Artwork for Christy Dorrity's debut fiction novel “Awakening”
The experiences and emotions of main character McKayla, a teenager navigating everything from dating to family tragedy, are universally understood -- regardless of whether the reader knows how to properly tie ghillie laces.
While settings (feiseanna held in school gymnasiums, dance studios) and subjects (hornpipes, solo dresses) are typically reserved for conversation among those close to the step dancing scene, Dorrity has a way of briefly explaining it all to readers from outside the Irish dance community through the eyes of McKayla, who, herself, is completely new to Irish dance and learning all the lingo along the way.
At it’s core, “Awakening” is a coming-of-age story about a teen who, like other adolescents, is finding herself -- it just so happens that her journey to self-identify is complicated by the fact that she’s an atypical girl with special, mystical abilities.
It isn’t until her Aunt Avril suddenly appears in town that McKayla begins to recognize her powers -- which, she learns, run in the family -- or how to harness them. Avril, a psychic employed by the FBI, coaches her niece, helping her to channel her own special powers while investigating a series of mysterious murders in their small Wyoming community.
Though she strength in her newly discovered abilities, McKayla struggles in other ways: The mean girl at school tries to make her life a living hell, the cute boy in class breaks her heart and embarrasses her, and there’s a hellish shape-shifting creature out to kill her and her loved ones.
Through all the rough spots, McKayla falls back on the support of close friends, family and the mute janitor who reluctantly agrees to teach her how to Irish dance. That same dancing janitor ends up saving McKayla’s little sister’s life at one point.
The relationship between McKayla and Irish dance is one that any Irish dancer will recognize and appreciate instantly. Author Dorrity, an adult Irish dancer, keenly understands the kinds of thoughts that rush through any Irish dancer’s mind when his or her favorite hornpipe plays, or when beats of a treble jig perfectly mesh with the music.
“Awakening,” inspired by Celtic mythology, is a rich read geared toward a young adult audience. The first in what will be a series, “Awakening” packages lighter themes like puppy love and popularity with heavier subject matter such as death and devastation. Every plot twist and detail holds meaning, demanding the reader’s full attention -- but it’s not a difficult task to remain attentive as Dorrity’s writing is both breezy and engaging.
TapTronic getting down in the NYC Subway (Photo: Brian Doherty)
TapTronic, a group of Irish dancers known for choreographing steps to electronic tracks, released another video last week – this time setting up on (and under) the streets of New York City.
In the new video, the Irish dancing men of TapTronic – Ciaran Plummer, Zach Klingenberg and recent recruit Colin Fleck
–
are joined by the Marrow Dance troupe, a California-based company, for the first third of the video. The three men of TapTronic remain seated as female dancers in whimsical white dresses perform a sorrowful choreographed number.
“The haunting vocals at the start of the start of the song immediately captured our attention but had us wondering whether or not to even dance until the ‘drop’ in the track,” Klingenberg and Plummer wrote in an email. “With that, we knew that something needed to be done with the chilling introduction to the track which led us to contact our long time, very talented friend and choreographer Jason Gorman.”
The decision to shoot against the vibrant background of New York City’s bright lights
–
a stark contrast to the dark studio footage featuring Marrow Dance
–
wasn’t entirely intentional, but it works.
“Looking at it now, perhaps the contrast between the black and white intro and the flood of color throughout the NYC footage is one of the major things that allowed this piece to work so well,” the TapTronic men added.
Hammerstep tears up the "America's Got Talent" stage.
Fans of NBC's "America's Got Talent" got an eyeful of jaw-dropping choreography when Hammerstep -- a group of dancers that meshes Irish dance and hip-hop -- emerged on the televised national talent show June 25. Even a panel of celebrity judges couldn't help but be blown away by the level of talent possessed by these dancers.
"Your skill level is so high that you're impossible to ignore," "AGT" judge and painfully blunt radio host Howard Stern said of the dance crew.
Hammerstep co-founder Jason Oremus was tight-lipped about the group's status on the show during a Skype interview earlier this month, but he was willing to share some of his own insights and personal experiences from the audition round.
"The reaction couldn’t have been better," Oremus said, referring to the judges' initial reactions to the dancers appearing on stage donning black sweatsuits and gas masks. "The fact that there were confused initially -- there were furrowed brows, confused looks on peoples' faces -- we liked that. We wanted that."
"We didn’t want to come off as this all-pleasing, all-encompassing, generic style of dance. That wouldn't be controversial enough for what we are trying to do. We wanted to be hard-hitting and edgier," said Oremus, adding that Hammerstep aims to blur gender and cultural lines, break down barriers among different dance forms and make a strong statement about current social trends. "We are somewhat androgynous, somewhat anonymous, but, at the same time, completely unified."
After Hammerstep's performance, the dancers were showered with a slew of kudos from the judges' tables, including four unanimous "yes" votes and Stern's surprising words of praise, pushing Hammerstep on to the show's next round in Las Vegas.
"We were a little concerned about Howard Stern because he doesn’t always love dance," Oremus admitted.
