Arts & Entertainment

Take a Celtic Step Back in Time

Former Riverdance stars headline Celtic Roots show at Whitefish Bay High School Saturday.

Milwaukee has put itself on the map with Irish Fest, but a former Riverdance star and Milwaukee resident said he is going to deliver a performance the city's never been seen before — and it's coming to Whitefish Bay.

Two former lead dancers from the world-renowned stage performance Riverdance will join local singers and dancers to present Celtic Roots on the stage of Whitefish Bay High School at 7 p.m. Saturday. The dancers will share the stage with 70 other performers, including local Rince Nia Irish Dancers, Danceworks and former Riverdance musicians.

Sean Beglan, who runs the Rince Nia Academy of Irish Dance & Culture in Glendale and Cedarburg, said he has always dreamt of putting on his own show after leaving Riverdance.

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Originally from Ireland, he started dancing at the age of 4, and by the time he was 11, he was dancing at international championships. His first venture to America was to Milwaukee’s Irish Fest, and his first theater performance was also here in Milwaukee, at the Riverside Theater.

After traveling around the world, he returned to Milwaukee, where he has lived for the last four years.

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“Milwaukee has always had this pull for me,” he said. “I don’t know what you guys are putting in the water here but it’s keeping here.”

He first started working with Riverdance the day after he graduated from high school. As a lead dancer with the North American dance crew, he spent 2 1/2 years with the group before leaving in 2005 to work in New York.

Saturday's show will reunite Beglan with one of his fellow Riverdance performers, Nora Corrigan, for the first time since 2005.

After leaving Riverdance, Beglan performed all around the world with different dance crews, where he was familiarized with modern dance, flamenco, Russian ballet and everything in between.

He said the dancing incorporated in Saturday’s Celtic Roots performance will draw from his global influences – not just traditional Irish dance.

“The show is a blend of Irish traditional and modern music and song and dance. There’s a bit in there for everybody,” he said. “We wanted to put something out there that’s different that Milwaukee hasn’t seen before.”

That dynamic is accentuated in one moment of the show, where tap dancing students from Danceworks share the stage with his Irish dancing students.

“It’s sort of a dueling piece between tap dance and Irish dance,” he said.

Additional rehearsal footage and a video interview with Beglan is available in this YouTube video.

The Rince Nia Academy dancers will feature Chelsea Holloway, dancing in her first show since placing 19th in the world at the World Irish Dancing Championships last month in Dublin, Ireland.

Former Riverdance singer Derek Byrne and local singer Mary Vey will sing age-old melodies from Ireland and Scotland, while Milwaukee Irish folk trio athas will bring its energetic rhythms on guitar, flute and bodhran drum.

Showtime is 7 p.m. Saturday in the Auditorium, 1200 E. Fairmount Ave. Doors open at 6 p.m. for a silent auction and raffle. Tickets will be $18 at the door. Discounts are available by buying advance tickets at www.celticrootsshow.com, at these prices: $15 for adults, $12.50 for students and $10 for children ages 10 and under.


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