Rhythm of the dance

The National Dance Company of Ireland, featuring The Young Irish Tenors, will tour the UK this summer from 8 July with the rousing programme Rhythm of the Dance, opening in Glasgow at the King’s Theatre, and going on to visit a multitude of venues such as Stoke-On-Trent, Birmingham, Stockport, Milton Keynes, Southport, Swansea, Dartford, Wimbledon, Crawley, Skegness, Torquay, Portsmouth, Woking, Scarborough, Hull and Blackpool. The exciting live show celebrates the history of Ireland in addition to the art of Irish dance, taken from the disciplined tradition of the Celtic Step. The Rhythm of the Dance show is now in its 15th year, performing to critical acclaim. It has been seen by over 4.8 million people in 59 countries, including the United States, China and Russia, but the show has rarely visited the United Kingdom. The summer will see the show visit a number of towns and cities around the country, set to delight audiences all over. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPM-nvagEB8 Rhythm of the Dance will celebrate a renewed vigour in Irish culture, embracing the traditional and the current, presenting dance, song, and musical performances all over the country. The cast of 19 dancers, 5 musicians, and 3 singers are a travelling production of Irish talents, most of whom have been performing since they were very young children. The dancers are led by Marty McKay, who also danced in Michael Flatley’s hugely successful show, Lord of the Dance. Rhythm of the Dance is choreographed by Doireann Carney. The Young Irish Tenors are accompanied by the five musicians on stage, who play rare and haunting musical instruments such as the Celtic Bouzouki, the Cittern, the Octave mandolin, the melodeon (Irish accordion), Tea whistle and Pennywhistle flutes, century-old harps, banjos, fiddles, guitars and various hand drums. Rhythm of the Dance's original music is composed by Carl Hession.