Jigs, Dreams & Reality - An Irish Dance Comedy

JIGS, DREAMS & REALITY IS AN ONE NIGHT ONLY, ONE-OF-A-KIND SHOW THAT WILL CHANGE HOW THE WORLD SEES IRISH DANCE (AND IRISH DANCERS!). A FUSION OF DANCE AND COMEDY, JIGS, DREAMS & REALITY FEATURES AN ALL-STAR CAST AND A SOUNDTRACK COMBINING THE BEST OF TRADTIONAL AND MODERN TUNES. COME SEE THE PERFECT BALANCE BETWEEN LAUGHS AND SHOW-STOPPING PERFORMANCES! MEET THE CAST SERGEY NAZAROV, LEAD PERFORMER & CHOREOGRAPHER Sergey started dancing at age 18 in the wonderful theater studio Lege Artis under the direction of Polina Menshikh,and in 2012 was invited by Michael Flatley to perform with LORD OF THE DANCE (as the first and only Russian troupe member). After working with Lord of the DANCE, Sergey toured North America as the lead performer in RHYTHM IN THE NIGHT and CAROL OF THE KING, and was the lead performer in Ireland in the show DANCEPERADOS. His dream was to create a show narrative that showcased the struggles and realities of life as a DANCER, in a way that was new and engaging, and that dream has come to life in the premiere of JIGS, DREAMS & REALITY! SAMANTHA MERRITT, LEAD PERFORMER Samantha is from Westfield, New Jersey and began dancing at the age of five for the Denogla School of IRISH DANCE. She had a successful competitive career including ten World Championship qualifications and multiple top five places both regionally and nationally. She began her professional career with RYTHM IN THE NIGHT in 2014 where she was promoted to principle DANCER FOR THE 2015 TOUR. In 2016, Samantha became one of the first members of the AMERICAN COMPANY OF IRISH DANCE. In 2016 and 2017 Samantha toured France with CELTIC DANCES as principle DANCER. Samantha joined TITANIC DANCE at their residency in Branson, Missouri, MAGIC OF THE DANCE in Germany, and DANCE MANAGER/principle DANCER OF FOUR NATIONAL TOURS WITH CHRISTMAS WITH THE CELTS. Her most recent work was a three month tour with ROCKIN' ROAD TO DUBLIN. CAITIE SZYSZKO, FEATURED PERFORMER Caitie began dancing ballet, tap, jazz and lyrical at the age of four and soon thereafter, with her Nan’s encouragement, got her little feet to learn some jigs and reels. A few years later she realized her love for DANCE REALLY EXISTED STRONGLY IN THE ART OF IRISH DANCE AND WANTED TO SOLELY FOCUS HER ATTENTION ON ACHIEVING HER GOALS WITHIN THE IRISH COMPETITIVE DANCE WORLD WHICH, at that time, was under the direction of the Peter Smith School. She currently competes as an Open Championship DANCER UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE HERITAGE IRISH DANCE COMPANY BASED IN NEW JERSEY, competing within her region and also at the national level. Achieving her goal of world qualifier taking her to the World Championship stage in Scotland March of 2018 was a goal she was very proud to accomplish. She is excited to now take on this performance role as a featured DANCER. This opportunity presented to Caitie to be cast in JIGS, DREAMS & REALITY is an exciting experience and she is looking forward to performing with this talented cast! MICHAEL ROBERSON, COMPANY MEMBER Michael began IRISH DANCING AT AGE 9 IN LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas, and competed for 9 years before starting his performance career with TAKE THE FLOOR in 2012. He has since gone on to tour North America as the lead performer in RHYTHM IN THE NIGHT and with CAROL OF THE KING. Michael is also a company member of the AMERICAN COMPANY OF IRISH DANCE and an active member of Little Rock UNTAPPED, Arkansas’ only professional tap company. He has had the opportunity to teach tap and IRISH DANCE IN SCHOOLS ALL OVER THE STATE, as part of the cultural arts outreach mission of Untapped. Michael is excited to be part of JIGS, DREAMS & REALITY, and