This article is from page 25 of the 2008-04-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 25 JPG
FOLLOWING THE unprecendeted success of the first run of Rhythms of Ireland in Australia, which sold- out 35,000 seats in a matter of weeks, the show, with a strong Ennis influ- ence, has just begun its second tour down under.
Created by Ennis dancer Michael Donnellan — still the only dancer to have performed the lead male role in Riverdance, Lord of the Dance and Magic of the Dance — Rhythms of Ireland travels all over Australia for six weeks until the middle of next month and is expected to continue the success of the first run.
This week, Donnellan’s show runs
in the cultural city of Adelaide be- fore it moves on to Hamilton and OE seen
“It’s been a phenomenal hit in Aus- tralia,” said Donnellan. “It goes to show the hunger that exists for Irish culture and everybody associated with the show is delighted with the response.”
Donnellan himself has plans to bring the show to Ennis in the com- ing months and says that such an op- portunity would provide a massive amount of excitement.
“It would be a great buzz and at the moment, we’re looking at bringing it to Glor, hopefully within the year.”
He’s in the process of returning to Ennis himself in the coming weeks
once he completes his PE training in London and the qualification ar- rives in June. It comes on the back of a unique MA in Dance Performance from University of Limerick and coupled with the continuation of his dance school, Cuchulainn it’s been a busy time for Donnellan.
“It’s been tough going for sure con- sidering everything that’s up and running at the moment, but there has been great support as well, particu- larly from the parents and pupils at Cuchulainn. They’ve been very loyal and I’m extremely grateful for their support.”
So far, it’s all been about spreading the popularity of Irish dancing and the latest Australian tour will copper-
fasten the discipline down under.
‘“We’ve tried to capture the sound and spirit of Ireland and what’s re- sulted is an exhilarating show of tra- ditional rhythms, song and dance. To me, it’s the most exciting Irish dance and music production at this present time. And so far, it has been seen by over two-million worldwide.”
With Glor in his sights, it’s the En- nis public that will provide the great- est buzz for Donnellan.