Celtic Roots Summer '10 Irish Language, Dance & Music Program.

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Celtic Roots in Newoundland Labrador
Joe Nugent Professor Boston Center for Irish Studies

Dear Shawn,

I was very pleased to have the opportunity to meet you on your visit to Boston College last week.The concept of a Celtic roots cultural centre that we discussed is a very exciting one, and it's clear that you bring to it the enthusiasm and determination it will require. In my Irish Studies capacity, having responsibility for Irish language training at BC, I am particularly enthused by a project that aims to bring together the various strands of Celtic culture on the lines that we in the Irish Studies program have, with some success, done here. I am particularly excited that your plans contain a significant academic component: it is the integration of dance, music, the visual arts, and literature that makes our program so successful. Now is an opportune time to pursue these goals. The increasing move towards understanding the Atlantic as an interactive space of exchange rather than a space of cultural separation has produced a willingness on the part of Irish historiography and literary studies to escape from the narrow inward-looking paradigms of the past and embrace a more outward-looking co-operative mode of cultural investigation. Newfoundland scholarship is particularly well placed, one would imagine, to contribute to this advance.

With best wishes,

Joseph Nugent

Assistant Professor of English

Boston College Centre for Irish Studies

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Whirling Dervish Oct 2007
The Independent September 28, 2007 Photo by Paul Daly
Read PDF File: Independent Article_Sept_07.pdf

Life & Times Whirling dervish

Photo by Paul Daly St. John's NL

By Mandy Cook (St. John's)
The Independent
Friday, September 28, 2007

The Independent

It’s all in the shoes. Oversized tap shoes, known as hornpipes, are laced about Irish dancing dynamo Shawn Silver’s ankles with black ribbon, chunky silver buckles flashing in the sunlight streaming through iDance Studio’s window overlooking the Waterford Valley in St. John’s.

Silver, the face and toe-tapping feet behind the province’s only dedicated Irish dance company, is jumping straight up as if on springs (and not the fiberglass tips which support his weight while standing on his toes), clicking his heels and tapping out a furious beat.

The well-worn hardwood is evidence to the untold number of happy feet and animated dance steps that have played out here. About 140 lovers of the traditional Irish step-dancing technique — hugely popularized by the Dublin-based Riverdance and Lord of the Dance that broke out in the mid-’90s — come to have fun and learn the rapid leg movements from Silver. But the dance instructor reveals he has a vision that goes far and beyond the recreational.

Ever since the ex-Bay Street stockbroker left a 15-year-career in economics behind in the late 1990s, Silver has followed what he says is his “calling” in life. Dancing Irish jigs and reels ever since he learned them from his grandfather — a familial talent documented by CBC’s Land and Sea and to be broadcast on Oct. 27 — Silver has been diligently developing and fostering what he says is “a hotbed” of talent in this province.

“We have the strongest Celtic culture outside Ireland itself,” he says, sitting on the floor of his studio. “We thought it was smart to add to an already very rich culture of talent and music and art and add to that an element of something that’s become very popular.”

Silver wants to use Newfoundland’s unique position as an Irish outpost and turn it into a destination location for Irish dancing talent — one of the few places in the world where dancers and enthusiasts can come to train, teach and “breed champions.”

Step-dancing is first and foremost a competitive sport, he says, and there are only about 2,000 instructors worldwide. It is an extremely rigorous form of dancing, and unlike other modern forms, is closed to interpretation or improvisation. Its strict standards are upheld by an Irish dancing committee to ensure ancient techniques are not deviated from in any way.

In order to be permitted to teach others, Silver travelled to Dublin to train with the entire cast of Riverdance. It is from this connection he has been able to regularly bring title-holding and award-winning Irish dancing stars to Newfoundland, one of which, Don McCarron, will be coming to work with Silver’s dancers in October.

“Don McCarron has been the Riverdance lead dancer since the age of 17,” he says. “Boys and girls who are 13, 14, know that if you’re a good Irish dancer, the door is wide open to you. It’s not just a trend … for young people, emerging artists, it provides opportunities to perform, to teach, to enter competition and ultimately to join some of the most fabulous shows touring the planet right now.”

Silver talks as fast as he taps. It’s easy to see how someone of his intense, positive energy could not only build a “centre of excellence for Celtic dance and culture” but could also draw the globe’s Irish dancing superstars to these shores. In particular, he’s got his razor-sharp focus trained on central Newfoundland.

The Exploits River Dance Company is a spin-off centre of iDance in Grand Falls-Windsor. Drawing on 150 dance students there, Silver and his troupe have performed at numerous festivals, including the Salmon Festival and the Flying Boat Festival this summer.

Envisioning the province as his entire base, Silver says it was only natural to stage his dance centre in the middle of the island. It is there, he says, a meeting of Irish dancers, artists and Celtic cultural figures will take place next summer, establishing Newfoundland as a centre of Irish learning — similar to and on par with other Celtic institutes such as those found in Boston, San Francisco and New York.

“We’ll be working with these major influences, so we can build our profile and develop our skills, and now we’re going to offer people from around the world to come and train with us,” he says. “You’ll see people from Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden. In turn, this creates employment and economic development.”

With funding provided by ACOA and the provincial government, Silver will bring members of Riverdance to Grand Falls-Windsor to nurture this province’s young hopefuls. Competitive dancers from Australia, the United States and Canada will also converge at the centre. Next month he will travel to Boston on his fifth trade mission to meet with other instructors and dancers.

