Looking back on 30 years of dancing

THIS year marks 30 years since Ennis man and champion Irish dancer, Michael Donnellan first learned his one, two, threes, and in those three decades not only has he world titles under his belt but next month he launches a new tour with his latest stage production.
From Cusack Road in Ennis, Michael came to the world of dancing accidentally. “It’s funny how it happened because my mum danced and my brother danced. On one particular day when the O’Rourke Irish Dancing school teacher Maureen had an injury, my mum went down to help out and there was no one to mind me. Before I knew it I was jumping around the hall. It kind of happened by accident to a certain extent, I was not pushed into it. But I am told it took me a lot of time to get my one, two, threes,” he explained.
Having continued with the dancing, his passion for it grew and grew. Of course, it helped that he was being rewarded for his technique, taking two world Irish dancing champion titles – his first aged just 12, two All-Ireland champion titles, four Munster champion titles, four British national champion titles and six Great Britain champion titles.
Music and dance were also nurtured in the home, with Michael’s mother taking an All-Ireland Conradh na Gaeilge Dancing Championship in her day, while his great-grandfather, Richard King was also a Leinster champion. On his father’s side there is a direct link to the Kilfenora Céilí Band, a band that Michael performs with regularly, most recently at the All-Ireland Fleadh.
Aged 18, Michael joined Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance, performing the lead role in London’s West End theatre in the Coleseum, the home of the English National Opera. One year later, he joined Riverdance and that same year won the senior World Irish Dancing Championship.
“I retired from the competitive scene then and concentrated on the professional area, which was a major decision, because to do both was really unbelievable. We were performing 300 shows a year with Riverdance and rehearsing three to four hours a day and then doing a two-and-a-half-hour show, eight nights a week and then on top of that you had to practice for competitions.”
Michael stayed with Riverdance, performing in the leading role at London’s West End for three years, where he danced in over 900 shows. In 1999, things began to go in a different direction for the Clare man.
“I directed and choreographed Magic of the Dance, which went on to tour in 503 cities across 48 countries in only five and a half years and continues to tour to this day,” he explained.
Michael decided then to share his many talents by teaching. A PE teacher by trade, he decided to go into Irish dance teaching and opened the Cúchulainn School of Irish Dancing in Ennis and in later years opened a branch near Hannover in Germany.
Opportunity knocked in 2007 to direct the newly acclaimed Rhythms of Ireland show, which is due to embark on a new tour later this year.
“People often say – ‘not another one’, ‘what is new about this one?’ but with this show we went for quality as opposed to quantity so there are only 15 dancers in the show, all of which have either been world champion Irish dancers or have held lead roles in shows like Riverdance, Lord of the Dance and so on. It also showcases wide varieties of dance, including tap, sean nós, flamenco, céilí, competition-style dancing, Lindy Jive Hop – an American dance form, salsa and your regular 100 miles per hour hard shoe show stopper,” Michael added.
He described the show as fundamentally an Irish dance show but said it is completely different from what has been out there previously, as it aims to merge the old ceolchoirm, music, song and dance. He recognised that storylines of good versus evil and love story themes have been essentially “flogged to death” and rather than build a story into the show, the production takes the audience on a journey, chronicling dancing throughout the ages.
To date the show has toured Australia, New Zealand, Germany and Asia. It will be returning to the circuit on a new Australian tour in October and from there will open in Tennessee in November. In the next year or so, Michael plans to bring the show back to Irish shores and to the local stage.
“One must go where the market is strong. We have stayed away from the UK and Ireland for now but we will be bringing the show home when the time is right. Australia, America, Germany and Asia is where Irish dance show market is strongest currently. Due to the popularity of Irish dance in mainland Europe since that famous Eurovision interval in 1994, what has happened has been phenomenal, people have started to see Irish dance and Irish dancers in a different way. No longer is it the musician getting paid and the dancer told to get up there do a few steps and here’s a bottle of Fanta.
“I think it’s the fact that there’s such an energy about it. It’s exciting and people do it for different reasons. What is amazing is 1,722 Irish dance teachers now teach across 35 countries outside of the traditional Ireland, UK, USA and Australia. But now the World Irish Dancing Championship really is a world dancing championship because they are absolutely everywhere, with classes now in full swing in places like South Africa, Brazil, Japan, Israel, China, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy and across Europe,” he said.
Michael finds teaching a rewarding experience, with those of all ages coming to him for lessons for a variety of reasons.
“The interesting part of it for me is when you teach the adult classes. They’re the ones that want to do it for different reasons and it’s never dull. Seventy is the eldest I have and she never misses a lesson.
“The next hour then you are teaching someone going for a world championship and then you have a five-year-old and then you could be teaching the elite of the elite for a dance show and that’s their livelihood. Some do it for cultural reasons, some to get fit or to lose weight, some to get out of the house and others to win trophies. It’s the variety in teaching for me that I enjoy,” he admitted.
Although he has been out of the intense professional performing scene, Michael says he still holds a grá for performance and manages to fit in a few performances a year dancing with the Anúna group.
“I do various performances here and there, probably 20 a year, where I used to do 20 in a fortnight but that’s ok. I still enjoy performing and there is no substitute when you adore what you do,” he concluded.
For more information about Cúchulainn School of Irish dancing, call Michael on 087 4186452.