Tomorrow is St Patrick’s Day and St Andrews-formed Celtic dance company, Siamsoir, will be putting their best feet forward in the town centre and around some of the town’s hostelries as they look forward to the staging of an original show in May. But apart from celebrating Irish dance and music, the group’s ultimate dream is to raise enough money to put the show on at Edinburgh’s Festival Fringe in the summer.

By Michael Alexander

When Paisley-born Jenn Hogan (pictured) arrived in Fife six years ago to embark upon degree studies at St Andrews University, she brought with her a lifelong passion for Irish dancing.

Regularly performing ballet and tap as a child, she was encouraged by her dad to take up Irish dancing as an 11-year-old, and only later discovered, following trips to family in Ireland, that most of her Irish family were keen dancers.

But the real turning point came in her second year at university when she started organising Irish dance classes as part of the Student Associations’ Dance Society—and it didn’t take long before fellow students caught the Irish bug. Starting off with 11 students in her very first class, Jenn found herself regularly teaching classes of 45 and continued teaching once a week throughout her degree studies.

Graduating in the summer of 2005, Jenn joined the sales and marketing department of the St Andrews Bay resort, and it was during her time there that she was swept away by a performance from the UK’s leading Irish dance company Celtic Feet. Inspired by the show, and wanting to take her dancing and teaching experience a step further, she decided to take the plunge and set up her own independent dance company.

In December of that year, the Siamsoir Celtic Dance Company (Siamsoir is Gaelic for The Entertainer) was born. Taking on the most talented Irish dancers from the student dance society, Jenn established a group of 12, all-female students of the university, and some of world-class competition standard.

Available for hire to dance at balls, corporate, charity or private events, the group will celebrate St Patrick’s Day tomorrow with a performance in Church Square, St Andrews, at 3.30pm, followed by a tour around the town’s pubs in the evening. In May, they will then perform an original show at St Leonard’s School, written and choreographed by Jenn. The Battle for Eire is billed as a unique fusion of Irish and contemporary dance.

Described as a ‘full length dark tale of ancient magic and mystery’, the show is based on traditional Irish folklore and will feature Jenn’s troupe dancing to original music performed live by the university’s Celtic band, Shy Bairn. Though Jenn is responsible for the full creative direction of the company, it is very much a team effort with the multi-talented dancers being involved with the design and making of costumes, all unique and elaborate affairs.

“What we are doing is the type of thing Michael Flatley does with his Lord of the Dance shows, but on a much smaller scale. We use theatrical storylines and modern interpretations of traditional Irish dancing.”

Siamsoir corners something of a niche in the St Andrews market and Jenn is unaware of any Irish dance companies in the area. Though Jenn would love to expand Siamsoir, there are inevitable problems with funding and the fact that every year she loses a valuable dancer when they graduate and leave St Andrews.

Jenn, now 23, still stays in the town. She technically has three jobs—working day time as a receptionist/secretary with the university’s School of Modern Languages and at Pagan Osborne solicitors during the weekend while teaching dance at night. She’s also taking a module in film studies and this year started up a student cheerleading society, of which she is founding president.

But while she and her boyfriend Malcolm are planning to take a year off travelling when he graduates from St Andrews this summer, she has yet to decide if Siamsoir should also take a year off. The couple’s first stop is set to be the United States, where Irish dancing is big, and Jenn will be taking her love of Irish dancing wherever she goes. She also hopes that the performances over the next months can raise enough money to help them put the show on at Edinburgh’s Festival Fringe in the summer.

“Wherever I am in the world, I feel that Siamsoir will exist in some form. I may start it up again and I know my dancers are all hopeful of this.” She would never say never about returning to St Andrews either. “I’ve had a brilliant six years and have done most of my growing up here, so I would never close the door completely.”

For further information about Siamsoir’s show, Battle for Eire, which premieres in St Andrews on May 5 and 6, go to www.siamsoir.co.uk