Holly Fealey, the 10-year-old Irish dancer whose freestyle routine caught the attention of Michael Flatley, danced on stage at Cork Opera House on Wednesday, August 9 ahead of the "Lord of the Dance" run of shows.
“What a fantastic night at the Cork Opera House yesterday!” Flatley said on social media today, August 10, adding, “Well done Holly Fealey.”
What a fantastic night at the Cork Opera House yesterday! Well done Holly Fealey 👏 @corkoperahouse Lord of the Dance
Posted by Michael Flatley on Thursday, August 10, 2023
Cork Opera House shared this video of Holly as she took the stage to perform a lively treble reel for Flatley and "Lord of the Dance" castmembers:
View this post on Instagram
Of course, Holly's teachers and classmates from the Cronin School of Irish Dancing in Listowel, Co Kerry, many of whom tagged along for the special event, were extremely proud.
"Fantastic Holly!!!" the Irish dance school wrote on social media on Thursday, "You were amazing and made us all very proud of you!"
Our own @hollyfealey , invited by The Lord of the Dance himself @michaelflatleyofficial to dance opening night @...
Posted by Cronin School of Irish Dancing on Thursday, August 10, 2023
In June, Holly received a special invitation from Flately himself after a video of her freestyle Irish dance routine at a competition in Ballinrobe went viral.
Flatley Freestyle is catching on!
💫 Congratulations Holly Fealey, looks like you're the youngest winner so far! 💫#LordoftheDance #MichaelFlatley #FlatleyFreestyle@michaelflatleyofficial@IDMtweet
— Lord of the Dance (@lordofthedance) June 22, 2023
@hollyfealey pic.twitter.com/9fTCyDeqVW
Holly was only delighted to learn that Flatley shared her video, but was over the moon to later learn that she, her family, and her Irish dance teachers had been invited by Flatley to the Cork Opera House to perform her freestyle for the "Lord of the Dance" crew on August 9.
Speaking with Radio Kerry before heading to Cork, Holly's mum Rose said: "Holly just lives, breathes everything Irish dance. She just loves it."
Rose gave great credit to Holly's Irish dance teacher Johnny Cronin: "He puts a lot of the training and the effort and everything in with Holly.
"The two of them, they're a great team, they really are."
Johnny said he was "delighted" for Holly after the viral moment, noting how hard she works.
"Hopefully this is a good start to a very bright future for Holly."
Holly, who started Irish dance lessons when she was five years old, said she loves the way she can express herself through Irish dancing.
Well done, Holly!
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