Dance company brings new beat to Dollywood

[WebmasterTim]

PIGEON FORGE - Stepping their way into position as one of the most popular shows ever to appear at Dollywood, the National Dance Company of Ireland has been performing to packed houses at the theme park for several seasonst


The company has brought Rhythm of the Dance to the park as part of the Irish-themed Festival of Nations.

"We thought we'd put the Irish out front this year," park namesake Dolly Parton said during Dollywood's grand opening celebration Friday.

Parton even got in on the act herself, accompanying the troupe with a song she wrote called "We Irish" and "When Irish Eyes are Smiling."

The group of mostly mid-20s dancers practices traditional Irish step dancing that will continue through May 7.

"It's a very hard job," dancer Sean Hogan said. "You get very tired at the end of the day. It's still better than any office job for me, though. Most of us have been doing this all our lives, so we're very lucky to have a job doing what we love like this."

"We get a lot of motivation from the crowd," dancer Leanor Cosgrave said.

Hogan, Cosgrave and most of the others started learning this style of dancing when they were about 4. They display some fancy and extremely fast footwork as they dance their way through a nearly hour-long show. It's no wonder they get tired; they perform three times daily, except on Saturdays when they're on stage four times.

Through each of those performances, they run through a number of costume changes.

The group has toured extensively. Cosgrave and Hogan said they tried to count how many countries they have visited but weren't able to recall them all.

"It's amazing getting to see all these different countries and meet all those people," Hogan said. "It's better than 20 years in college."

"It's an unbelievable opportunity for us," Cosgrave said. "When I'm home I work at a bank and it's really hard to switch back to reality."

Of course, of all those people they have met, the nicest may be in the hills of East Tennessee.

"Everyone here has just been brilliant," Cosgrave said. "They're extremely friendly and genuine."

Some group members have been so impressed with Sevier County that they've even tried a little imitation. They have picked up on Southern colloquialisms like y'all and use them when they can.

"We're trying to blend in," Cosgrave said with a laugh. "It's kind of hard to do with our accents, but we try."

"We didn't really know what to expect when we came over here because we hadn't been to Tennessee before," Hogan said. "It's been amazing, though."