The News

You don't have to look far at Irish Fest to see that one of the most popular aspects of Irish culture in America is Irish dance. Dance performances draw some of the biggest crowds of the weekend. Ceili dances pack dance floors. And it's not just at Irish Fest. Irish dance is huge, nationwide. Worldwide.

Much of the credit for this goes to Riverdance of course. The multi-media Irish music and dance phenomenon turned millions into jig junkies. So we at the KC Irish Fest are excited to announce that dancer Breandán De Gallaí will be joining us Labor Day weekend.

Breandán is the former principal male dancer with Riverdance and is now the dance director on the show. He's led performances to over 600 million people worldwide. He has appeared on national TV in the US, all over Europe, China, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Irish Fest weekend Breandán will conduct dance sessions in traditional Irish dance in beginner, intermediate, and master sessions. Each session is limited to 30 people per session and I promise you, they'll all sell out.

The schedule and fees are as follows:

Saturday September 4
7-9pm: Master session-open and championship level dancers. $50

Sunday September 5
9:00-10:00am: Beginner session-little to no dance experience $20
10:15-11:30am: Parent and child beginner session-little to no dance experience. $30 per family
11:45am- 1:15pm: Intermediate session-advanced beginner to novice level dancers. $40
2:15pm- 4:15pm: Master Sessions- open and championship level dancers. $50
4:30pm- 5:30pm: Beginner Session- little to no dance experience. $20
5:45pm- 7:15pm: Intermediate Session- advanced beginner to novice level dancers. $40

All sessions will be held in the Century "A" Ballroom of the Westin Crown Center hotel. Tickets will be on sale through the Irish Fest website later this week. So lace up those ghillies and get ready. Dance fever hits Irish Fest in just 24 days. He's some inspiration for you aspiring twinkletoes.