Rhythm of the Dance at the Towngate

Rhythm of the Dance, created in 1999, is a spectacular two-hour dance and music celebration of Irish culture; full of flailing feet and fiddles, futuristic dances, eye-catching lighting and costumes, and sensational sound effects. This stunning show is inspired by the epic journey of the Irish Celts throughout history, and is considered one of the top 3 Irish step dance shows in the world.

With a dazzling 25 costume changes, this music and dance extravaganza – featuring world champion dancers and traditional Irish band and singers – will appear at the Towngate Theatre, Basildon on Friday 21 June as part of their celebratory 20th anniversary tour.

Rhythm of the Dance presents the ancient and modern by combining traditional dance and music with state of the art technology to give audiences of all ages a unique experience. The multi-award winning show has performed to over 7 million people in more than 50 countries across the globe.

The team:

Producer: Kieran Cavanagh has been producing and presenting live concerts all over the world for many years and in 1995, won Nashville’s Country Music Association Award for International Promoter of the Year,having produced international tours by Kenny Rogers, James Brown, Van Morrison and many more. Kieranhas also been promoting Ireland’s No. 1 international superstar Daniel O’Donnell for more than 30 yearsand has been managing him since 2015. In Rhythm of the Dance Kieran fulfilled a long held ambition to produce a superb dance spectacular on the phenomenon and history of Irish step dancing. 20 years, 6 million tickets and dozens of countries later, Kieran continues to present Rhythm of the Dance all over the world.

Choreographer:
Dane McKiernan is choreographer and lead dancer in the show. Dane has been dancing since he was 6 and began touring the world in 2007 with the National Dance Company of Ireland’s Rhythm of the Dance. In 2009 he joined Riverdance and in 2012 was part of the modern Irish dance group Prodijig which won SkyTV’s Got to Dance. He subsequently toured with Prodijig in the show Footstorm and returned to Rhythm of the Dance in 2014 as lead dancer and choreographer.

Lead dancer:

Amy Marie Prior at the Hennigan O’Loughlin School of Irish Dancing in London. She subsequently won sixworld medals and five southern regional Oireachtas championships. Amy turned professional when she was 18 and completed her first tour in Russia and Europe in 2015 and in 2016 joined Rhythm of the Dance as lead female dancer.

The Dancers are among the most accomplished Irish dancers in the world. Rhythm of the Dance is proud to boast numerous national, international and world champion dancers; their dedication to the art form of Irish dance is clearly evident onstage. With their graceful movement and disciplined control they make the complex choreography look easy; what is not evident is the off-stage commitment required to reach the pinnacle of Irish dance demanded by the show. With the rigours of touring – often every night of the week– and constant rehearsals and practice, working and re-working routines mean a 24/7 dedication. These super-fit dancers deliver a thrilling, driving performance onstage every time.