Angeline King, best known for her contemporary novels, Snugville Street and A Belfast Tale, is the writer and research-er of Mid & East Antrim Council's three-year museum exhibi-tion, 'An Irish Dancing Story.' Angeline enjoys exploring shared culture in Northern Ire-land, her essays on Irish literature have been published in the Irish Times and her short story book, Children of Latharna, which is based on cross-community friendships, is on the reading list of some primary schools in County Antrim. Ange-line is a Professional member of the Irish Writers Centre and recipient of the Arts Council Individual Award. She also pro-motes women's writing through Women Aloud NI. Her blog can be found at: www.angelineking.com/blog
With a wide frame of reference, this book whisks the reader on an engaging journey across the country... Paul Clements, Irish Times; As the first ever Festival-trained lead dancer of Riverdance, I am delighted to see this book, Irish Dancing: The Festival Story herald the remarkable contribution that Festival has made to the art form of Irish Dance. It's also so good to read about all the familiar names, both teachers and competitors, that I grew up knowing personally or knowing of their legacy. Lauren Smyth, Lead Dancer, Riverdance; Irish Dancing: The Festival Story is a wonderful historical record of dancing in Ulster. I have taught festival Irish dancing, Sean-nos dancing, set dancing and Cape Breton dancing, so this book helped me make sense of all the various styles that I've practised throughout the years. Robert Hunter, Principal dancer in Miss Mulholland's Irish ballets.; Irish Dancing: The Festival Story is the book that fills the gap in the long and wonderful history of Irish Dance. High-lighting the unique way that the style not only kept alive the form and grace of the dance, but allowed a shared culture to thrive despite its community being, at times, torn apart. Les Baird, Principal dancer in Miss Mulholland's Irish ballets & WIDA adjudicator.