Luck of the Irish

Josie Callahan is not your typical tow-headed, wispy dancer. 

Fiery-haired, tall and outspoken, Callahan, 21, has built her life around Irish dance, a form of step dance known for its colorful costumes and rich Celtic heritage—and has just arrived back in College Park on the heels of a 52-city, nationwide tour with Lord of the Dance earlier this year.

Callahan spent three months on tour, dancing through cities like Boise, Idaho and Mohegan, Conn.   A typical day, she says, was spent exploring a city, then rehearsing throughout the day until the big show later that night.  Afterward, a tour bus whisked the 37-member tour away to the next city.

First hooked on Irish dance after her first class at age five, Callahan has spent her life dreaming of dancing for a professional troupe, an aspiration only reinforced after going to a Riverdance show two years later. 

“I knew that I would do whatever it took to one day be up on that stage,” Callahan said.

Dancers like Callahan wear hard dance shoes (known simply as hard shoes) to fly across the dance floor, gracefully performing a routine in which the audience can hear every dance step.

“I love the mixture of athleticism and artistry that is Irish dancing,” Callahan said.  “I find the complex rhythm of the hardshoe dancing to be completely unique from other dance forms, and the technique and intricate footwork to be particularly beautiful.”

Her tour with Lord of the Dance was not an easy job to get, Callahan said.  After years of dancing in both national and international competitions, Callahan applied to an exhaustive list of dance companies by submitting an audition video, photos and a resume detailing her past performances in a process she described as “extremely long and unpredictable," all while attending classes at University of Maryland. 

Her efforts landed her a spot with Lord of the Dance, a nationally touring dance company well-known within the Irish dancing world.  After her acceptance in January, Callahan spent February to April touring with the company. 

As for her future plans, Callahan is now preparing for a tour in Taiwan with Lord of the Dance, set to begin at the end of June.  After the tour, she’s slated to work as a counselor at an Irish dance sleep-away camp, teaching youngsters about the dance she loves so much.

“For me, there is nothing more satisfying than learning and mastering a new rhythm, and hitting the floor as loud as I can,” Callahan said.

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