Although pleased with the judges' and audience's reaction to the performance, which Oremus and Hammerstep co-founder Garrett Coleman choreographed, the crew does want to push percussive dance boundaries much further.
"We want to rip it harder. Even that was too docile," Oremus said with an enthusiastic tone that would lead one to believe Hammerstep will continue dishing out unprecedented, awe-inspiring choreographic creations.
And while there's been no official statement from "America's Got Talent" about Hammerstep's unannounced exclusion from the television show, the figurative show will go on for Oremus and his cohorts.
"We really want to get the full-scale touring show going, and we’re getting closer to realizing that goal rather than it being a bit of a distant dream," Oremus said, adding that he's looking to assemble a team willing to work on that project, and interested parties should contact him. Get in touch with Hammerstep on Facebook or through the group's official website.
Ciaran Plummer and Zach Klingenberg, the men of TapTronic, rehearse in
the dance studio. Photo by Brian Doherty Photography.
The men of TapTronic stomped onto the Internet scene about a year ago, and the fast-footed duo shows no signs of stopping the stepping.
Since posting viral video "Crave You" to YouTube in April 2012, Irish dancers Ciaran Plummer and Zach Klingenberg toured the world with "Lord of the Dance" and managed to choreograph and shoot two more high-quality music videos featuring percussive dancing to the sounds of electronic tracks -- all while living on the road.
The latest remix music video, "Hold Your Breath," shows the guys' evolution of style and showmanship. There's a noticeable focus on hip-hop, and the addition of world-class Irish dancer Colin Fleck contributes to TapTronic's evolving identity.
"It’s still a fusion of Irish dance and electronic music, but we’re trying to see how we can get involved in other styles of music," Klingenberg said during a recent interview by Skype. "For me, it's cool to start to bridge the gap to move into hip-hop."
Plummer said the transition into different musical genres isn't one that will be abrupt, so fans of their electronic remixes need not fret.
"We wouldn’t go from electronic to old shcool rock-and-roll. It would evolve, but it wouldn’t jump," Plummer said. "Next video you’ll see it evolve even more as we keep trying to grow."
Adding another dancer to the mix for "Hold Your Breath" presented a new, exciting and necessary challenge for TapTronic.
Klingenberg trained with Fleck, the third dancer to appear in "Hold Your Breath," as a kid. Then they toured together with Plummer for "Lord of the Dance."
"He’s going to be pretty regular," Plummer said of Fleck. "From the beginning, as soon as we wanted to expand, he was on the top of our list."
The TapTronic founders do admit that they've had a formula and purpose all along, but they're pretty allusive when it comes to revealing details. They won't fully disclose the "grand plan," but they do admit to seeing TapTronic expand, and eventually, they'll need a more dancers on board to accomplish the goals they've set. Plummer and Klingenberg said that they plan to continue bringing other dancers into the mix, building what will likely become a TapTronic troupe.
Aside from the promise of growing the group to include more dancers, the guys also announced that they were invited to dance at the North American National Irish Dance Championships next week in Anaheim, Calif -- much to the delight of many dancers, undoubtedly.
With three Internet hits, TapTronic has a solid track record of giving their audience members -- many of whom are young female Irish dancers -- what they want. They guys have been so well received, in fact, that Klingenberg was named Irish Dancing Magazine's Man of the Year for 2012 -- a title annually bestowed upon one young man in the Irish dance world.
"It went right to his head," Plummer joked.
"It’s been pretty tough being this ridiculously good looking," Klingenberg retorted, laughing.
For more information about what's in store for TapTronic, visit the official TapTronic Facebook page.
Mollie McCabe, of Buffalo, N.Y., Irish step dances along the shores
of Lake Erie in her "Heartbeat of Home" audition video.
Open auditions for "Heartbeat of Home" -- the dance fusion show produced by the creators of "Riverdance" -- began Monday, and the competition is as fierce as it is diverse.
Judges responsible for casting the new show will be watching video auditions uploaded to YouTube by dancers of various genres, including Irish, flamenco, Latin and street dancing. So far, Irish dancer videos outweigh dancers of other forms in the competition.
The quality of Irish dance applicants is unreal. Many of those auditioning are regional, national and even world champions.
Irish dancers of the competitive circuit will recognize a few names and faces, including former CLRG world champions Ashley Smith and Olivia Griffin, and current senior men's world title holder Tyler Schwartz, just to name a few of the step dancing big-timers competing for a spot on the "Heartbeat" stage.
Professional show dancer Owen Jones' video channels a bit of Irish dance nostalgia with footage of him dancing at a child, followed by a recent video clip of him dancing on a show stage. Tom Brosnan and Erin Trevena of "Brosena," the dancing duo that made it to the semi-final round of Sky1's "Got to Dance," both threw their hats into the "Heartbeat" ring, too.
Then, there are the dancing dark horses -- those who don't hold any fancy titles or have professional shows listed on their resumes but clearly possess talent, showmanship and energy worthy of the "Heartbeat" judges' attention.
Korean-born Mollie McCabe shot her a capella video in freezing temperatures in Buffalo, N.Y., yet her beats are both precise and audibly crisp regardless of the undeniably harsh dancing conditions.
