Unexpected Visit from Gardiner Brothers at Schenectady Irish Dance Camp

August 4, 2024

Updated: August 4, 2024

SCHENECTADY — The global phenomenon of short-form video content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram‍ has not left the Irish dance community ⁤untouched. Over‌ the past eight years, these platforms have revolutionized the way we consume⁢ entertainment, and⁤ the ‌Irish dance community has ‍been riding this wave of change.

Last ‌week, the significance of these platforms to the dance community was underscored when renowned Irish dancers, the Gardiner Brothers,⁤ visited a dance camp at Union College. They choreographed,‍ filmed, and posted ⁤a dance routine to‍ Abba’s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” on social media. By⁤ Saturday afternoon, ⁢the⁣ 75-second ⁣video had garnered 1.2⁣ million⁢ views on Instagram and⁢ 1.8 million on TikTok.

The Gardiner Brothers’‌ visit to Union from July⁣ 19-21 was part⁤ of Camp Rince Ceol’s pop-up workshop weekend series, marking the camp’s 25th anniversary. The dance camp also welcomed world champion Irish dancers Tyler Schwartz and David Geaney for a workshop in mid-July.

Michael and Matthew Gardiner, the Irish-American professional dancers and social media influencers, have⁤ won over 40 major Irish dancing championship titles between them. They have also‍ amassed a following of over 1.6 million on Instagram and‍ 3.4 ⁣million on TikTok.

According to Camp Rince Ceol co-director Tony Davoren, the aim of the Gardiner Brothers’ visit was to teach‍ the kids some exciting choreography and give them a glimpse into the process ⁣of staging, filming, editing, and posting a viral‌ dance video.

“We wanted this to be an inward look at what it takes to create these amazing Irish dance videos that captivate audiences worldwide,” Davoren said.

The video ⁣featured about 75 kids, aged between ‌7 to 18, dancing⁤ in and out of the video alongside the Gardiner Brothers to⁤ Abba’s 1979 disco hit. The video blended disco moves with traditional Irish steps, as the dancers grooved in sunglasses and⁤ vibrant clothing⁣ outside of Union’s iconic Nott ⁣Memorial.

Bryggen Robertson, a 10-year-old from ⁢Wilmington, Delaware, participated in the Gardiner Brothers’ workshop ⁤in mid-July.

Robertson expressed her thrill at learning ⁣the choreography from the Gardiner Brothers, and then experiencing the filming and editing⁣ process for the video.

“They taught [us] a complete routine and then they showed us how to edit the routine, add special effects to it, and then post it,”⁤ Robertson⁣ said.

The‌ Daily Gazette was unable to ‌reach ‌the‍ Gardiner Brothers for comment.

Davoren,⁣ along with his wife and co-director of the camp⁤ Sheila Ryan, are big fans of the Gardiner Brothers. They had ⁤been trying to arrange ‌a visit ⁤from the ⁢brothers to the camp for five or ⁢six years, Davoren‌ said, so they were ‌thrilled that the workshop happened ⁣this summer.

“It was extraordinary to witness that level of talent and⁤ see ‌how kind and‌ caring they⁤ were with these kids,” Davoren said. “And how much time and effort they invested in the three days they spent with [the kids]. It was truly heartwarming to see.”

After their‍ brief visit to Schenectady, the Gardiner Brothers jetted⁤ off to Abu Dhabi, United Arab ⁣Emirates, to film ⁣a sponsored video with Experience‍ Abu‌ Dhabi.

Besides‍ the weekend workshops with the Gardiner ‌Brothers and Schwartz and Geaney, Camp‌ Rince⁤ Ceol hosted 671 dancers this summer across its three camp locations in Santa Barbara, California, Notre Dame, Indiana, and Schenectady. The⁢ Schenectady ⁤site is the largest of the three, with three week-long sessions‌ during the month of July, each ⁤week hosting about 160 campers.

