Monday, February 7, 2011

An Dochas and the Haran Irish Dancers Coming Soon!

The “wearing o’ the green” will come early this year. Instead of waiting until St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th to hear and enjoy Irish music and dance, area residents can celebrate the Celtic spirit at a dynamic performance of An Dóchas and the Haran Irish Dancers on Sunday, February 20th 3pm at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman. The performance is the third offering in the Festival Dance & Performing Arts 2011-2012 Great Performances Series.

Awarded the 2006 Celtic Instrumental Album of the Year, An Dóchas delivers soul stirring fiery Irish music along with musical accompaniment for the fast-paced hard shoe step dancing of the Haran Irish Dancers. An Dóchas, Gaelic for “The Hope,” captivates audiences of all ages with their lively interpretations of traditional and contemporary original Irish music. For the six member band, a driving rhythm section of guitar, bass, and drums supports an array of traditional instruments including Uilleann pipes, whistles, bodhran, fiddle, and mandolin. The band incorporates moving ballads as well as rowdy comical vocals into their sets creating an emotional dynamic performance to accompany explosive Irish step dancing.

The Haran Irish Dancers have been performing for over a decade. The dancers’ tours have included stops in Austria and Japan and multiple trips to the Irish Step Dancing World Championships. Home based north of Spokane, An Dóchas and the Haran Irish Dancers have performed to sold out audiences throughout the U.S.


Adding a home made touch to the program, three groups of Irish dancers from the Festival Dance Academy will join in the performance, dancing to music of An Dóchas. These dancers are taught and coached by instructor, Katie Bouma. In addition, Haran Irish dancers will teach a free master class at noon on the Beasley Coliseum stage. The class is open to students who have had three years of Irish dance training. The class is limited to 30 participants on a first-come; first served basis. To sign up, email Maureen@festivaldance.org and leave your name and phone number.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer this fantastic Celtic ensemble for the region,” says Festival Dance executive director, Cindy Barnhart. “Whenever we survey our audience, we get many requests for Irish dance and music. And our last Celtic program performed by Trinity Irish Dance, was a sell out hit.”

Festival Dance is dedicating the performance to the memory of recently departed community leader, Jeff Martin, former C.E.O. of Gritman Medical Center. The Celtic Celebration is funded in part by a grant from the Inland Northwest Community Foundation.

Tickets for the February 20th performance are priced at $ 28 to $ 14. WSU students are admitted free through support by WSU VPLAC. Corporate Sponsors are: Idaho Public Television, Gritman Medical Center, KQQQ News Talk, National Endowment for the Arts, KHTR Hit Radio 104.3, Idaho Commission on the Arts, and MyRadio 102.5. Tickets are available at Beasley Coliseum, Festival Dance Office and Tickets West outlets.

See you there!

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