When the Coronavirus pandemic gave us all more time than we knew what to do with, many of us tried our hand at a new hobby. We’ve baked more banana bread than we could possibly consume, launched podcasts, crocheted our pets and learned just about every TikTok dance out there. No matter what we’ve chosen to spend our time doing, most of us would agree that it’s made us more creative than ever. For Riverdance lead Jason O’Neill, it meant venturing out onto the desolate streets of Belfast to create a lockdown series of pop culture inspired dance videos.
Those who have seen Jason perform live or on social media will be familiar with his rapid footwork, machine gun rhythms and signature choreography that make his videos so spellbinding. After 30 years of perfecting his craft, his style is unmistakable – whether it’s hitting multiple heel clicks, streamlined slides, or making rhythms with parts of a hard shoe you didn’t even know could make sound.
The 35-year-old dancer and graphic designer started the series with a tap saturated showcase to Run DMC’s “It’s Like That”. Since then, the Belfast streets and alleyways have become his canvas, where he’s covered everything from The Addams Family, James Bond, The Wizard Of Oz (complete with his own yellow brick board and ruby red laces), Stranger Things, The Joker, The Grinch and more. With every video he releases, as well as using soundtrack and often cosplay, the life and spirit of the pop culture piece that inspired it oozes out of the performance. “I’m just using Irish dancing as my platform and my voice, the stories are just there to be told,” Jason says.
In March last year, he performed lead in Riverdance at the opening night of the anticipated Radio City Music Hall run for the 25th Anniversary tour, a night he describes as “the pinnacle” of his career. After just three performances, Broadway went dark when Covid-19 shut down the global arts industry. “From that moment on, it’s been a lot of worry, a lot of stress, a lot of mental health problems for people. And I just thought ‘I want to keep dancing, I want to keep creative. And instead of knocking myself away, why don’t I just take to the streets?’” he explains.
The production process is modest and low budget, filmed on a phone and edited on a free app. “I wanted to show the younger generation that you can make this too, you can create, you can tell stories, it doesn’t need to be perfect,” he explains. And when it comes to finding ideas, they very much are all around. “I take inspiration from many things like movies, TV shows, music, architecture. Sometimes I just drive or I walk around the city.” He believes that inspiration can especially be found in the current era of streaming and Netflix bingeing. “I love Stranger Things. I love movies. I love Spielberg, JK Rowling, and C.S. Lewis.” Jason may have even allowed the prospect of a Tiger King themed video to enter the brainstorming process. “It’s crossed my mind,” he admits. “I think everything has crossed my mind like, ‘how far can I really push this?’”
Despite the confidence that spills out of his videos, one performance in particular was a daunting share for the seasoned performer. “This is the first video I made but I didn’t have the courage to upload it,” the Instagram caption reads for his video in which he performs to ‘Sissy That Walk’ by RuPaul. “Be proud of who you are. Love is love and we are all in it together,” it adds. The performance to the LGBTQ anthem came with a poignant message to embrace your true self and speak your truth. “I was just like ‘I don’t like making myself really vulnerable. I’m scared that people are gonna judge me, I’m scared of putting myself out there,’” he explains. “But then I realised I actually have a voice here. And it could inspire other people to open up about their problems.” He decided to wait until the timing felt right, and was overwhelmed with love and support when it finally went live. “To use Irish dancing, my passion, to say something vulnerable about myself was such a beautiful thing.”
As Irish dancing traditionally puts such a huge focus on technique, the prospect for anyone to do something more creative and step outside their comfort zone is daunting. But Jason believes that Irish dancing’s roots should be a reminder of what the art form stands for. “You shouldn’t forget that [Irish dancing] was born out of storytelling, it was born out of oppression. It’s born out of people coming together and celebrating…so I think it’s a perfect fit to tell stories with it, and to push it in any direction you want to.” He adds that it’s difficult to let go of the instincts that force dancers to be overly critical of their technical imperfections. “I think we get very obsessed about trying to put out this perfect version of ourselves. But right now I’m trying to put out a perfect message more than a perfect dance routine.”
Coming from a Festival background, the slower Irish dance style that encourages personal expression, helped Jason to approach dancing with a greater focus on storytelling. But like most dancers who make it in a professional space, his focus was once solely on competition. At his last CLRG World Championships in 2008, he came second, missing the top spot by less than 10 marks. “When you’re tied into that world, that was like the most devastating thing that’s ever happened to me,” he says. He even missed his sister’s wedding to compete that day, among many other sacrifices. But every cloud has a silver lining, and Jason’s consolation was a nod from Riverdance veteran and his childhood idol Breandán de Gallaí, who reassured him that he too never won a Worlds. The encounter would reignite a spark and encourage him to audition for Riverdance, and the rest is history.
“I think people think that if you’re in Riverdance, or you’ve got to the top that you’re untouchable,” Jason emphasises. “I started just like you, I was a five-year-old boy that did Festival dancing in Northern Ireland.” Now he wants other dancers to take the leap and find their own artistic spark. “Don’t worry about what other people think of you, it’s your way of speaking, it’s your journey. If you don’t try these things you’ll never discover your potential.” The whole process for Jason has been just that, a journey of discovery. “The more I go out there, the more I build confidence. And the more I build confidence, the more creative energy flows. So if you don’t try these things, you’ll never know.”
Follow Jason on Instagram.