“It’s a well-oiled machine,” Davoren said of managing the three⁢ camps across the country each ‌summer. “We just have to plan it correctly and we can pull it off and it‍ works great.”

Davoren and Ryan, both former performers ‌on the famous Irish show ‌”Riverdance,” settled down in Louisiana in the late ‍1990s. It was then that Ryan came up with⁢ the idea for an Irish dance ⁢camp.

“We were the pioneers. We ⁢conceived the idea of an⁤ Irish dance summer camp back in 2000,” Davoren ⁢explained.

The couple initially launched the camp at a location in East Durham in Greene County in 2000. They moved north ⁤to Union College ⁤for the summer of 2005,‌ and have remained at the Union location ever⁣ since.

According to Davoren, he and Ryan decided to open locations in ⁤California, in 2004, ‍and Indiana, in 2021, in response to requests from ‌dancers in those⁢ regions for camps closer to them. However, the‌ New York Camp is significantly larger than the other two, with more weeks and more campers⁤ each week, due to the ‌strong Irish dance culture on the East Coast, Davoren said.

The Union College⁢ location attracts dancers from across the country, and even around the world, each summer — from as far as Mexico, Australia, and Saudi Arabia.

One of the camp’s main attractions for‍ dancers and their⁢ parents is the high-quality instructors that Davoren and Ryan bring in each year. Each camp session features 9 to 10 professional ⁢dancers as instructors, who help the campers refine their basic ⁢dance steps ‍and teach them choreography.

“We have instructors approaching‌ us now,” Davoren said. “We’re known in the Irish dance world. We treat⁣ our staff very well, we pay‍ them well, it’s a very fun environment.”

Joe ⁣Harrison, a professional Irish dancer who has toured with about ten shows, including “Lord⁢ of the Dance” and ‍”Riverdance,” returned to Camp Rince Ceol⁣ this year for his fifth summer as an instructor.

Harrison, who ⁤attended the camp as ⁢a child, described how influential it has been for him as both a camper and an instructor. “Sheila [Ryan] puts it⁢ best:⁣ ‘you don’t ‌know how special it is until you ⁤are a part of it.’ But truly, it is the most special place that I have ever been,” Harrison said. “The atmosphere is always so ‍welcoming. Everyone shares a love for Irish‍ dance.”

Throughout the day, Harrison ‌and the other instructors teach both general‍ Irish dance classes, focused on technique and stamina, ⁣to the campers, along with more specific “bonus classes” on⁤ jumps, core engagement, rhythm and ‌timing, or ‌strength ‍and flexibility. In addition to daily classes, campers work throughout the week with two⁤ professional choreographers on an all-camp modern dance.

When the kids aren’t busy learning choreography and improving their dance steps, Davoren said, they ⁤are engaged in other “typical American summer camp” activities, such as a campfire sing-a-long, trivia night, slip and slides, and a soccer tournament.

Robertson, who also attended⁢ a⁣ week-long camp session prior⁢ to the Gardiner Brothers’ workshop, described her favorite part of the camp as the sense of community it fostered among dancers from different places. “We didn’t really talk about⁤ competition stuff,” Robertson ⁤said. “We just danced there. It didn’t matter what level you were in. We all danced together.”

According⁣ to Davoren, the ‌collaborative environment that Robertson described is exactly what he and⁣ his wife strive‌ to create at the camp.

“Our goal from the⁣ very beginning was ⁣to create a non-competitive environment for kids who love ‍Irish dance — very simple,” he said.

Since Camp Rince Ceol emerged as the first Irish dance summer camp in 2000, several other Irish dance camps have ‍sprung up across the country, including the rival Riverdance Summer School in Boston. However, Harrison believes⁢ that Camp Rince Ceol remains the best of ‍its kind.

“We definitely sparked the creation⁢ of other camps,” Harrison said. “We‍ say ‍every ⁢year, it’s ‌very refreshing to come in and‌ feel the sense of community that ‍Irish ⁢dance is⁤ meant to foster.”

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