Mayo dancer wins role in TitanicDance world tour

ACHILL Island native Katrina O’Donnell has won the lead role in the new hit Irish dance musical TitanicDance alongside award-winning Irish dancer Raymond Sweeney and three-time world champion and Lord of the Dance star James Keegan.

The show starts its tour at the Belfast Waterfront on September 13 and 14 before it goes on to visit The Helix in Dublin on September 16 and then the SEC Armadillo Arena in Glasgow on September 23 for its Scottish premiere. From there it's on to Manchester on All-Ireland Sunday, September 24, for its English premiere, while the show will visit the Millennium Forum, Derry, from September 28 to 30 before it starts its month-long tour of China from October 2 to 29.

Katrina began dancing at the age of four with Doreen O'Connor and then went to the Sylvan Kelly School of Irish Dancing. She went on to win numerous titles, including Connaught, Scottish and American championships as well as placing in the top five in both All-Ireland and world championships.

She has toured all over the world with shows such as Celtic Legends and Dance of Desire, and most recently with Ragus where she was given the opportunity to perform lead while touring in Holland, China, Japan and France.

Katrina has also appeared in the RTÉ TV series Dance Off where she was chosen by ex-Riverdance lead Brendan de Gallai for his show Noctu, which has toured Ireland and Broadway.

“It’s a huge honor to perform lead alongside Ray Sweeney and James Keegan,” said Katrina. “It is an incredibly talented cast, with quite a few performers from Mayo. We are very excited about the tour - it's a show not to be missed.”

Derry-based Millenium Forum Productions, with an arrangement with KSR Productions, have joined forces with the Mayo Manchester Tourism and Business Group to promote the tour.

Tony Hennigan from Mayo Manchester said the Titanic story is very close to the hearts of people in Mayo, particularly the small village of Addergoole, with the Titanic memorial in nearby Lahardane paying homage to 14 local people who were killed on the ship's fateful maiden voyage.

“It's great to see Mayo musicians and dancers keeping their spirit and the story alive through this production,” Tony added.

The electrifying show tells the story - through a cast of 30 world class Irish dancers and live musicians - of the world’s most famous ship from its beginning in the Belfast shipyard to its tragic end in the Atlantic Ocean.