Catching up with Jason Oremus of Hammerstep dance crew (VIDEOS)

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.

So, what happened to Hammerstep?

We know from the early audition video that Hammerstep made it through to the second round of auditions in Las Vegas, but there's been no mention of the innovative dance crew since its members first appeared on the talent show's stage, and they're not listed among the season eight finalists.

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.

TapTronic dancers step up their step-dancing game - VIDEOS

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.

'Heartbeat of Home' online auditions prompt influx of amazing dancer videos - VIDEOS

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.

The top 12 Irish dance videos of 2012 - VIDEOS

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



Represent for Irish dancing journalists, Steph! You're in good company. This is the video that earned nearly 200,000 views. The video above is a higher quality version of the video with fewer 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.

Post-show interview with TLC's 'Big Jig' star Mary Kay Heneghan - VIDEOS

Mary Kay Heneghan and 2011 national Irish dance champion
Emily Marino. Photo by Tony Rutherford.

 

When Irish dance reality show “The Big Jig” premiered Tuesday night on TLC, Mary Kay Heneghan was understandably nervous about what she was going to see.

Not only was the Buffalo-based Irish dance instructor hoping to see Irish dance portrayed accurately and in a positive light on the cable network known for accentuating already-quirky subcultures’ quirks, but she was hoping she’d come across OK on camera, too.

Heneghan, certified Irish dance instructor and competition adjudicator, was one of the show’s stars. In days leading up to the 2012 World Irish Dancing Championships (known as "Worlds") held in Belfast this past spring, cameras followed Heneghan and two Worlds-bound Rince na Tiarna dancers, sisters Emily and Julia Marino.

“I was a little nervous,” Heneghan admitted, joking that she’d mulled over the idea of watching the show alone in the basement with a bottle of wine. Instead, she invited over some friends, a few dancers and dance parents for an impromptu “Big Jig” viewing party, and she was pleased with the final product.

“I thought it was very well done,” Heneghan said. “No drama from kids, teachers or parents.”

But it’s not that TLC crew members didn’t try to stir the pot a little. Heneghan said that dancers were pulled aside and asked leading questions, to which they responded honestly and respectfully, without coaching from adults.

“You tell [television execs] what you’re willing to do and not willing to do, and they try to get you to do that regardless,” she explained. But her dancers and the other American dancers featured on the TLC special didn’t fall for it, as evidenced by each of the dancer’s calm, collected and mature behavior on the show.

“I do wish there was more dancing, and less drinking egg whites and talking about eyelashes,” she said with a laugh, admitting that every reality series has to include a few outrageous scenes.

But unlike shows like TLC hit “Toddlers and Tiaras,” which follows young beauty pageant contestants at competitions, Heneghan noted one major difference between the pageant scene and the competitive Irish dance world:

“These kids are talented. These kids can dance. They’re disciplined. I feel like they’re doing something rooted in history, and it’s a hard thing to do,” Heneghan said, adding that pageant kids aren’t necessarily not talented -- it’s just that pageants focus only on appearance. “You can put on the Irish dancing wig and buy the costume, but you’re not going to get past that unless you have incredible talent.”

Even though “The Big Jig” documented the most prestigious, cut-throat Irish dance competition of the year -- the Olympics of Irish dance, if you will -- it inadvertently captured an unlikely side of the sport: supporting the “enemy.”

Irish dance teachers Lisa and Karen Petri, and Gary Healy, whose dancers compete against Heneghan’s, are in no way Heneghan’s nemeses.

“Gary’s one of my best friends, so are Lisa and Karen,” she said, explaining that Healy even helped Heneghan’s dancer prepare for competition while Heneghan was in a different room watching another dancer compete at Worlds -- a scene captured on camera, but not emphasized in the show.

“We all want the best dancer to win. We just hope the dancer is our own," she said. "Of course I want to beat them, but I appreciate talent and hard work."

