Joan Denise Moriarty (1912?-1992) was a pupil of Marie Rambert – and an outstanding traditional Irish dancer and musician – who brought professional ballet to Ireland. She created over a hundred ballets for her companies. Her work is described in this book by ninety people competent to assess her achievement: by dancers from her two professional companies, guest artists, producers and choreographers; by pupils and members of the Cork Ballet Company; by musicians who played for the dance; by supporters, associates, friends and relatives.
The story of the development of dance in Cork is told by her lifelong collaborator, the late professor of music and composer Aloys Fleischmann. The reasons why in 1989 the Arts Council ceased subsidising professional dance in Ireland are outlined by the editor on the basis of a study of the relevant Arts Council files to which she was granted acccess by the Minister of Arts. The book illustrates what a wealth of talent small communities can harbour, and how it was nurtured and brought to blossom by the incentive and persistent effort of an exceptional pioneering woman who had the gift of inspiring and organising a communal effort around a cause which these people made their own.