DAVID Bolger, artistic director of CoisCeim, set about to "form a contemporary dance company that would capture the spirit and convey the energy of Ireland's young people". Four years later, he presents us with an accessible and brash brand of dance theatre.

His new work, Back In Town opens on Tuesday at the Samuel Beckett Centre, TCD, as part of this year's Dance Fest. Inspired by a book of lyrics and poems by Phil Lynott, Bolger was drawn to the gentle, lyrical words which tended to get swamped by the hard edged rock sound of Thin Lizzy: "When I contacted Phil's mother, Philomena, she was delighted I was focusing on Phil's softer side and that this was being done through dance, given the physical nature of Phil's performances. I felt vindicated when she said that. It was a stamp of approval for me."

Bolger's craft as a choreographer was never questioned, although initial reactions to CoisCeim included accusations, from some older members of the dance community, that they were "all style and no substance". He is now in his early 30s and lately his work has become more thoughtful, an initial overreliance on balletic vocabulary has dissipated and his works are now driven by a far more base physicality.

In conversation he uses words such as "accessible" and "enjoy able" unashamedly, and this reflects his own history as a dancer and choreographer. Initial training with Dublin City Ballet led to an offer by Noel Pearson to audition for HMS Pinafore, which played Dublin and London. Working with choreographer Mavis Ascot on this production was an eye opener, he remembers - in how hard, she worked the dancers and, ultimately, in what he describes as "the sense of fun she created within the choreography".

His eyes were further opened working on West Side Stor, as a "swing" - a term used in musicals for understudy to many parts. "It was a reconstruction of the original Jerome Robbins choreography, and it was amazing to see how he fitted the movement to the music. Because I had to know all the parts I had to be completely aware of the structure of the dance and of the music. That taught me a hell of a lot.

With such experience in theatre, it was no surprise his first dance theatre work Silent Scream, at the New Music New Dance Festival in 1993 displayed a pacing and drama often absent in a debut piece. "Yes, that experience stood to me. But I also did a lot of research on the piece, so the act of creating it was quite simple," he says. "I had a clear idea of what I wanted to say.

"At that stage I had danced with Rubato and with John Scott and had a feeling of what other choreographers were doing and I didn't want to do the same. I wanted to do something different."

After Silent Scream and the subsequent Mermaids, he formed CoisCeim to create a base where he could "work with a group of people and develop a style of dance theatre, a way of communicating through dance in a fulfilling way". He also wanted to "try to perform to people that might not necessarily go out and see dance".

But aren't other dance companies doing that? "I think they are, but I want to go for a different audience.

"There is a much bigger audience out there and I want to reach them as well."

At the publication of the Arts Council's The Arts Plan, a blueprint for funding and development the council revealed a plan to guarantee funding for three companies over three years. CoisCeim and others, it seemed, would have to scavenge for the leftovers, but Bolger was not unduly worried. "At that point we were one and a half years old and they took no risks and picked three established companies to fund. I think, by the way that that put a huge amount of pressure on the three companies. And instead of bonding the dance community it managed to separate the three companies from the rest of the dance community.

"The smaller print said that they were going to fund, other companies on a project basis and I suppose we saw ourselves falling into that category and were happy enough with that at the time. In any case I think the three or five year plan as it applied to dance is now dead. I've heard nothing about it."

CoisCeim has consolidated its financial position with a highly efficient administration and a year round programme. "We're going 12 months of the year now and that's what it takes if you're really serious about sustaining yourself. You don't just get money and go out and do a show somewhere. You have to develop it, do audience development, workshops and all that." After its time on the Arts Council's blind spot, CoisCeim now receives a sizeable annual grant and may soon approach the funding level of Dance Theatre of Ireland, Irish Modern Dance Theatre and Daghdha.

Another questionable aspect of The Arts Plan was its repeated wish to "lay the foundations for a distinctive indigenous theatre dance . . . informed by traditional music and dance". Bolger is one of many uneasy with such a statement. "I mean, what is that? What is Irish and Irishness? I am very interested in Irish culture and very proud to be Irish so I would want embrace that. But where do you lay the foundations for this style? In Irish tradition dance? What about people in clubs, Irish people, dancing in Irish clubs? Is that Irish? What they wanted has to come from within, not be imposed from outside, particularly by a funding body."

He agrees with the general perception of Irish dance being rudderless at present. "There was a sort of buzz for a few months a while back. Gaye Tanham was appointed as Dance Officer (at the Arts Council) and it looked like the Arts Council had finally addressed the dire situation that had existed before. L'Imaginaire Irlandais helped a great deal as well. It was great to have so much dance as part of the overall festival and it gave Irish dance companies such a pride in their work. In France, people were coming up to you and talking to you at length about dance and about your work. They weren't treating you like a second class citizen, they were talking to you as an artist and not someone who just did a bit of dancing.

"There is still so much to do here for dance. I still see dancers leaving this country left, right and centre. So many wonderful dancers who will never come back, never be seen perform here and that I think is a real shame."

Links with the theatre have not been completely broken and he works still works on plays and film, including Tarry Flynn, now showing at the Abbey. Certainly if the current momentum can be maintained then the future for the company is very promising. As Charles Lamb would have said: "A dance company that is young in years may be old in hours, if it has lost no time".