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Michael Flatley
Michael Ryan Flatley (born July 16, 1958) is an Irish-American dancer. He became known for Irish dance shows ''Riverdance'', '' Lord of the Dance'', ''Feet of Flames'', and ''Celtic Tiger Live''. Flatley's shows have played to more than 60 million people in 60 countries and have grossed more than $1 billion. Flatley is credited with reinventing traditional Irish dance by incorporating new rhythms, syncopation, and upper body movements, which were previously absent from the dance, as well as including influences from tap and contemporary dance. He formerly held the Guinness World Records for tap dancing 35 times per second and his feet were at one time insured for $57.6 million. Flatley (5' 6") retired in 2016 due to constant spinal, knee, foot, and rib pain. Early life Michael Ryan Flatley was born on July 16, 1958, the second of five children born to Irish parents Michael James Flatley and Elisabeth "Eilish" Flatley (''née'' Ryan), both of whom had emigrated to the United Stat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Dance
Irish dance refers to a group of traditional dance forms that originate in Ireland, encompassing dancing both solo and in groups, and dancing for social, competitive, and performance purposes. Irish dance in its current form developed from various influences such as earlier native Irish dance, English country dancing and later possibly French quadrilles, as it became popular in Britain and Ireland during the 19th century. Dance was taught by "travelling dance masters" across Ireland in the 17th and 18th centuries, and separate dance forms developed according to regional practice and differing purposes. Irish dance became a significant part of Irish culture, particularly for Irish nationalist movements. From the early 20th century, a number of organisations promoted and codified the various forms of dance, creating competitive structures and standardised styles. Irish dancers who compete for competitive reasons dance in a dance style that is more modern than traditional Irish da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oireachtas Rince Na Cruinne
Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne (English: The Irish Dancing World Championships; often simply the Worlds) is an annual Irish stepdance competition run by An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (the Irish Dancing Commission). The Worlds include competitions for solo stepdance, organised by gender and age; and for certain traditional and original ceili dances, also divided by age group and team gender composition. Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne is the top competition of the hierarchical system operated by An Coimisiún, and dancers must qualify at major Irish stepdance events across the world in order to compete. The first Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne was run in 1970, and the event is now one of six oireachtais (championship competitions) under different organisations to be called the World Championships. Of these, Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne, sometimes called the "Olympics of Irish dance", is the largest, attracting some 5,000 competitors and 25,000 spectators each year from over 30 countries ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colin Dunne
Colin Dunne (born 8 May 1968) is an English-Irish dancer and choreographer who is a leading figure in the world of traditional Irish dance, as well as a theatre actor and contemporary dancer. Best known internationally for his performances and choreography in ''Riverdance'' and ''Dancing on Dangerous Ground'', he transitioned to contemporary dance after earning an MA in that style as an artist-in-residence at the University of Limerick in 2002. In 2007, he was nominated for a UK Critics Circle National Dance Award (best male: modern dance) for performances at The Barbican in Fabulous Beast's production of ''The Bull''. His first solo show, ''Out of Time'', premiered in 2008. Early life Dunne was born in Birmingham, England, to Irish parents. He followed his two older sisters to Irish dance class at the local school, Birmingham's Comerford School, when he was just three years old. At the age of nine, he won his first World Championship title and was the first dancer to win the Wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moya Doherty
Moya Doherty (born 1957, in Pettigo, County Donegal, Ireland) is a Dublin-raised Irish entrepreneur and the producer and co-founder of ''Riverdance''. Early life Doherty was born in Pettigo, County Donegal, and raised in Dublin. She attended Manor House School, Raheny. Riverdance Riverdance is a worldwide acclaimed theatrical phenomenon, which premiered in Dublin's Point Theatre in February 1995. Riverdance had started as a seven-minute interlude at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, commissioned by Moya Doherty, who was the show's Executive Producer. Business interests Doherty is chair of the board of Irish public service broadcaster RTÉ. She was previously a director of television production company Tyrone Productions. She was a founding director of the independent national commercial radio station Radio Ireland (which later rebranded as Today FM). She is a member of the board of the Dublin Theatre Festival. She was formerly a member of the board of the Abbey Thea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riverdance (song)
"Riverdance" is a song by Irish musician Bill Whelan, originally recorded in March 1993 and first performed as the interval act for the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. "Riverdance" is a mostly instrumental composition performed by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, with an introduction sung by choral ensemble Anúna. The act received such a positive response that Son Records and Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) decided to release "Riverdance" as a single. In Ireland, the song spent a record-breaking 18 weeks at number one on the Irish Singles Chart and is the country's second-best-selling single of all time. "Riverdance" also became a top-10 hit in the United Kingdom, where it reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart. The song's success inspired Whelan to use "Riverdance" as a springboard to conceive an album of similar material and the theatrical show of the same name, which would open in February 1995. Background and Eurovision performance "Riverdance" was composed by Bill Whelan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurovision Song Contest 1994