cannot wait to share this brand new show with the world. ERIN O'DONNELL, COMPANY MEMBER Erin started DANCE CLASSES AT THE AGE OF SEVEN UNDER PEGGY WHITE WITH THE AN RINCE MOR SCHOOL OF IRISH DANCE IN LONG ISLAND, NY. After a successful competitive career she spent several years dancing professionally, most notably as an opening cast member of CELTIC FYRE at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and CAROL OF THE KING, and on tour throughout Europe as the lead performer in NIGHT OF THE DANCE. She has also performed with many IRISH ARTISTS, including DANU and THE PRODIGALS, and is a founding member of the BROOKLYN IRISH DANCE COMPANY. Erin received her TCRG certification with honors in 2013 and opened the O'Donnell Academy in NYC in 2016. She is thrilled to be a part of show that is funny, as she always wanted to be a stand up comedian but just couldn't stand still long enough to make a joke.  DAN DREW, COMPANY MEMBER Born in NEWARK, NJ, Daniel Drew is an actor, singer AND IRISH DANCER. In DANCE HE trained for nearly 20 years, first under the legendary dance teacher Peter Smith and then with the Heritage Irish Dance Company. He has toured North America with RHYTHM IN THE NIGHT and CELTIC ANGELS. He began performing at a young age in a number of productions at Rutgers University, where he later would attend and sing for the Men's Glee Club under the direction of Dr. Patrick Gardner. In the last few years he has performed in several regional productions, most notably appearing as Huey Calhoun in Vanguard Theater Company's production of MEMPHIS: THE MUSICAL as well as playing Paris in the New York Musical Theater Festival production SEARCHING FOR ROMEO.​ MALLORY SILLIERE, COMPANY MEMBER Mallory started IRISH DANCE AT SEVEN YEARS OLD WITH THE PENDER KEADY ACADEMY IN STAMFORD, CT. In her competitive career she competed at the regional, national, and world level for team and solo dancing. She is a founding member of the BROOKLYN IRISH DANCE COMPANY, where she performed throughout NYC.  STACEY COX, COMPANY MEMBER Stacey started dancing at the age of 4 in Tampa, Florida at the Butler School of IRISH DANCE UNDER SHEILA BUTLER DUFFY ADCRG. Alongside her sister, Stacey competed and performed in Florida, where she ranked at the regional and national level under the direction of Karl Drake. She performed at the TAMPA IRISH FESTIVAL and with IRISH RECORDING ARTISTS THE CHIEFTAINS in Atlanta, Georgia before retiring. After a brief hiatus in her college and early professional career, Stacey joined the O'Donnell Academy, where she is a founding member of the BROOKLYN IRISH DANCE COMPANY. ALEXANDRA OWENSBY, COMPANY MEMBER Alexandra began DANCE CLASSES AT THE AGE OF 6 AND IS WELL-versed in ballet, tap, and jazz.  At the age of 12, one of her DANCE TEACHERS ENCOURAGED HER TO TRY IRISH DANCING AND SHE BEGAN LEARNING UNDER GERALDINE MURRAY OF THE MURRAY SCHOOL OF IRISH DANCE IN PORTLAND, Oregon. In her teenage years, Alexandra enjoyed many performance opportunities, including coastal tours with EILEEN IVERS and MEN OF WORTH, performances with touring musicians and orchestras, and ensemble and soloist roles in Mt. Hood Ballet Theater’s production of the NUTCRACKER. After college, Alexandra moved to New York City and became a founding member of the BROOKLYN IRISH DANCE COMPANY where she performs throughout NYC. ALLISON MOROZ, COMPANY MEMBER Allison started dancing at 6 years old for the Pride of Erin School of Irish dance in Pennsylvania. She began competing at 14 years old, and continues to do so with the Broesler School out of New Jersey. She has competed at national and international competitions. Allison has always loved performing and has had opportunities like opening for a Flyers games and Riverdance Academy.