The BBC’s new three-part documentary set in the world of Irish dancing opens with something unexpected: a legal disclaimer. “The footage in this episode was filmed in 2022,” goes a statement. “There is no evidence to suggest cheating took place at the world championship that year or that any of the dancers or parents featured in this series were involved or benefited from it.”
Why did the BBC get the lawyers in? The reason is hinted at in the voiceover that introduces The Year That Rocked Irish Dancing (BBC One, Monday, 10.45pm), an otherwise unremarkable portrait of the competitive world of Irish dancing.
In 2022, I started filming two schools training for the CLRG (Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha) Irish championships,” says director and producer Gillian Callan.* “Then everything changed. Allegations of widespread cheating swept the world of Irish dance. At first I didn’t believe it. Then I felt foolish for not seeing it earlier.”
She refers to a scandal that erupted in July 2022 when the Irish Dancing Commission, or An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG), the oldest and largest governing body for competitive Irish dancing, was informed of allegations that at least 12 Irish dancing teachers in Ireland and overseas were involved in the “fixing” of competitions by promising to award higher marks to competitors at Irish dancing events run by the commission in Ireland, the UK and the United States.
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However, all that lay far in the future as the cameras start rolling for the BBC film. We meet Derry dance instructor Rosetta McConomy. She doesn’t take prisoners and approaches dancing much as a drill sergeant would a squad of unruly troops. “A few think I’m their mammy. I’m sure a lot think I’m a bitch,” she says wryly.
Her best students include world champion Caitlin and her brother Cillian, entering the CLRG World Championships for the first time.* Their parents acknowledge the sacrifice: they live in Armagh, the school is in Derry, and they attend classes throughout the week. That’s a lot of miles clocked up: even at home, the dancers are joined over Zoom by their instructors for further practise sessions.
Also attending the world championships in Belfast are American dancers Riley and Liam. They’ve arrived in Belfast for intense prep. Riley’s mother says the appeal of Irish dance is its tooth-and-claw nature. “It’s not this ‘everybody gets a trophy’ world’,” she says. “There are winners and losers. I like that aspect of it. That’s real life.”
Real life it may be, but you have to feel for the dancers, who are often white with nerves while waiting to go on. Sometimes, they go from white to green: as the “Worlds” begin, one kid in Cillian’s category throws up on stage. Liam and Cillian, however, keep their lunch and impress the judges: both make it through to the next round.
For newcomers to Irish dance, one of its striking aspects is the mix of the traditional and garish. The dancers are a whirling blend of fluidity and physicality. But they are dressed as though participating in a beauty pageant in the American South: slathered in make-up, with glitzy costumes that look like something Freddie Mercury might reject as too kitsch.
There’s no juice in the episode, however. The big scandal doesn’t land until part three – when a different side to Irish dancing will apparently be revealed. For now, this documentary is a bit like Michael Flatley’s quiff – impressive, in a way, but not necessarily something you want to spend your evening thinking about.
*This article was corrected on Tuesday, October 17th to remove erroneous references to CRG (Cumann Rince Gaelach) which was not mentioned in the documentary