So, while TLC managed to squeeze a little drama from the Worlds, it wasn't quite the kind of unusual entertainment one might come to expect from reality TV -- and what a welcome change it was.

Did you watch "The Big Jig" on TLC? Let me know what you thought of the show in the comments below.

Sean-nós dance revival reveals different side of Irish dance - VIDEOS

Sean-nós Irish dancers

Irish dance has become almost synonymous with Riverdance -- the long line of dancers all tapping in unison, arms tightly pinned at their sides, pointed toes kicking high into the sky -- but that particular style of Irish dance is by no means the only form in existence today.

Sean-nós, or “old style,” dancing varies widely in style throughout Ireland, but its generally accepted characteristics -- arms loose, feet low to the ground, focus on percussive beats battered out by leather-soled shoes -- predate the more competitive, rigid style of step dancing popularized by Riverdance and documentary film “Jig.”

Back in 1929, the Gaelic League encouraged the development of the Irish Dancing Commission (An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha, or CLRG), an organization devoted to preserving Irish dance and developing standard rules for competition. Prior to the formation of the commission, Irish dance was quite diverse, and it reflected regional differences. With the popularity of commission-sanctioned style on the rise, fringe dance forms faded -- but not entirely.

“It was once danced all over Ireland, but, like the Irish language, it only survived in the Gaeltacht regions as we know them today,” sean-nós dance champion and teacher Edwina Guckian explained. “Over the past 10 years, I've seen it grow in popularity at an enormous rate.”



Sean-nós and competitive style Irish step dancing both benefitted from the Riverdance boom, which reinvigorated Ireland’s -- and the world’s -- interest in Celtic culture in the 1990s and 2000s, but the two distinct branches of Irish dance continued to evolve separately, creating a rift in what is considered “traditional” Irish dance.

“I was accused of making it up,” sean-nós singer and dancer Brían Ó hAirt said, “by [dance] teachers.”



Ó hAirt and other sean-nós dancers are often misunderstood because they dance in a way that appears less formal than competitive Irish dancing, but he’s careful to educate those who dismiss one type of Irish dance as less legitimate than another.

“Irish dance is not just one thing; it’s many things,” said Ó hAirt, a member of touring band Bua, who also holds a master’s degree in music performance from the University of Limerick.

Even Manhattan-based sean-nós dancer and teacher Siobhán Butler admits that she once described sean-nós as “lame” because of its apparent simplicity, but that was before she fully understood it.

“My first impression was that it’s a really dumbed down version of step dancing,” said Butler, a step dancer since childhood who now teaches and performs sean-nos in New York City. “Years later, I would come back to this dance form.”



Butler and other sean-nós dancers agree that the most important element for shows and competition is the relationship between dancer and music -- it’s one.

“Growing up as a step dancer, you dance to the music. There was no tight relationship that I experienced,” said Butler, who later studied various forms of Irish dance under the tutelage of Boston-based dancer and teacher Kieran Jordan. In sean-nós, “music and dancing are intertwined,” she added.

Unlike CLRG-sanctioned dancing that is meticulously choreographed for shows and competition, sean-nós dancing is generally improvised, as the dancer plays off the live music.

A musician before a dancer, Ó hAirt said he had an ear for the music, so the percussive nature of sean-nós just made sense to him. Though he does consider himself a sean-nos dancer, Ó hAirt is careful not to define sean-nós because it is inherently an improvised form that varies widely throughout Ireland and the world -- just the act of giving it a name immediately serves as a way to generalize a collection of different dance forms. Sean-nós, he said, should be reflective of its place of origin, yet it should be improvisational.

“I can teach you the steps, but until you dance like the people of that region," Ó hAirt said, it's difficult to determine a dance style's authenticity.

"You can do the same step in different ways depending on what the musician is doing," Werner Ceusters, a Flemish sean-nós dance instructor living and teaching in Buffalo, N.Y., said. "Some dances lend themselves to the music, but in sean-nós, there is no frame."

