Kevin Doyle's Roscommon Soles will perform at Blackstone River Theatre in Cumberland on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 3 p.m., according to Kevin Doyle Dance. The matinee brings Irish step dance and American tap together in a program drawing on jigs, reels, hornpipe and tap.
The show is part of the concert series at the theater, located at 549 Broad St., The Valley Breeze reports. The program explores the relationship between Irish step dance and American tap, according to Kevin Doyle Dance.
A Venue With an Education Mission
Alongside presenting performances, Blackstone River Theatre says it provides arts education and instruction through its Harry Martin Heritage Arts Studio.
Doyle will be joined by his sister Maureen Doyle and tap dancer Amara Grant. Champion step dancer Kiera Nagle, affiliated with the Kelly School of Irish Dance, is also scheduled to appear as a special guest, according to Kevin Doyle Dance.
Traditional Music onstage
The musicians accompanying the dancers include Sheila Falls, an All Ireland fiddler, on fiddle; Joshua Kane on flute and whistle; John Coyne on bouzouki and vocals; and Diarmuid Ó Meachair, from County Cork, on traditional Irish accordion and melodeon, according to The Valley Breeze and the production's listing.
Doyle has practiced Irish step dance for more than five decades, according to his bio. He was born in Rhode Island and, per his site, is a son of County Roscommon through his mother, Margaret Taylor Doyle — a lineage reflected in the show's title.
A Heritage Honor and a Lifetime of Teaching
In 2014, Doyle received a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship, described by the agency as the highest honor conferred upon a traditional artist in the United States, per the National Endowment for the Arts. The Valley Breeze reports that, according to event organizers, Doyle is the third Irish step dancer honored with the fellowship in its 30-year history.
Doyle's path to the stage began young: he started studying dance at age 10 at Pawtucket's Theresa Landry School of Dancing, according to Blackstone River Theatre. He went on to earn U.S. Irish Dance Champion honors and later expanded into American tap, a shift inspired by Fox Point's famous son George M. Cohan, per his bio.
Beyond performing, Doyle has built a career as a choreographer and collaborator. The Masters of Traditional Arts notes that he has choreographed, directed and performed in Brian O'Donovan's Christmas Celtic Sojourn, and has danced alongside the Celtic bands Atwater-Donnelly and Pendragon. Blackstone River Theatre's own tap dance page adds that he leads Roscommon Soles and performs with Kieran Jordan, Childsplay and other projects. In 2011, he received the Fellowship in Folk Arts from the Rhode Island Arts Council, according to the same Masters of Traditional Arts profile.
Passing the Tradition On
Roscommon Soles itself combines dance, story and music, and the production was originally created for presentation at the United States Library of Congress, Doyle's bio states, adding that it has since seen repeated sold-out performances. The Masters of Traditional Arts also notes that Doyle has continued passing his knowledge to students, including his daughter Shannon, who became an Irish dance instructor.
Tickets for Sunday's matinee are available at brtri.org, with admission priced at $26 in advance and $28 on the day of the show. Reservations can also be made by phone at 401-725-9272.
