"100 Years of Irish Dancing" with John Grimes

 

(photo by Abhann Productions Ltd used with permission)

             Former “Riverdance” performer, John Grimes TCRG, and now proprietor of the McDonough-Grimes Irish Dance School, will present a most interesting program at the Dover Public Library on Monday, March 11 at 7pm.   

             Through rare film clips and video footage, John will illustrate how Irish dance evolved from a folk dance into an international entertainment phenomenon. See Michael Flatley like you've never seen him before: dancing with his arms by his sides, plus view footage of Jean Butler in her competitive days at the World Championships, and learn how Riverdance changed Irish dancing forever. A  20-minute Q&A session will follow the presentation.

         John Grimes was born in Dover, and began Irish dancing at age 11, when his sisters came home practicing their first steps. John was intrigued and began dancing at home before being registered for lessons. After watching a clip of "Riverdance - The Show" on PBS’s "Out of Ireland", dancing became his passion and led John to competing at the World Champion- ship level. He was a three-time New England Regional Champion, two-time Eastern Canadian Regional Champion, and a four-time top 10 medalist in the North American Irish Dance Championships, earning a 4th place and 5th place, in addition to a recall at the All-Ireland Championships in Killarney, Ireland. John was also a member of several top level ceili teams which won many regional titles and a 3rd place finish at the North American Championships.
        However, John's biggest dance achievement was being asked to join, "Riverdance - The Show" in 2009 after auditioning in Dublin. After multiple tours with Riverdance, including NBC’s "Riverdance On Ice", he has begun the next chapter of his Irish dancing journey: teaching the next generation of dance champions in his home state of New Hampshire.

        In 2010 John passed his Irish dance teaching certificate, the T.C.R.G., and he is a certified teacher with The Irish Dancing Commission in Dublin, An Coimisiun Le Rince Gaelecha.
        Don’t miss this exciting presentation just in time for St. Patrick’s Day! The program is free and will be held in the Library’s Lecture Hall. For more information, please call 516-6050.