Lisa Murphy, of Brooklyn, also stands out from the crowd. Her video takes an unexpected twist when she transitions from trebles to music video moves.
Audition videos continue to pop up on the official "Heartbeat" talent search website. According to judge Padraic Moyles, the top 10 videos at the end of the online audition cycle (later this month) will be invited to try out for the show in person. Those not ranked in the top according to viewer votes still have a chance though. The judges, Moyles said, will identify dancers possessing appealing show qualities and invite them to formally audition as well.
Prodijig, winners of Sky1's "Got to Dance," claim the No. 1 spot on our list.
Last year's most popular Irish dance videos were innovative and surprising, and just when we thought Irish dance couldn't get that much more exciting, 2012 packed a wallop with dubstep-inspired step dancing, "Got to Dance" champs and One Direction treble reels.
Based solely on pageviews attributed to individual Irish dancing videos uploaded to YouTube in the last year, these are the top 12 Irish dance videos of 2012:
1. Prodijig's finals performance on "Got to Dance"
1,004,987 views
Prodijig earned a mere honorable mention on the 2011 list, mainly because the video from the group's "Got to Dance" tryout had been uploaded right at the very end of the year when other videos had months to amass video views. The band of former Riverdancers with robotic precision ended up winning gold in the televised dance show, so it's no mystery how these fierce dancers skyrocketed to the top of this list.
Congratulations, Prodijig, on winning "Got to Dance" and the No. 1 slot on our list!
2. Irish dance routine to One Direction's "Na Na Na"
693,224 views
Directioners -- that, I hear, is how One Direction fans refer to themselves -- are a force all their own, strong enough to make or break a viral video, apparently. These five Irish dancers from Michigan choreographed a routine to the popular boy band's song "Na Na Na." Each girl is dressed as a member of the English-Irish band.
3. TapTronic's "Crave You" remix
633,685 views
Seemingly out of nowhere, TapTronic blew the roof off Irish dance as we knew it with this video. With high production quality, perfectly poignant music selection (dubstep having reached its pop culture peak in 2012) and insanely intricate choreography on two sets of super-speedy feet, Irish dancers -- and, well, EVERYONE ELSE -- could not look away.
4. Irish dancing to Michael Jackson
475,741 views
This little dancer won our hearts and our pageviews with an adorable dance to a Michael Jackson medley. The dancer, described in the YouTube video's about section as being just 8 years old, mesmerized shoppers at a Derry mall.
5. Prodijig's semi-finals performance on "Got to Dance"
400,363 views
That's two videos in the top five most watched Irish dance videos on YouTube for Prodijig! A cherry on top for the dancers already claiming the coveted No. 1 position on the list.
6. VirtuREEL Irish Dancing
198,045 views
Discover Ireland, the same organization that sponsored the Sneaky Steppers' St. Patrick's Day flashmob (last year's No. 1 video on the list), introduced this trippy Irish dance project that got commuters in Sydney's Central Station kicking up their heels.
7. BBC's Step McGovern Irish dancing on air
196,813 views
8. Conan visits Chicago's Irish American Heritage Center
176,793 views
Irish-American late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien brought his camera crew to Chicago where he learned a step or two from the Trinity Irish dancers. Antics ensued -- but nothing as cringe-worthy as the face-kick endured by the Irish dancer with whom O'Brien danced during the stage performance.
9. Toronto St. Patrick's Day Flashmob
94,769 views
Discover Ireland saw so much success with the 2011 St. Patrick's Day flashmob that they tweaked the format for the following year. This flashmob features singers and dancers taking over the Toronto streets.
10. RTE News' coverage of the All-Irelands
68,255 views
It's not often that camera crews get to film at Irish dance competitions, but this news story (along with documentaries "Jig" and "Big Jig") offer an inside look at our sport's most prestigious championships.
11. TapTronic's "Cracks" remix
55,563 views
The second original video uploaded to YouTube by this innovative dance duo garnered more than 50,000 views. After the success of TapTronic's "Crave You" remix, the guys actually had to add a note at the beginning of this video assuring viewers that the footwork had not been sped up to maker the dancers appear to be moving faster.
12. Student vs. dean dance-off
49,206 views
An enthusiastic student with happy feet lept around his school, getting in teachers' faces and dancing his lights out. All but one educated stood stunned by his fancy footwork. The school's dan calmly waited for the boy to back away, and the dean broke out what looks to be a few rough steps of an Irish reel. OWNED.
Honorable mention: World Irish dancing champions Suzanne Coyle and Michael Holland
Multiple amateur videographers captured this magic moment, when newly minted world champs danced together on stage. Because one singular video did not earn sufficient views to make the top-12 list but the combined views of all uploaded videos did, it's only fair that this particular event is recognized.
The top-12 list above was compiled based on views for videos found on YouTube using search terms "Irish dance" and "Irish dancing." I intentionally omitted videos of fake/mock Irish dancing. Did I miss any videos that may have deserved a spot on the list? Please let me know by leaving a comment below.
