Beautiful Irish Dancer Portraits

I just adore this portrait of a talented Irish Dance from The Connick School of Irish Dance! This was her first custom made Irish Dance costume and it was created by Eire Designs by Gavin. I am always in awe of the color combinations that are used in the creation of an Irish Dance dress. Every dress must be unique in design, which I can only imagine is not an easy task for the dress designers given the number of talented dancers purchasing custom dresses each year. So, part of the way the dresses become unique is the color combinations that are used.

Most designers will ask for photos of the child to help determine the best colors for the dress based on which colors will look best on that particular dancer. And while sometimes a dance can request her favorite colors, most often the dance teachers will want the dress designers to choose the colors and not the dancer. The goal is to help that dancer just pop on stage so the judges remember them and their beautiful dancing.

Last September, we had a gorgeous weather day in Greensboro, NC for Walsh Kelley's annual Greensboro City Feis held in the Marriott in Downtown Greensboro. This stunning dancer in her beautiful dress was ready and waiting for me to photograph her, and we just popped outside the venue and I loved the results. Everything about this dancer's look for the day was just perfect, including her makeup by Jade from Celtic Curls.

And look for this dancer in the upcoming feature-length movie about Irish dancing, Curls, a story about a mixed-race girl who discovers Irish Dancing through her late mother.

Location: Greensboro, North Carolina.