Damaged Goods and a performance of Built to Last, at Dublin Dance Festival in 2015.

TV viewing: Mostly news and documentaries. I really enjoyed Simon Reeve’s Russia travel documentary recently on the BBC. I am also guilty of the odd A Place in the Sun, Big Band Theory, and old reruns of Friends.

Radio listening and/or podcasts: I am a big fan of John Kelly on Lyric, though the move back to Mystery Train has left me doing most of my listening by catch-up. BBC 6 Music is a regular listen, as is BBC Radio 4 and Sunday morning with RTÉ Radio 1. I do TED and Sound Cloud for podcasts a fair bit, including the likes of the Abbey Talks.

You’re curating your dream festival — which artists are on the bill, living or dead? I would love to programme a festival with Pina Bausch, Arvo Pärt, and Picasso.

Your best celebrity encounter: I was asked to help Colin Farrell do some mock set-dancing for the film, Miss Julie. After a conversation between myself, Colin, and the director, Liv Ullmann, it became clear Colin was more than capable of pretending to do some Irish set-dancing without my help. I, therefore, concentrated on teaching his co-star, Jessica Chastain, to waltz.

You can portal back to any period of human cultural history or dance event — where, when, and why? In terms of dance, I would be interested to see the impact of Nijinsky’s ‘The Rite of Spring’ — so Paris in 1913. However, I would have to take the chance to portal back to the birth of our religious belief systems, and the creation of doctrine, to see if there is any semblance of truth in any of it… or maybe more to confirm my belief that it’s all a bunch of stories to control people and power.

Unsung hero — individual or group you think don’t get the praise they deserve: Parents, and particularly stay-at-home parents. The work done by stay-at-home parents, which is predominately mothers, is, I believe, totally undervalued by our society. We prioritise paid work, in relation to our contribution to society, so much more.

You are king for a day — what’s your first decree?

Dissolve my powers. I strongly disagree with the idea of a monarchy: no one person is better than any other person, by virtue of their birth. It is a ludicrous idea and should have been abolished a long time ago.