‘We consider it a sport’: The Irish-dancing brothers taking over TikTok

Irish dancing may not instantly spring to mind when one thinks of the word “influencer”, but two American-born, Galway-based brothers look set to change that narrative.

The Gardiner Brothers, Michael and Matthew, have 188,000 followers on Instagram and more than 530,000 followers on TikTok, thanks to their Irish-dance routines set to contemporary and traditional music. Between them the Riverdancers have over 50 major championship titles, including five world championships, creating Irish dancing history in 2015 by winning world titles in the same year.

The brothers are based in Clarinbridge, Co Galway, having moved there from Denver, Colorado in 2006. "Our mom Marianne was a semi-professional musician in Denver," says Michael via Zoom. "She played the fiddle in a band called The Chancers and has played instruments all her life. For Dad, music is probably a bit more of a hobby. Their plan was to stay in the US for two years but they ended up staying for 20."

The brothers followed their older sister into dance. “My sister started off first and when I was about four years old I began to peep my head in the door,” says Michael. “Even as a young kid I remember being very entertained by the rhythms, there was just something so attractive about making these sounds with your feet and jumping around the room to this beautiful music. I responded to it from a very young age.”

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“For me it was part of life from an early age – I went to school, then to soccer practice and then to dancing,” says Matthew with a shrug. “I just thought it was a normal thing to do. Looking back it probably helped that there was quite a large boys’ class in Denver.”

The same was true of the acclaimed Hession School of Irish Dance on their return to Ireland. They now teach and choreograph for the school: "In our opinion they are the best in the world. We wouldn't be who we are as dancers without them."

Likewise, the brothers credit their family for helping them reach their goals. “The whole family was emotionally involved throughout our competitive careers,” says Matthew. “Irish dancing is an amateur sport so if you want to compete at the highest level you have to pay for your own classes, flights, accommodation and so on.”

“It’s like any sport,” Michael reiterates. “When you are at the top you make a lot of sacrifices and we owe a lot to our parents. We never wanted for anything. If we had to go to the World Championships in Montreal – the whole family was flying to Montreal.”

The brothers frequently refer to Irish dancing as a “sport”. “It’s not that we don’t consider Irish dancing an art form because obviously it is one,” says Michael. “We consider it a sport because it is extremely athletic but also because of the hours of training that you put in for a World Championship. You’re training every single day, you’re competing every weekend, you have to look after yourself mentally and physically... I guess we’ve always considered it a sport because, like soccer practice, it was just another training session.”

Both brothers were performing in the Riverdance 25th Anniversary Show tour when coronavirus crisis hit last Spring – Matthew at the 3Arena in Dublin and Michael at Radio City Music Hall in New York. “Riverdance has almost defined Irish culture worldwide and really put it on the map. Who would have thought as little boys growing up in Denver that I’d be performing in the same venue as the original Riverdance cast?” says Matthew.

The gap in touring meant that the brothers found themselves with more time on their hands – establishing their TikTok account and quickly garnering over half a million followers on the platform which is known for its short videos set to music. “We decided to show what we could do with our own talent but also to promote Irish culture and show how versatile and modern Irish dance has become,” says Matthew.

“At the start we were doing it for our own entertainment and to keep fit, then people started asking us what we were going to do next and suggesting songs,” says Michael. “It’s also important to keep an eye on what’s trending,” says Matthew of the latest trends. “With something like the sea shanty that’s what people want to see at that particular time.”

Do they have any detractors for the music they dance to? “We love traditional music but it’s fun to show that Irish dancing doesn’t have to be to traditional music – it can be to Eminem or Tiësto,” says Michael. “There’s the dance we create and the song we put it to – that’s highly subjective – some fans might like it and some might not, so it’s about constantly mixing it up.”

The last year has been a steep learning curve when it comes to capturing fans' attention online and they've learnt much about lighting, camera angles and posting for followers in different timezones. "We posted a video to In Sight by Benedict Morris at the start of 2021. We multiplied ourselves in the video and had different moving shots, still shots, layers of dancing… we realised that it was a culmination of everything we have learned over the past year."

Last winter they supported Pieta House to help promote the charity’s virtual run. “We did 10,000 push ups each in one month. It was our attempt to encourage people to get moving – it’s so important to look after our physical and mental health.”

It seems that they both set high standards for themselves, not just in terms of their dancing, but also their education and personal lives. Michael is a qualified architect and Matthew is currently in his final year of Civil Engineering at NUI Galway. "Our parents always ingrained in us to do our best," they say. "It might not result in you being the best but it is about doing your best and we apply that to all aspects of our lives – from our dancing, to our friendships, to our studies."

While the brothers are only just getting used to their new-found status as social-media influencers, they have acted as national ambassadors for Culture Night 2020 and recently signed with Andrea Roche’s AR Talent Agency in what’s thought to be a first for Irish dancers. They’ve already worked with fast-food chain McDonald’s. “Not Supermac’s as Galway boys?” I ask with faux incredulity. “We’re just waiting for the call,” they grin.

[ @gardinerbrothers ]