Ceusters teaches what he calls Limerick-style sean-nos. Unlike the more recognized sean-nós dance style from the Connemara region of Ireland, Ceusters said that he practices a form of sean-nós that is a bit closer to what competitive step dancers do with their feet (higher on toes, fixed floor patterns), but Limerick style still puts emphasis on a more loosely-held upper body and improvisation according to the music.



Differences aside, all forms of "traditional" Irish dance (competitive step dancing, sean-nós, old-style step dancing, set dancing, ceili, brush dance, etc.) share common threads of history and culture passed on through generations.

Regardless of how the forms have evolved, the similarities are undeniable, and the history of Celtic culture has been preserved  -- even in some some way -- through Irish dancing and music.

Irish dance friendships: down under meets upstate NY

Dancers (left to right) Ceili Moore, Kevinah Dargan, Hannah Mong before prom.

Ceili Moore's prom night was typical for a lot of reasons: she donned a beautiful gown, danced with her friends, partied at a post-prom event and posed for loads of photos with other dolled-up gals.

What was different about her experience at this all-American coming-of-age high school dance is that Ceili flew in from Australia to attend.

That's not the only reason she traveled from the other side of the planet to be in the states. Ceili, the current Australian national Irish dancing champion in her age group, is stateside for the North American Irish Dance Championships, which are currently underway in Chicago.

She came over to the U.S. a week early to spend some precious time with her dear friends Kevinah and Fiona Dargan, both of whom are 2011 North American champions who dance for Rince Na Tiarna in Buffalo, N.Y.

Ceili Moore, Fiona and Kevinah Dargan, Eryn Lynch at Niagara Falls.

Kevinah, a soon-to-be college freshman, made arrangements to bring her Aussie friend along to prom and her graduation from Williamsville South High School. The Dargans and Ceili also attended a Buffalo Bisons baseball game, visited nearby Niagara Falls, ate classic American foods (Buffalo wings and mozzarella sticks, for example) and went go-karting.

And though their nationalities, accents, cultures, dance styles and life stories are different, Ceili and the Dargan sisters insist that the bond created through Irish dancing is stronger than most other friendships.

Even Tracy Marks Dargan, Kevinah and Fiona's mother, is close friends with Ceili's mom, Fiona Moore. Both moms are also former Irish dancers, and Fiona Moore is the first Australian dancer to win the World Irish Dancing Championships. The two talk almost daily, Tracy Marks Dargan said. Like their daughters, they maintain contact through Facebook, Skype and free phone applications.

Kevinah graduates from high school.

"I feel like Irish dancers all have that bond," Kevinah said. "Sometimes I feel closer to dance friends than my friends from school who I see every single day."

Fiona described the Irish dance part of her life as almost a second world, a reality that exists outside of everyday living.

"You might make a million mistakes in the real world, but in the Irish dance world, it's all erased," Fiona said.

Ceili, who dances for Scoil Rince Aisling in Australia, agreed with that sentiment, adding, "All of us give up so much for dancing. We are all in the same boat."

And while Kevinah and Ceili will both compete in the same age group (under 18, but different splits), they don't see each other as competition. In fact, they want to see each other win.

"We all know each of us work so hard," Ceili said. "It can go so many different ways."

Kevinah and Fiona Dargan, and Ceili Moore before prom.

Since all of the girls are national champions in their respective countries and age groups, there's potential for fierce rivalry. But, they explained, in this circle, it's about dancing the best you can and leaving the scoring up to the judges -- and they don't always score according to spectators' expectations.

"With other sports, when someone is better, that is your enemy," Kevinah said. But in her experience hanging with other top dancers, it's more about having friends who push you to be a stronger dancer. "You keep yourself in inspiring company."

For more information on the competitions, visit the official 2012 North American Irish Dancing Championships Facebook page, and stay tuned here on IrishCentral's Irish Dance page for updates, photos and results.