Darrah Carr is the artistic director of Darrah Carr Dance, and a professor of dance at Hofstra University in Long Island.

Since 1998, Darrah Carr Dance has created ModERIN, a unique blend of traditional Irish step and contemporary modern dance. The company draws from Irish music, step dance footwork and spatial patterns to create high-energy, rhythmically based work that is accessible to a broad audience. Recent performance highlights include NBC’s Today show, a performance with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, the company’s 10th anniversary season at the Irish Arts Center, and the Yeats Project at the Irish Repertory Theatre.

Carr, a native of Toledo, Ohio, earned a bachelor of arts from Wesleyan University, and a master’s from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She is currently pursuing doctoral study at Texas Woman’s University leading to a Ph.D in dance. 

As a respected scholar of Irish dance, she has presented her research findings at the Congress on Research in Dance and at Dance Research Forum Ireland. She has written extensively for Dance Magazine, Dance Teacher, Dance Spirit, Dance Studio Life, and Dancer Magazine, and she serves as the North American editor of Dance Insider. Carr’s ancestors came from counties Kilkenny and Cavan in the 1800s. Her in-laws hail from Cavan and Donegal; she and her husband David Byrne have a daughter, Cavan Eileen, who is 21 months old. 

“On a happy personal note, my love of Irish dance led me to the love of my husband. Two of his sisters were students in my adult Irish dance class,” Carr says. 

“I celebrate my Irish heritage because it has touched nearly every aspect of my life. My appreciation of Irish culture is inextricably linked to my love of Irish dance. As a new parent, I look forward to instilling a sense of pride in our Irish heritage in my own daughter.”

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