What's Happening in Chanhassen, MN…

Thanks to popular demand, a favorite show is coming back to Chanhassen.

“Kickin’ It Irish” is returning to the Main Stage of the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. The show, which is family-friendly, is a staple of the St. Patrick’s Day festivities in the community. The dance troupe is led by Cormac Ó Sé, who is from Dublin, Ireland, and was in the original “Riverdance” company. The other performers are the O’Shea Irish Dancers, 18 champions from the famed studio.

The show was devised by the originators of “Celtic Holiday Hooley” and “Get Up Your Irish.” It features both contemporary and traditional Irish step dancing, as well as vocal numbers, and world-class musicians playing the African djembe, accordion, guitar, fiddle, flute, whistle, and Irish bodhran. When performances such as this are scheduled, organizers can use poster printing to create the kind of colorful, exciting advertising that will bring audiences to the show.

Irish music and dance exploded into people’s consciousness when “Riverdance” premiered as an intermission act at the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin in April 1994. The enthusiastic reaction to this brief segment, which starred Michael Flatley and Jean Butler, led to the creation of the full-length show and its sequels, which have been performed around the world ever since.

“Kickin’ It Irish” will be on stage on March 14. Dinner is at 5:30 pm with the performance following at 7:30 pm.