Michael Londra is one of the one of the most recognised voices in Irish music, touring the globe sharing his incredible voice with fans.
The Wexford, Ireland native performed with Riverdance and earned two Emmy-nominations for his show Beyond Celtic. Now, he is taking his influential role in the music and theatre scene to help others and encourage understanding and compassion. Recently, Michaelcame across a video which displayed a beautiful moment of solidarity between police offers and community leaders at a local community center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The group met at the location for a special service in honor of George Floyd, the African American man who was killed while in police custody in Minneapolis. His senseless death, caught on video, shocked the world and led to protests across the United States and world.
The video took place in Lincoln, Nebraska, a city where Londra’s latest show, Celtic Fire, plans to perform to a sold-out crowd in March 2021, one year after its original scheduled date was cancelled due to Covid-19.
Seeing the cooperation between the police and protesters was heartwarming. “The Police and the protestors were dancin’ up a storm, “ said Londra. And, he loved what he saw on the video which inspired him to get involved.
Many dancers across the world felt the loss as feiseanna were cancelled following the distancing guidelines imposed by Covid-19 restrictions. Despite these new obstacles, dance teachers have risen to the challenge, coming up with new and exciting ways to keep the light of dance alive.
Mary Page Dalrymple, TCRG and husband, Kevin on their way to their see their first competitor.
When the Erickson Academy was forced to cancel the Queen City Feis, an annual tradition in Cincinnati, Ohio, McGing Irish Dance teachers dreamed up the McGing Irish Dancers Porch Feis. "For many of our dancers they only attend 2-3 feiseanna a year and this was one of them, so we wanted to do something special since we couldn't Feis." Madeline Duckworth, TCRG shared. When Mary McGing Duckworth and Madeline Duckworth came up with the idea to bring the feis to the dancers, the entire teaching staff was onboard and so excited to help! So on May 9 they hit the road; 7 teachers and 42 judges drove more than 300 miles all over Cincinnati. All told they visited 42 houses with 60 dancers participating.The teachers acted as judges (and musicians!) and many had their husbands and/or children with them too. The teachers made their own signs for every dancers that they were visiting. Each dancer also received a medal and everyone won 1st place. Duckworth told IDM, "It really was a special day and lifted the kids spirits."
Two weeks later, inspired by the McGing Front Porch Feis, the Cleary School hosted their Feis in Place. As Los Angeles County remained on lockdown, Cleary teachers spent three days traveling back and forth across Los Angeles to see nearly every student perform in their driveway or patio.
Irish Dancing Magazine has launched an extensive amount of online content over the past several weeks including a vast Covid-19 Resource area for teachers, parents, camps, and feis organizers on IDM's website - www.irishdancing.com AND new dance content on IDM's YouTube channel.
The Covid-19 resource area includes recommended actions by the CDC, the Irish Government and Safe Sport along with other information specifically for dance teachers. Click here to check out the Covid-19 resources.
In an effort to keep dancers inspired, Irish Dancing Magazine enlisted the assistance of two dance stars - David Geaney and Tyler Schwartz with a new YouTube show - Tuesday Tricks.
The idea behind the show is to unravel the mystery behind some of the trickiest heavy shoe dance moves.
Episode 4 launched May 19, 2020 and with Tyler Schwartz demonstrating how to incorporate clicks into trebles to create a "wow" rhythm sequence.
Check out the latest episode here!
Inside Irish Dancing, Episode 1 debuted in Mid-May on YouTube. INSIDE IRISH DANCING gets up close and personal with some of the most talented dancers on the planet.
Episode 1 focuses on three of the Irish Dance world’s talented artists including Emma Warren, a dance & musical theatre star who is currently cast in Les Misérables in London’s West End.
Next up is Alan Kenefick, a World Champion and renowned choreographer who created the dance sensation ProdiJIG.
Irish Dancing Magazine’s current cover star, Dakota Courtney chimes in with what life is like on lockdown along with some of her favorite dance moments.
Irish Dancing Magazine's YouTube channel has also been expanded with other helpful videos, from how to lace a soft shoe to makeup tutorials for dancers and a collaboration video with Lord of the Dance with the Dance for Hope Challenge which engaged the fans of Irish Dancing Magazine to support the frontline workers!
Discover 10 years of Irish Dancing Magazine adjudicator interviews with more than 50 of the world’s top judges. Learn about the judges’ lives, how they mark dancers, what their pet peeves are and more! A vital resource for EVERY competitive dancer and teacher.
