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Maldon Meehan

Maldon Meehan grew up in duality of two worlds, the city of Portland, Oregon and the Artist Commune of Spring Grove on the Northern California coastline. Her mother, an artist herself, exposed her to art at an early age and her father, a poet and dancer exposed her to the world of Irish music and dance. By the age of 15 Maldon had moved Portland fulltime, where she became entrenched in the Irish music and dance community and began teaching at the age of 18.

In 1998 Maldon completed her BA at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. While in Olympia Maldon was invited as visiting artist in Evergreen's Academic program “Ethnomusicology and Ethnopoetics: The Celtic World". Maldon's passion for the historical and cultural context of dance led her to enroll in the Master of Ethnochoreology program at the University of Limerick, Ireland. While at the University she researched and wrote her MA thesis on the Irish Set Dancing Revival. Graduating with honors,

Maldon returned to the states in 1999 where she continued to bring her love and knowledge of Irish dance, music and culture to both the stage and classroom in a way that is inspiring and intriguing to all.

In 2001 Maldon founded Meehan Productions, an organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of traditional music and dance. Based in Portland, Oregon Meehan Productions brought artist from around the world to Portland. Including productions with Patrick Street, the Celtic Fiddle Festival, Danu, Tannahill Weavers, Tommy Peoples, Phil Cunningham, and Aly Bain, Kevin Burke, Johnny B. Connolly, and Foghorn Stringband. Maldon has over 12 years experience bringing Irish music and dance to the public through performance, education and promoting concerts.

As an instructor for Irish dance, including Set, Sean-nós and Céilí dance she has offered workshops throughout the U.S, Canada and Ireland. Maldon has performed at festivals and concerts, including appearances at the Irish World Music Center in Limerick, Ireland, the Friday Harbor Irish Music Camp in Washington, Lady of the Lake Dance Camp, Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho and Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle, Washington.

In 2004 Maldon moved Ireland where she began co-teaching with Galway dancer/fiddle player Ronan Regan. The two have toured internationally teaching at festivals, music camps, dance communities and performing in theaters. Most recently Ronan and Maldon released an internationally acclaimed instructional DVD of Sean-nós dance (Irish old-style dance). Maldon returned to Portland, Oregon in 2006 where she currently lives and tours with Ronan Regan, the Footnotes Band and The Nua-Nós Dance Troupe.

Ronan Regan

Ronan Regan, from Galway on the West Coast of Ireland, recenlty completed a MA in Traditional Music Performance in Micheal O’ Suilleabhan’s Irish World Music Centre in University Limerick. Known for his weaving lyrical fiddling, his infectious pace and his love of the older aesthetic of the North Leitrim Tradition upon which his thesis is based. He favours playing in the more traditional sessions and has performed in such places as the Aran Islands and Inish Bofin off Galway, in the subtle sessions of Kinvarra, South Galway and the sensitive rhythmic sessions of North Leitrim and West Fermanagh.

He has also performed on stage for the Dr. Douglas Hyde festival in Ballaghadereen, Co. Roscommon and Ionadh Cois Locha in the North West Donegal Gaeltacht area of Gweedore. Ronan has passed on his love of music through individual and group teaching and Workshops in conjunction with music festivals such as the Gaelic festival in Glasgow, Scotland

In addition to his musicianship, Ronan is also a Sean Nos dancer, Set dancer and teaches music and dance. He has performed extensively at events such as on stage at the dance recital at the Willie Clancy Festival, Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare. Described by many as a natural teacher with an infectious love of dance, Ronan has offered dance workshops throughout Ireland. Ronan is a tutor at events such as the Inish Bofin Arts festival, and has provided third level tuition at the Fonn Chonallacha College of Music, Donegal and the Irish World Music Centre in University Limerick.

Dance Sean-nos DVD

Steps for Irish traditional improvised dance

Ronan Regan and Maldon Meehan, now have an instructional DVD of sean-nós steps. Sean-nós is a form of old-style Irish dance, which survives mostly in the Connemara Gaeltacht. It is most likely the form of dance that American clogging and tap dance draw their Irish roots from.

The DVD was shot around Galway on the West Coast of Ireland. Opening shots were set in the Claddagh and around the Corrib River’s Salmon Weir. The instructional part was shot in Aras na Gael, on Dominic Street, Galway with Johnny O'Halloran from Inis Bofin, Connemara providing the tunes on melodeon. Ronan and Maldon later went down to Johnny and Mick Crehan's pub `The Crane Bar' for an impromptu session of music and dancing.

The DVD will take you through a demo of the steps, an in-depth teaching of the steps, a slow practice followed by a chance to dance the steps up to speed. There is a lot of material on the DVD which will enable the dancer to gain a comprehensive set of steps to dance at sessions or a battering vocabulary that can be introduced into their set dancing repertoire.

To order the DVD contact Maldon and Ronan at seannosdance @ yahoo.com

For more infomation visit our site:

www.seannosdance.com

Online Sean-nos Dance Community

Workshop Offerings

BOOKING FOR PERFORMANCES AND WORKSHOPS CONTACT: Meehan Productions
(503) 206 9311
seannosdance@yahoo.com