Shona McGarry | Societies Editor
The stage is (almost) set and the celebrities are ready. That’s right, it’s that time of year again, the time of year when the egos of Trinity College get to show you just how far they’ll go for a bit of publicity. Just like real celebrities, our very own shlebs will take to the stage and attempt a few steps on the dance floor. Welcome to the world of Trinity Come Dancing. It’s like Strictly Come Dancing with real people.
It’s also all for a good cause – the proceeds go to Cancer Soc – and it features a slightly barmy but well-meaning bunch of Trinity’s best live-wires. You might just want to go along for the judging panel, which includes actor Jack Gleeson and actor/comedian Aaron Heffernan, both of whom are no strangers to either limelight or actual celebrities, and who are both kind of hilarious. Heffernan and Gleeson are jointed in the hotseats by Ronan Hodson, the CSC mogul. If there’s any reason to see it, it’s probably because of these two. Up on the presenters’ stage is Joseph O’Gorman (that’s Assistant Junior Dean to you and me) and Kate Finegan – the latter has revamped Trinity TV and will be sure to bring a hefty amount of personality to proceedings, and probably a nice outfit to distract from the glare of the sparkly suited dancer-celeb couples on the dance floor. But what about the couples themselves? Who made the cut and who failed to register?
First up is Dominic Gallagher, well-known columnist and sort-of-known rugby scholar. His partner is the experienced ballerina Marta Capolei, who will probably be fantastic. If you want to see a rugby lad being put through his paces then this is probably the only opportunity you will get, unless you watch Strictly Come Dancing, which is apparently full of them. Dancing the Latin Bachata is Q Soc auditor and former ‘National Fresher of the Year’ (yes, that’s a real award) Joel Anthony McKeever. Showing him how it’s done is DU Dance’s auditor Meg Noone, who has been in the Latin classroom for three years. You can bet that she knows a thing or two about actual dancing. Next up is John Carew, the curly-haired Founding Father of Fish Soc, a society that seamlessly blends the noble sport of fishing with heavy binge drinking. His partner is professional Irish dancer Maureen Butler, who, it seems from the press release, is determined to bring this prize home. That’s the kind of spirit we patrons like to see!
Now, when you think ‘Broadway Jazz’, what Trinity man-about-town do you automatically think of? Well, whoever it is, it’s probably not Ricky McCormack, the debater and actor/director who may or may not be behind the counterfeit poster that featured his face superimposed on the bodies of all the participants. I think it’s fair to say that someone’s got their eye on the prize. Accompanying Ricky on the increasingly crowed dance-floor is professional Jazz dancer Deirdre Foley. Moving on to the happening shores of hip-hop, it’s our own editor Owen ‘Cabbage’ Bennett, current SU Communications Officer and all-around Big Noise in newspaper-related notoriety. Katie O’Neill is the hip-hop professional hoping to make him change career course. ‘Media mogul’ (not even kidding) Damien Carr, who, DU Dance tells us, we probably have never met, is the man in control of Trinity News, TCD Miscellany, The Piranha, and countless other publications. Teaching him the contemporary style is Emilie Quigley. If you have yet to understand what Contemporary actually means, then this is as good a place as any to see it in action.
Do you know/want to know the woman ‘at the centre of BESS’s social life’? Regardless of whether you do or not, you will. Rosa Langhammer is the Renaissance woman (and only woman) of the lot, who doesn’t commit herself to one or indeed two things. Racing around campus as part of Enactus, Cancer Soc, DUBES, and the JCR, Rosa proves that multi-tasking pays off. Dancing the Argentine Tango with her is Rob Murtagh, a man who can also do a bit of ballroom and latin. Who said men couldn’t dance? Bringing up the rear is Sean Gill, Treasurer extraordinaire. Currently looking after the CSC’s money-box, Sean has previously been Treasurer of Players and also has some connection to a Leadership programme in Washington, which sounds precocious enough to merit a spot on the Come Dancing dance-floor with his American Smooth partner, Francesca Wuytack.
If you want to see these overachievers embarrass themselves by prancing around a stage and pretending they’re C-list celebrities, then Trinity Come Dancing is the only place to be. And, let’s face it, who doesn’t? You have to be there to watch their fifteen minutes.
Tomorrow: now you’ve met the couples, get to know the background story of Trinity Come Dancing. Featuring: even more reasons why you should snap up a ticket on Thursday. Roll up, roll up!
