Powerful Women in Irish Dance

Jean Butler is best known as a master of Irish dance alongside the legend Michael Flatley. She was the principle female role in Riverdance and inspired many young female Irish dancers, including myself. She did not play a soft shoe Irish ballerina who danced around the lead male role but was a powerful soft and hard shoe dancer who matched and even out danced her male partner on stage.




She originated the female principle role that hadn't existed until she created it in Riverdance. Typically, it is less common for men to Irish dance, so that when there are men in a dance company, they tend to be the center of attention with all the female dancers dancing behind them. Butler changed this as she didn't believe it was fair for someone to be the center of a dance based off of their gender; it should be raw talent. She took the Irish dance world by storm and was a large influence on the modern day Riverdance.

The Blog to Train

Although the Irish dance world isn't necessarily big, it certainly is competitive. Sure, there are competitor Irish dancers and performance Irish dancers but even the performance dancers need to train like competitive ones! It is all about strong physique to get to where you want to go as an Irish dancer. This goes for all Irish dancers, especially if you're a performance dancer, or even a competitive one, who wants to dance in Riverdance.

I came across a blog called Target Training and it has pointing exercises, cool down routines, a world championship training guide, nutrition, guides to cope with competition nerves, and guides to stay fit over the holidays, just to name a few features. If you're an Irish dancer who needs some guidance,  CLICK HERE TO TRAIN!





You can find loads of tips and training exercises there to help you get started. The aim of the training blog is to target, train, and transform. Between the 2019 World Championship Training Guide and a nutrition guide, this blog has everything any kind of Irish dancer could want. The founder and coach, Ellen G. Waller, is more than qualified to help young dancers achieve their dreams with tips ad exercises!

"Long time competitive and professional Irish dancer and instructor, Ellen G. Waller, has dedicated her life to Irish dance.  Her talent as a dancer has lead her to perform for thousands across the world and her passion as an Irish dance instructor has influenced innumerable young dancers."

Dancers like Ellen know the struggles of not knowing where to start or what is best for your body. Irish dancers' have very strict physiques required for dancing and Ellen is here to help you train... the right way!

Reel Around the Sun

River dance's opening number Reel Around the Sun is one of the most iconic dance numbers in Irish dance. The way the dancers start separated around the stage as individuals and melt together as one unit in their formations is inspiring. The dramatic beginning with the dancers slowly becoming one, was an influential technique that was used in future Irish dance numbers. Watch as Irish dance history is made in the opening number of Riverdance. 

This video in 1996 led to many present developments of Irish dance numbers where formations are the main part of the piece. The majority of Irish dancers are competitors while Riverdance shows the performance side of Irish dance where telling a story prioritizes competition. This is where the art of Irish dance is prevalent.

Lord of the Dance

Michael Flatley is the Lord of the Dance. This picture was taken in 2016 when he created his new show Dangerous Games.  The finale is pictured below.

Flatley started off starring in Riverdance and gained his fame through his famous trebles where his feet moved so fast you could barely see them. When he created his own show, "Lord of the Dance" it took off and became one of the most popular dance tours in the world. In his recent years, Flately created Dangerous Games as his retirement show which is a more in depth version of the original Lord of the Dance with storylines.