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Leitrim dancers stepping lively in U.S.

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

That’s because the group is organized and performed entirely by volunteers, in a manner resembling some of the traveling Irish performers of old, who did it as much for the craic as for maybe hitting the big time.
At a time when the first Ulster-Scots “musical,” with an almost 500-strong cast and an equally overblown storyline, closed for lack of funding in the U.S. before reopening in Belfast, perhaps a dance troupe such as Shaylyn (meaning fairy fort in Gaelic) is a reminder that all aspects of culture are not created equally, and it is the passionate efforts of dedicated amateurs that makes for new perspectives on something as old as Irish dance.
Shaylyn has gained recognition around Ireland as something much better than Irish people may remember as a chore endured at school, and much simpler than the phenomenon known worldwide as “Riverdance.” Shaylyn will visit the U.S. and perform in October of this year.
Meanwhile, Shaylyn representative Jane Gilheaney is visiting the U.S. on a fundraising mission this week and will stop in Rory Dolan’s on McLean Avenue in Yonkers on Sunday, June 6, from 7-11 p.m. She will also be visiting Boston and new haven in the next week or so.
Gilheaney, one of Shaylyn’s organizers and performers, enthusiastically explained the need for the visit as well as the dance troupe’s origins. She stressed that the group, though started in County Leitrim, has performers from many parts of Ireland and tells a great story: the history of Irish dance from 1600 BC.
With understandable presumption, the group announced its U.S. trip in a press release hopefully titled “From Ballinamore to Broadway.” Ballinamore is the town in County Leitrim where Shaylyn started, but members are now from Counties Cavan, Monaghan, Fermanagh, Sligo, Longford and Roscommon.
“All time and commitment is voluntary, and it’s a huge commitment,” Gilheaney said. She explained that the little show with big ambitions now has more than 40 members and runs about two hours each show. If the group collects

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