Following the highly-successful and critically acclaimed sell-out Australian tour in 2008 and 2009, Ireland’s most celebrated and elite company of dancers and musicians, THE RHYTHMS OF IRELAND, will return by popular demand with their awe-inspiring and innovative new production to Australian audiences in March 2010 until May 2010.

THE RHYTHMS OF IRELAND are the sound and spirit of the Emerald Isle. It is an exhilarating show of perfectly sounded traditional rhythms, song and dance that is the most exciting Irish dance and music production at this present time. This production has been seen by over two-million worldwide amassing an unsurpassed reputation for their “stunningly executed performances”. The incomparable quality and pure unadulterated spectacle of their work perfectly blends the ancient traditions of Irish dance and music with the innovative and flawlessly choreographed production values of contemporary Irish excellence.

Though the show THE RHYTHMS OF IRELAND was formed in 1998, the traditional singing, sean nos, dates back to as early as the 1600s. The term sean nos from the Irish/gaelic language, means ‘in the old style’. Along with traditional and authentic Irish dancing and singing, audiences will hear the bodhran being played. It holds pride of place as the principle percussion instrument of Irish traditional music and dates back to 3000BC. Long before RIVERDANCE, there was Irish dance, music and song, often taking place spontaneously in kitchens, taverns and family gatherings. Across the small villages across Ireland , the percussion of the dance steps fuelled the exciting pulse of the music and its ancient compelling rhythms. These traditional arts endure today in much the same way.

Evoking a time and place steeped in legend, lore and enchantment, THE RHYTHMS OF IRELAND offers the most authentic Irish cultural experience of any production at this present time.

It should be highlighted that THE RHYTHMS OF IRELAND, features the finest award-winning artists performing today. Stars the calibre of DAVID MOORE, lead male dancer of RIVERDANCE; ANTHONY STREET, lead male dancer of LORD OF THE DANCE; DEIRDRA KIELY, the 23-year-old world champion from Waterford, Ireland, who was the female lead in RAGUS and has danced at the world-famous Milwaukee Irish Festival and with acclaimed traditional bands The Chieftains and Solas and award-winning Irish Dance Champion PETA ANDERSON, plus a cast of 14 dancers with extensive experience with major Irish international productions thus ensuring a standard of excellence and quality in performance.

Choreographer MICHAEL DONNELLAN-ENNIS needs no introduction. He is 4-times World Irish Dance Champion, the ex-lead male dancer of RIVERDANCE and LORD OF THE DANCE. He directed the acclaimed MAGIC OF THE DANCE.

Music direction will be by five-times all-Irish champion MARTIN O’CONNELL, considered to be one of Ireland's most dynamic young button accordian player from Brosna County, and THOMAS JOHNSTON, the Uilleann pipes and whistle player who comes from a strong piping tradition in County Monaghan - these two acclaimed talents will be accompanied by live musicians from Ireland, which includes all-Ireland singing champion LISA MURPHY from Belfast and the multi-talented Irish musician DAVID DELANEY.

Experience a spectacular evening of traditional Irish dance, music and song enhanced by stunning costumes, lighting and sound. This is indeed, THE RHYTHMS OF IRELAND. "Legend, folklore and enchantment are interwoven in a voyage of discovery without falling into the trap of sentimentality. That's not to deny that some passages make the hairs on the nape of the neck rise…the troupe's adaptation echoes the past as the dancers seem to fly across the stage to the beat of the bodhron and the soaring notes of the fiddle. Great music, dancing and singing by performers of zipping quality and enthusiasm make you want to clap in time. In fact, the haunting sound of the pipes, the energizing sound of the taps, the deep rhythms of the bodhrán and the shrill cry of the fiddle – the best of the Irish experience”, notes Michael Donnellan, the Choreographer of THE RHYTHMS OF IRELAND.

THE RHYTHMS OF IRELAND are now firmly established as a must see attraction..This production encapsulates the new found confidence in Irish Culture, and keeps it real by bringing audiences dance and music that comes straight from the source.

A new found interest in the Irish Culture shines through in this grand new production of THE RHYTHMS OF IRELAND. Audiences will be blown away by the critically acclaimed production that brings you Irish dance and music straight from the source and aims to keep it real. This is a production that simply cannot to be missed.....The Real Culture - The Real Passion.