Music and dance group Dublin Irish Dance travels to tell the story of Irish immigration to America with their "Stepping Out" performance. The show “Stepping Out” follows lovers Ciara and Aidan as Ciara decides to immigrate to America, and what they bring to and find in the new world. According to the event’s program, the performers for Dublin Irish Dance have performed around the world, with many working with “Riverdance,” Michael Flatley’s “Lord of the Dance” and “Celtic Woman.” The group combines step dance with its band to tell the “Stepping Out” story, featuring performances from guitar player and singer Ryan O’Shaughnessy. O’Shaughnessy has been into tap dance and singing since he was a child, and joined the Irish television show “Fair City” when he was eight. O’Shaughnessy has been with Dublin Irish Dance for a year, since he was asked to join, and has enjoyed getting to meet people from all different walks of life. “I like to jump headfirst into the unknown," O’Shaughnessy said. The show is split into two parts, the first revolving around Ciara and Aidan in Ireland, and the second following Ciara as she heads to America. Once there, Ciara is welcomed by other immigrants who came before her, including a man named Sean who takes interest in her. Aidan later arrives in the US as well, and the rest of the show centers on Aidan and Sean competing for Ciara. Choreographer Ciaran Connelly and Celtic Entertainment choreographed and directed the performance, which the dancers had a week to learn before visiting UCA last month. “For the dancers, it was a really difficult task to absorb all this information in a week, but they’re such professionals that they’re able to take this and really learn so quickly and get the show together,” O’Shaughnessy said. The band, meanwhile, had just two days to learn their parts, then came to Conway to kick of their tour, with which they spread Irish culture and what Irish dance has done for America. With so many experienced performers from even Australia and New Zealand, O’Shaughnessy said the caliber of dancing for the group is top-notch. “Every day I learn something from these guys who have been on the road before,” O’Shaughnessy said. “I think we have a really good relationship within the group now where everyone’s learning from each other, and it’s kind of helping to make the show even better every day.” The story of “Stepping Out” aims to show the effect Irish immigration had on American culture, but growing up in Ireland, O’Shaughnessy never thought about what the culture would mean to him. “I’ve grown up immersed in that atmosphere, so to me, it’s peculiar for someone not to have a connection that’s as strong as my connection is to my roots,” O’Shaughnessy said. While performing, O’Shaughnessy has the audience sing along with the song “Lonesome Road,” teaching a section of four lines. O’Shaughnessy recounted how, after one performance of the song, an audience member took the line “take me home” to heart, and approached the group’s fiddler, Brian Murphy, and he indeed went home with her. Murphy said he joined Dublin Irish Dance after receiving an e-mail from the group’s manager, and sent in an audition tape. After only six days back home following a 6-month tour, Murphy then started up with the group, and said you get used to performing for so many people in time. “After 10-12 gigs, it feels normal,” Murphy said. For O’Shaughnessy, who will represent Ireland in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest, the future could lead anywhere. “Any opportunity that comes to me, I grab the bull by the horns and take it for a ride,” O’Shaughnessy said.
Audience members at the Dublin Irish Dance show "Stepping Out" at UCA's Reynolds Performance Hall Feb. 17. Fans like 3-year-old Brantley Shipp-Nutt got signed CDs after the show.
0 Comments
|
Brandon JonesAnd the videos, which I am slowly getting better at. Videos done with either Adobe Premier or VSDC Free Video Editor. Archives
April 2018
Categories |