'A Taste of Ireland' brings the Emerald Isle to New Mexico

Get whisked away into Irish culture and traditions without ever leaving the state.

“A Taste of Ireland” is bringing a little flair of the Emerald Isle through music and dance to Popejoy Hall on Sunday, April 20, at 3:30 p.m. The contemporary dance performance tells the story of Ireland through various elements, like the music and song ballads intertwined through performances. The group will also perform shows in Hobbs on Tuesday, April 15; Las Vegas, New Mexico, on Friday, April 18; and in Farmington on Saturday, April 19.

“It’s set right from the beginning of the history of Ireland ... which is kind of like the Irish folklore of the Celtic tribes that originates in Ireland,” said Callum O’Neill, lead dancer and a dance captain of the show. “It goes through all the other monumental moments of history — such as the Irish invasion — and then it takes us up to present day Ireland.”

Though the story follows Ireland through it’s richest and deepest historical moments, the show weaves in notes of modern era themes and music to make the show more relatable to a modern day audience. Through each subsection of history, dancers and performers will portray characters through costume changes that are dependent on the point of the timeline the show is portraying.

“There’s a lot of things about Irish history that a lot of people would have never heard of or wouldn’t understand,” O’Neill said. “The message we want to try and convey is to hopefully either teach people or help people to understand more about Irish culture and history.”

The show includes a line-up of 14 dancers — some who are Irish dance champions — and three musicians, including fiddle, guitar and banjo players. Audience members may even notice a projector displaying images like the flag of Ireland to help depict history and culture through movement.

O’Neill said preparation for the show can take several weeks, especially because the show is currently on a worldwide tour, traveling through various points in the United States before taking their talents to New Zealand. “A Taste of Ireland” made its official debut last year and since then, the show has only gained momentum.

Guests can also expect to join the show themselves, as “Taste of Ireland” performers will open up the show for an audience participation.

“Depending on the crowds, we may get heckled a lot ... we open the floor and really break the fourth wall there,” O’Neill said. “We can just have a good back and forth bit of banter with them, and it’s so fun to just see how each crowd reacts each night.”

The performers are excited to share their culture with people across the world, especially to New Mexicans who may not have an understanding or much experience with Irish culture.

“It’s just interesting that we can share our culture, especially in terms of New Mexico, where you’d never think that people would ever hear about Irish culture, so it’ll be interesting to just share that story,” O’Neill said.

'A Taste of Ireland' brings the Emerald Isle to New Mexico