The Eurovision Song Contest 1994 was the 39th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Dublin, Ireland, following the country's victory at the with the song "In Your Eyes" by Niamh Kavanagh. It was the first time that any country had hosted the contest two years in a row. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (RTÉ), the contest was held at the Point Theatre on 30 April 1994. It was presented by Irish television and radio presenters Cynthia Ní Mhurchú and Gerry Ryan. This remains the last time that the contest has not been held in the month of May. Twenty-five countries participated in the contest, equalling the record of the 1993 edition. A total of seven countries took part in the contest for the first time; Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia and Slovakia. To cope with the increasing number of countries wishing to participate in the contest, the EBU ruled that the seven lowest-placed countries from the prec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her election, Robinson was a senator in between 1969 and 1989, and a councilor on Dublin Corporation from 1979 to 1983. Though briefly affiliated with the Labour Party while a senator, she became the first independent candidate to win the presidency and the first not to have had the support of Fianna Fáil. Following her time as president, Robinson became the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997 to 2002. Robinson is widely regarded as having had a transformative effect on Ireland, having successfully campaigned on several liberalising issues as a senator and as a lawyer. Robinson was involved in the decriminalisation of homosexuality, the legalisation of contraception, the legalisation of divorce, enabling women to sit on ju ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous with traditional Irish music. They are regarded as having helped popularise Irish music around the world. They have won six Grammy Awards during their career and they were given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2002 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Some music experts have credited The Chieftains with bringing traditional Irish music to a worldwide audience, so much so that the Irish government awarded them the honorary title of 'Ireland's Musical Ambassadors' in 1989. Name The band's name came from the book ''Death of a Chieftain'' by Irish author John Montague. Assisted early on by Garech Browne, they signed with his company Claddagh Records. They needed financial success abroad, and succeeded in this. Career Origins Paddy Moloney was a member ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smithsonian (magazine)
''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970. History The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life (magazine), Life'' magazine, was asked by the then-Secretary of the Smithsonian, S. Dillon Ripley, to produce a magazine "about things in which the Smithsonian [Institution] is interested, might be interested or ought to be interested." Thompson would later recall that his philosophy for the new magazine was that it "would stir curiosity in already receptive minds. It would deal with history as it is relevant to the present. It would present art, since true art is never dated, in the richest possible reproduction. It would peer into the future via coverage of social progress and of science and technology. Technical matters would be digested and made intelligible by skilled writers who would stimulate readers to reach upward while not turning the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Green Fields Of America
The Green Fields of America is an ensemble that performs and promotes Irish traditional music in the United States. It was formed in 1977 in Philadelphia, led by musician and folklorist Mick Moloney. They perform Irish and Irish-American culture with American musicians and dancers. Origin As a student in Philadelphia, Moloney met the director of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, who encouraged him to gather a set of performers for the 1976 festival. This received a positive response, and Moloney decided to form an ensemble that would bring together Irish vocal, instrumental, and dance traditions at concerts and festivals. Moloney cofounded the Green Fields of America in 1977. Work The critically acclaimed album ''The Green Fields of America Live in Concert'' in 1989 subtitled "Irish Music, Song and Dance in America" credited Mick Moloney, Robbie O'Connell, Jimmy Keane (all three members of the famous Moloney, O'Connell & Keane trio) and Eileen Ivers, Séamus Egan, Donny G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper of record for Ireland. Though formed as a Protestant nationalist paper, within two decades and under new owners it had become the voice of British unionism in Ireland. It is no longer a pro unionist paper; it presents itself politically as "liberal and progressive", as well as being centre-right on economic issues. The editorship of the newspaper from 1859 until 1986 was controlled by the Anglo-Irish Protestant minority, only gaining its first nominal Irish Catholic editor 127 years into its existence. The paper's most prominent columnists include writer and arts commentator Fintan O'Toole and satirist Miriam Lord. The late Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald was once a columnist. Senior international figures, including Tony Blair and Bill Cl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago Golden Gloves
The Chicago Golden Gloves is an amateur boxing tournament, considered by many boxing aficionados as one of the three most elite Golden Gloves titles, along with the Intercity Golden Gloves and the New York Golden Gloves. The tournament is also more formally known as the Chicagoland Golden Gloves Charities Tournament. It was initiated by the ''Chicago Tribune'' sports editor Arch Ward in 1923. The program and tournament was, formerly run by Directors and assistants, Ted Gimza, Dr. Glenn Bynum, Jack Cowen, Stanley Berg and Sam Colonna. History The regional Chicago and New York Golden Gloves Championships were the two crown jewels of the boxing mecca of the United States. In 1962, with the National Golden Gloves assuming control of the tournament, with a growing televised economy, the general public's emphasis progressed more towards a national championship. In 1923, the Chicago Golden Gloves had Italian boxers. Tony and Jimmy Delatore boxed from 1923–1926. Because it seemed that th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
