How We Started Dancing

March 10, 2016

Everyone has a different story; a different beginning, middle and end. On this tour we are all fortunate enough to be sharing a chapter together. A really exciting one which brings us around the world performing with our best friends. Who knows what will happen in the next chapter but we are all excited and honored to be here now. This made me think about everyones beginnings. How did we all get here? To find out I asked around about how people got into Irish dancing and here is what I came up with.

Chloey Turner started dancing when she was eight years old. She saw Riverdance on TV and since she had done other types of dance already she thought she’d give Irish dancing a try. Good thing she did because look at her now! She is a lead in the show that inspired her to dance in the first place!

Gianna Petracic started dancing ballet as a discipline at two and a half years old. She loved dancing and discovered that her dance school offered Irish dance as well. When she was four she decided to give it a try. It stuck! She absolutely loved it and still does to this day!

 

Andy O’Reilly saw Riverdance at the Point theatre in Dublin when it first opened. He fell in love with the show and with Irish dance. He wanted to give it a try so at nine years old he started to dance and he excelled from there all the way to being a dance captain in the very show that first introduced him to Irish dancing!

 

Megan Baffa began dancing at eight years old. Her older sister, also Riverdance troupe member Jessie Baffa, was already dancing but it was when Megan saw Riverdance playing on TV in a store that really inspired her to give it a try for herself. Thankfully she followed in her sisters footsteps and is now touring the world doing what she loves!

 

As for myself I started dancing at the age of seven. My mom read an ad in the local newspaper and signed me up. I fell in love with Irish dancing straight away and it wasn’t long before I quit all of my other extracurricular activities to pursue dance 100%. After seeing Riverdance at the age of eight I knew that was what I wanted to do with my life and I’m so lucky to be here living my dream!

 

So there you have a few stories of how people got into Irish dancing. Stay tuned for a continuation of this story to find out how people auditioned and got into the show!