County sends answer to `Riverdance' worldwide

Next week, after months of rehearsal, 50 of Kerry's finest step dancers and traditional musicians will leave their base in Ballybunion…

Next week, after months of rehearsal, 50 of Kerry's finest step dancers and traditional musicians will leave their base in Ballybunion to perform the critically acclaimed show, Dance on the Moon, in Australia and America.

One of the touring groups will bring the show to Australia for six months while the other will be in America until May, when it returns for a summer season in Killarney.

This is where the north Kerry style of dance meets River dance, you might say. Already some 200 shows have been enthusiastically received throughout Europe.

The group bound for Australia will begin its tour at the 2,500-seat Lyric Theatre in Sydney, which has been sold out for the two-week run well in advance.

READ MORE

After that it will be six months on the road for the dancers and musicians as they cross Australia.

The word from Kerry is that the pre-publicity and general excitement about the visit down under has guaranteed Dance on the Moon a successful tour. The two troupes are part of the North Kerry Arts, Cultural and Heritage Society, a registered charitable trust, which has plans for a £I.3 million 450-seat theatre in Ballybunion.

This will be used for rehearsals during the winter and for performances during the tourist season. The society has already raised £400,000.

The driving force behind the Ballybunion project is artistic director Micheal Carr, who said the theatre would be home to an authentic cultural product, maintaining the celebrated dance styles of north Kerry while incorporating the wave of enthusiasm generated by Riverdance around the world.

There is widespread support for the plan in the county, and Kerry County Council has donated a site with full planning permission.