Irvine Barclay Theatre
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Glorious music and dance, stories and laughter,
Kerry Records presents "An Irish Christmas" at Irvine Barclay Theatre
08.19.2009 – Christmas in the Irish countryside begins with the journey to the local fields to gather the reddest berried holly in the cold and frosty days at the beginning of December. This ritual heralds the beginning of the Christmas preparations and the special welcoming and celebration of family life, community and friendship. On the days running up to Christmas children are sent by their parents to neighbors with simple gifts, friends come to visit, and music and merriment somehow follow – dancing feet, fiddlers, pipers, storytellers, children, parents, friends all have something to offer the welcoming house. Twitter Pitch
Come celebrate with us a *magical* Christmas evening in Ireland where a thousand welcomes await you!
News Facts
The North Kerry Blackbird. “The Blackbird” is the oldest known solo set dance”. The dance steps you will see
Sunday, November 29, 2009 at 2pm Irvine Barclay Theatre - 4242 Campus Drive
in the “Blackbird” dance are the original Jerry Molineaux steps. From North Kerry, he was a well-known dance
Tickets: $48, $40 general $43, $35 seniors | $28, $22 children under 12 (949) 854-4646 | www.thebarclay.org | www.ticketmaster.com
master in the sean-nos tradition. These steps were gathered from Fr. Pat Ahern, founder of The Irish National Folk Theatre, who learned the steps directly from Jerry Molineaux. These
Kerry Records, under the direction of Margaret O’ Carroll, celebrates the Christmas season with a special production that showcases Irish traditions special to the holidays. "An Irish Christmas" features the sacred moments of Christmas, the lighting of the Christmas candle, and the old custom of hunting the wren on St. Stephen’s Day. Throughout the evening, audiences will enjoy many of the old Irish Christmas carols accompanied by traditional Irish instruments (uilleann pipes, Irish flutes, bodhrán, Irish fiddles, and button accordions) and traditional Irish dance including The Blackbird and dancing on the half-door.
steps are close to one hundred years old! David Munnelly, who was born and raised in Co. Mayo, is the most exciting young button accordionist to have emerged from Ireland in generations. From the ages of 21to 25, David was the accordion player for The Chieftains. He also toured and performed with DeDanaan and other
Special Guests: button accordion wizard David Munnelly (“a creative force at the true epicenter of Irish traditional music" - liveIreland.com), the great Kieran Munnelly on flute and sensational Irish fiddler Kathleen Keane ("virtuoso…one of the world's finest Celtic fiddlers" - Chicago Tribune) joining the brilliance of the dance from The Kerry Dance Troupe, a team of top-ranked dancers in the world of competitive Irish dance, along with a host of singers and actors, a sparkling Irish night of music, song, dance and storytelling is guaranteed!
legendary Irish artists before forming his own band in 2002. Kathleen Keane is one of the great Irish fiddlers of her generation. She has shared the stage with many great traditional Irish artists including Jimmy Keane, Mick Moloney, Robbie O' Connell, Johnny Cunningham and Eileen Ivers. You can see and hear Kathleen
“…Magical…glorious Irish music…electric… remarkable….pure joy…a great Irish night…The capacity crowd nearly brought the house down at the end of the evening” - The Irish Herald
play in two feature films, "The Road to Perdition" and "Backdraft", and she has also played on the movie soundtrack for Universal’s, "Cinderella Man” starring Russell Crowe.
To schedule an interview contact: MARGARET O’ CARROLL info@kerryrecords.com | 818-784-3805
Kerry Records is a Los Angeles based Irish Production Company established in 2002 by Margaret O’ Carroll, a native
A Few of the Irish Christmas Traditions:
of Tralee, Co. Kerry, Ireland. Margaret is a former member of the Irish National Folk Theatre. The company is
The Dance Master’s Shoes: A pair of dance shoes become the embodiment of not only all that was lost in Ireland’s long and troubled history, but everything that was saved - everything that is still cherished in the Irish folk traditions. The dance master’s shoes, in a sense, symbolize the wealth of Irish culture. These are magical shoes, they have a life of their own and they take us on our journey.
dedicated to the preservation of Ireland’s rich traditions of music, song, dance, storytelling, poetry and literature.
Resource Links Dancing on the half door: The ‘half door’ was an important part of Irish social life. It admitted light and kept animals out. It was often removed from its position and dropped to the floor… and the dance challenge was delivered! It is said - “a good dancer could dance on a silver tray, and a really excellent dancer could dance on a sixpence. The best dancer danced as it were, underneath himself or herself,
Kerry Records Irish Christmas Original Cast Recording Buy Tickets Listen to David Munnelly play on MySpace
trapping each note of music on the floor, and the use of the half-door and kitchen table for solo performances indicates the limited area in which the dancer was expected to perform." (Brendan Breathnach).
Kathleen Keane bio Kieran Munnelly on MySpace
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Irish, Ireland, celtic, music, dance, fiddle, fiddler, performing arts, Kerry Records, David Munnelly, Kathleen Keane, Christmas, holiday
La an Dreoilín: “The Day of the Wren,” celebrates the old custom of “The Wrenboys” – groups of boys, girls and adults who, on the feast of St. Stephen (26th December) went about from house to house dressed in various disguises, playing music and performing dances. They carried with them a wren tied to a hollybush. In the West Kerry Gaeltacht it was customary for the Wrenboys to carry with them the image of a white horse, “An Capall Bán” – the mythological link between our world and the timeless world of the gods. “An Capall Bán” is a unifying force, and all tribes (human and otherwise) become one in his presence. The hunt for the wren sparked much fun and excitement leading up to “The Day of the Wren” when the celebrations began before dawn and continued until late into the night. All houses in the district were visited and all welcomed the Wrenboys who would dance, sing and make merry in exchange for a “penny to bury the wren.”
"An Irish Christmas" 2009 Touring Schedule:
Nov 27-28 - Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Thousand Oaks CA www.civicartsplaza.com
Nov 28 - Irvine Barclay Theatre, Irvine CA www.thebarclay.org
Dec 4-6 - Gallo Center for the Arts, Modesto CA www.galloarts.org
Dec 11 - Marsee Auditorium, El Camino College, Torrance CA www.elcamino.edu/commadv/centerforarts/mainstage.html
Dec 13 - Balboa Theatre, San Diego CA www.sandiegotheatres.org
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6 About Irvine Barclay Theatre An intimate venue with first-class talent, Irvine Barclay Theatre showcases top-notch artists and entertainers from across the nation and around the world. With only 750 seats, everyone gets a great view no matter what you choose to attend – established artists, cutting-edge work, contemporary dance, world music, theater, chamber music or family events. It's all here … at the Barclay! Contacting Irvine Barclay Theatre Irvine Barclay Theatre 4242 Campus Drive
PO Box 5646 Irvine, CA 92612 949.854.4646 Website: http://www.thebarclay.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Irvine-Barclay-Theatre/59326789951 LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/companies/207055?trk=ape_s000001e_1000 Press Contact Karen Drews Hanlon Office: 949.509.2813 Cell: 949.246.7332 Email: drews@thebarclay.org LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karendrewshanlon Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Irvine-BarclayTheatre/59326789951?ref=ts Interview Request Karen Drews Hanlon Office: 949.509.2813 Cell: 949.246.7332 Email: drews@thebarclay.org Product Sample Request Karen Drews Hanlon Office: 949.509.2813 Cell: 949.246.7332 Email: drews@thebarclay.org
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