In this first detailed history of Irish dance in the Irish diaspora, Kathleen Flanagan gives a fascinating account of the art form in Chicago, the city that is currently one of the global centers for Irish dance practice. From the first appearance of step dancers at Chicago’s 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition to the emergence of world-renowned Chicago performers and choreographers such as Michael Flatley and Mark Howard, she depicts the teachers, schools, and performances that contributed to making Chicago an international center for Irish dance. Flanagan takes the reader on a journey that is distinctly Irish yet unmistakably American. Surrounded by and intersecting with a unique and complex set of cultural and political influences, Irish Americans in Chicago took the lead in innovations within the dance form that eventually led to such groundbreaking productions as “Riverdance” and “Lord of the Dance.”
