Shannon Dunne Dance was created by acclaimed sean-nós dancer and concertina player, Shannon Dunne as a performing and educational resource for the old ways of Irish dancing.
Shannon’s work with master dancers such as Róisín Ní Mhainín, Pádraig Ó hOibicín, Gearóid and Patrick Devane, to name but a few, has given her intimate access to the tight-knit sean-nós dance community and has afforded her a place among the top sean-nós dancers in North America. Her background in the Reggio Emilio educational philosophy shaped her approach to teaching and performance-making.
Shannon shares her performance style and curriculum work on stages and in education centers at a global level.
Shannon's talents & abilities have been recognized by many art-based organizations including the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. Her collaborative nature has seen her dance on stages across the globe, like the Millennium Stage, Symphony Space, and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, with groups such as Mick Moloney's Celtic Appalachia and Green Fields of America, Kitchen Quartet, Christylez Bacon's Washington Sound Museum. Her curriculum has been used outside of the company by Phoenix Irish Arts (Atlanta, Georgia) and the University of Notre Dame.
Shannon Dunne Dance is an inter-generational dance community created by Shannon Dunne to present programs that preserve and explore the many facets of the sean-nós dance tradition.
Literally meaning “old style” in Irish, the style is an exciting, improvised battering style dance, characterized by a loose, playful upper body, close to the floor steps and a strong musicality. Up until recently, sean-nós dance has been kept alive in the remote areas of Connemara Gaeltacht, passed along through family/community lines.
Connecting to the old-style, & adding a fresh take for new audiences
Shannon Dunne Dance uses traditional footwork, figures, and tunes and presents it in performances that embrace the musicality, community, tradition, spontaneity, joy, spirituality, improvisation and entertainment found in the old styles.
Creating an inclusive, multi-generational community through dance
With sean-nós dancing the fundamental practice of the company, the company has expanded to explore other regional, community-based forms of Irish dancing as means to create community and build context and skills, including set (social/figure) dancing, and old style step dancing, and also creates new work and improvisations that allow for a fresh exploration of the old ways. The aim of this inclusive approach to programming is to continue to deepen dancer’s relationship to the style and bring new audiences into the old styles. Programs for the company range from presentations of traditional dances, new work, or (typically) a combination of both.
Shannon Dunne Dance has made appearances at several notable venues world-wide
Shannon Dunne Dance has made appearances at venues such as: The Kennedy Center, Millennium Stage, The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Comhaltas Ceoltiori na hEireann North American Convention, The Irish Ambassador’s St Patrick’s Day Celebration, The National Theater, The Smithsonian Discovery Theater, Capital Fringe. Shannon Dunne Dance has also received a special commendation from the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann at the 2017 All-Ireland in Ennis, Co. Clare, Ireland.
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