Amidst Silver’s business-savvy seriousness courses a palpable sense of joy. He is doing exactly what he wants to be doing with his life, and it shows. His immaculately crafted strategy to bring and train the highest calibre of Celtic talent in the world to Newfoundland is conveyed with just as much enthusiasm as his demonstration of the official step-dancing Barbie doll on his shelf, shamrock-printed dress and all.

“This is way beyond Uncle Jimmy dancing with the rubber boot on his head,” he says, with a twinkle in his eye.

mandy.cook@theindependent.ca

Irish Dance Magazine
Feature Story

Irish Dancing Magazine

Irish dancing workshops with Irish Dance Star and Lead Dancer of Lord of The Dance, Don McCarron and Newfoundland's own Shawn Silver October 1st-5th 2007 in St. John’s.

At the very eastern edge of the North American continent, just north east of Maine, sitting on edge of the grand banks is St. John's, the oldest city in North America. At just under 500,000 sq km the island of Newfoundland Canada is more than 3 times the maritime provinces, New Brunswick, Price Edward Island and Nova Scotia. If it were one of the United States, it would rank fourth in size behind Alaska, Texas and California.Situated between a warm gulf stream to the south and the Labrador current to the north, we live in what is known as "iceberg alley". From spring months to late summer, the beauty of our land and sea scape is unsurpassed. It's not uncommon to see a 300 million ton piece of ice float past your back door, and with these colossal natural wonders come the whales; the minke, the humpback and the potheads. It is surreal actually We are considered North America's best kept secret.

Prior to 1932 Newfoundland was an independent country. We had a Prime Minister, our own railway system even our own currency. In 1949, Newfoundland voted by referendum to join Canada. We hold the distinction of being the only democracy to willingly give up our own independence. People have been living here for millennia, and St. John's,the capital city, was established in 1497 coinciding with the landing of Giovanni Caboto.While Viking Lief Erikkson is credited as the first European settler,Newfoundland was home to the Beothuk Indians long before European settlement, and attracted the interest of many diverse cultural interests, including Basque, Portuguese, Scottish, French, English and Irish. All of these groups left an indelible print on the cultural and ethnic influences that make up Newfoundland and Labrador, but none more than the Irish. We are undoubtedly one of the strongest Celtic cultures outside Ireland itself. ."Newfoundlanders are more Irish than the Irish themselves" said Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, on his recent trip declaring Tilting Nl, an Irish Heritage site.While fishing was predominantly Newfoundland's main economic driver, today things have changed. Tourism, oil and gas, aquaculture, technology and music, dance, film, video and television all rule now!

Music and dance is a very strong part of our rich heritage. In Ireland, the norms of what is now known as Irish dancing were not standardized until the late nineteenth century, long after the principle waves of emigration to Newfoundland. Step dancing is still a living tradition in Newfoundland, but it was largely improvised. Since 2002, however, I began to oversee the revival of Irish dancing in Newfoundland. I saw it as a natural fit within Newfoundland's range of existing art forms and a welcome addition to the province's musical stage. My passion is growing Irish dance in our province. My dance company, iDANCE Shawn Silver Irish Dancing, is dedicated to promoting, preserving and strengthening traditional Irish form of Irish dancing in Newfoundland and Labrador. We are the provinces only centre of dance dedicated exclusively to Irish dancing and we are providing young people, and emerging artists opportunities to become part of the exciting international world of Irish dance. Since 2002 I have laid the foundation for a successful burgeoning Irish dance company and as a result we have attracted some of the leading exponents of Irish dance culture on the planet, namely, 2 time world champion and All Ireland champion Stephen McAteer, Riverdance star Breandan de Gallai, and Magic of the dance star and 2 time world champion Michael Donnellan - and only Ronan McCormack TCRG ADCRG

These people are the best in the world at what they do, we are very fortunate.This is a real coup for our dance community and for our province. We have a very dedicated skilled pool of Irish dancers here now and with the help of individuals like Michael Donnellan, whose most recent series of dance classes have changed the face of our dance community forever. It's not a chore to come to St. John's for these young dancers, either. St. John's is a very vibrant and young city (despite its age) with a very healthy and robust night life and all the attractions anyone would want. It's alot like Dublin that way. A very European flavor with the friendliest people in the world. It's peaceful, beautiful, full of beautiful art and , brimming with a skilled dedicated group Irish dancers who can raise the roof at the blink of an eye.

As a result of our work we've created a solid profile in our province and in Atlantic Canada. I think we've raised the bar for traditional dancers and the dance community in general. The dance company boasts a performing group who are featured as regular guests on many local television programs in Canada and in the province. Some of the groups notable career highlights include 2002 Juno Awards, Choreography and performances with Canada's The Fables, choreography and performance for Cape Breton's Mary Jane Lamond and we have been featured guests on Canada AM's cross country road show.

Tourists, visitors and locals alike can catch Shawn Silver Irish Dancers any weekend from May to September at one of the city's Irish Pubs where I host regular weekly ceili's. Family's and friends alike. Tourists are coming here for our obvious topographical beauty and physical attractions, but they are also coming to experience our cultural attractions. Irish dancing and Irish culture is at the TOP of the list.

Irish Dancing Summer Workshops with two time world champion and Irish dance star Michael Donnellan and Shawn Silver.. Make your plans now to attend Irish dance workshops in St. John's August 6th-10th 2007. These workshops will be offered to the international world of Irish dancers and classes are already starting to fill up...my advice is book early. We can't wait to meet you!

Get in touch with your inner Celt!

Celtic Roots

Get In Touch With Your Inner Celt!
709 690 2101
Talamh an Éisc, Canada

Graphics by Adam Ryall