Irish dance sensations The Gardiner Brothers have created a great video celebrating male Irish dancers from across the world.
Michael and Matthew Gardiner are two of the best Irish dancers in the world, with five World Championships between them.
Five years ago, they were part of the #LADjam project created by their Riverdance colleague James Greenan, which was an invitation to lads around the world to show off their Irish dancing skills.
The Gardiner Brothers felt the time was right to revive the project and so they launched #LADjam.
We spoke to Michael about #LADjam. He said: “Since every good movie deserves a sequel, Matthew and I decided to bring #LADjam back 5 years on.
“We wanted to continue what James had started and help to create a platform for lad dancers all over the world to be able to showcase their skill, rhythm, athleticism and talent. It’s a brilliant way for the lads to express themselves and get creative.
“We know from competing and performing, that the standard of Irish dancing has risen incredibly, even over the last five years since the first #LADjam.”
“We believe that the outside world doesn’t understand the commitment, the blood, the sweat, the tears and the sacrifices that Irish dancers make in order to get to the level that we are all at.”
Michael and Matthew were born to Irish parents in Denver Colorado, and have been Irish dancing since they can remember.
They moved to Ireland in 2006 and are recognised as two of the best Irish dancers in the world.
In fact, in 2015 they became the first siblings in nearly 40 years to win World Championships in the same year.
The brothers have now retired from competitive dancing, and are focusing on coaching and choreographing in the Hession School of Irish Dancing in Galway.
They both also perform around the world with Riverdance, The Kilfenora Ceili Band, and Fusion Fighters, as well as study for their degrees in Architecture and Engineering.
So with all that on your plates, thanks a lot lads for taking the time to tell us about the #LADjam.
Michael told us: “We sent a call to the world of Irish dancing Lads to send us their best stuff and they did not disappoint!
“We received 92 videos from every continent in the World! We got videos from Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, USA, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, South Africa, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, China, Russia and Australia!
“We got so many entries, that we decided to split the videos into three episodes to share with the world. Each video contains 30 lads and the talent in each video is absolutely mind-blowing. From ages six, to forty-four, the lads have done an amazing job in showing their talent.”
Take a look at the #LADjam videos for yourself.
Written by Andrew Moore