EP 41: Golden Dance Awards - Celebrating Dance's Unsung Champions

Dance isn't just what happens on stage – it's the culmination of countless hours of dedication from teachers, parents, choreographers, and an entire community working behind the scenes. This week, we're diving into a partnership that celebrates these unsung heroes of the dance world.

Meet Danielle and Catherine, the powerhouse duo behind the Golden Dance Awards, whose infectious energy and unwavering commitment to the dance community made them natural partners for Class for Kids. Recording from the sunny SETU Arena in Waterford, Ireland, we explore their remarkable journey, from securing national television appearances to gracing the pages of publications like VIP and Gossie.

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Transcript

Podcast Intro and Team Updates

Speaker 1 0:04

well, guys, finally done it. I seem to have been left at my own. Rebecca, my co-host of many, many years, is off on maternity leave still, but she will be back soon. And Brian, our videographer, has left the company. Brian has been on to work at an agency for video and we're delighted for him. Brian was a powerhouse here. You'd have seen him on the podcast for the last year or so and, yeah, good luck and we're delighted for him. Brian was a powerhouse here. You'd have seen him on the podcast for the last year or so and, yeah, good luck and we wish you all the well, brian.

Meeting the Golden Dance Awards Ladies

Speaker 1 0:30

But yeah, it leaves me myself doing intros and outros myself. I suppose I could kind of talk to myself. Hello Stephen, how are you? No, straight away, there's kind of madness lurking there, so we won't do that. This podcast's good, though. We've got a great one for you with the ladies from the Golden Irish Dance Awards. We have Danielle and Catherine. These two girls we met at Perform Ireland back in February. Immediately, we knew we were going to be able to work with them, and what we are doing is sponsoring both of their events in Dublin and Ireland this year Without further ado. Let's get a little look at them and a little listen, if you're just listening. We caught up with them in Waterford at Perform South in Ireland just this weekend past. Oh, we're such jet-setters. This is the SETU Arena in Waterford and great little chat. Enjoy. We are here at the SETU Arena in Waterford in the south of Ireland.

Speaker 2 1:24

Is that right? The sunny southeast.

Speaker 1 1:27

It really is sunny. You've not got that on the camera just now because if we flipped it around it would just be too bright. But anyway, I digress. I am here with the lovely ladies from the Golden Dance Awards.

Speaker 2 1:36

Hello, how are yous?

Speaker 1 1:39

We're so excited to see you again after Dublin. Well, the last time we seen each other, we talked about maybe doing things together, and now we're doing things together.

Speaker 2 1:45

And what's that? Oh, my word, we are. Yes, yay, we Class for Kids are our title sponsors for the Golden Dance Awards, ni and the.

Speaker 3 1:57

Golden Dance Awards Ireland.

Speaker 1 1:59

So we're so lucky. We are so lucky, no we're so lucky. I'm going to fight you.

Speaker 3 2:03

Really.

Speaker 1 2:03

We're going to be a fight on camera. Yes, oh, goodness me.

Speaker 2 2:06

My money is on Danielle.

Speaker 1 2:07

The Scottish versus the Irish. Yeah, after we met last time, it was clear to me that we could definitely be working together, and our partnerships manager was in touch with you guys, and now we are fully in bed and working on the awards with you guys.

Speaker 1 2:20

It's going to be fantastic, I mean, what I have to say is you are the best promoters of I mean, like you've been on, explain where you've been, because we know you've been on tv and we keep just getting sent articles from various publications that you are managing to yourself, yeah, with our pr lady, so valerie rowe okay has us all over the place.

Speaker 3 2:42

We were in VIP, we were in gossie, we were in everywhere. You name it. We've just been everywhere.

TV Appearances and Media Coverage

Speaker 2 2:51

So we've been every corner of Ireland, in all of the local and national press, and we even were on TV. Television so nerve-wracking.

Speaker 1 3:01

Was it? Well, tell us a little bit about how that happened before. No, right, okay. How did it come to be? Was it a big deal? Was there hair and makeup trailers?

Speaker 2 3:10

Well, do you know? We have a PR lady up in the north, michelle McTiernan, who we are so fortunate to have for a second year. Shout out. And Michelle managed to secure Danielle and myself a new TV.

Speaker 3 3:24

Yeah, and I think it's a big accomplishment for us, because you don't always get on to the TV. No, no, I mean.

Speaker 1 3:31

I don't think that anybody that we worked with in the past has managed to get like that kind of promotion and things.

Speaker 3 3:35

So for that, and going into our second year is a huge compliment for me and Catherine. Well, we do, we don't stop working.

Speaker 1 3:43

Yeah, I think it's clear that you don't stop working. I mean, we, we watch from afar and we can see that we put everything into it.

Speaker 3 3:50

We just care so much about it.

Speaker 1 3:52

We really do yeah well, you can see it, and I think that what the reason that we wanted to work with you guys as well it was. When we talk about being the backstage, kind of behind the stage management kind of software, your awards are really based on communities in the backstage. So explain a little bit about that, like so it's not necessarily, as you say, like best dancers best, this best. That it's more about like there's even technical people involved. Yeah, yeah everything, yeah.

Celebrating Dance Industry's Unsung Heroes

Speaker 2 4:17

So we are about all the young son heroes. So everybody behind the dancers, you know the dance teacher, the know the dance teacher, the choreographers, the dance studios, the dance competitions, even the dance parent, because Nobody can show. We are only here because of our dance parents, who believe in the dance industry and the dance landscape across the whole of Ireland. So we are the dance photographers as well the dance costume designers. We are embracing everything that is in dance and we want everybody to get on board because we feel it's their time to be recognised.

Speaker 1 4:51

It absolutely is. Yeah, and I mean with the parents. It's the parents that use our software, it's the kids that are out there. So there's so much. It's a horrible word. What word am I going to say?

Speaker 2 5:00

synergy it's a horrible kind of marketing word which just feels so bad.

Speaker 1 5:04

There's so much between us that we're sharing the same kind of values.

Speaker 2 5:08

It's togetherness, togetherness, oh, that's better yeah, better, that's your new word.

Speaker 3 5:12

I'm going to do that. Yeah, togetherness, imagine saying that in a marketing meeting If I'm sitting trying to go.

Speaker 1 5:15

okay, we're going to have to do this and this and this. It's all about togetherness. They're just going to go.

Speaker 2 5:20

Yeah, that's a new word, and it is. And our wee what's Up group is brilliant because you know we love firing in out to Seema.

Speaker 1 5:30

Who's not here?

Speaker 2 5:31

but she will, she will, she will be over, and we can't wait to be at the awards um, yeah it's going to be good.

Speaker 1 5:38

I can't wait to be there, can't wait for us to.

Speaker 3 5:41

I can't wait to have a wee drink, yeah, you know, and just relax and chill and enjoy a good night do you guys get to do that?

Speaker 2 5:50

with a collective side. You know what? And we have to be really honest. Yeah, we, like everybody else, we work seven days a week. Yeah, there's no downtime and if you are, maybe if you have an evening to yourselves and I know this is for everybody in the dance industry you're doing admin. You are constantly doing something and it's brilliant and you have to be all in.

Speaker 1 6:16

It's the passion within this community. Right and it's so. I mean it's not up until now we've been very uk focused. Now we're very kind of both ireland, uk focused no matter where you go, it's the passion in this industry. It's insane and you find that, like a lot of a lot of the teachers um, they've the passion that they've got just spills off onto the kids and then those kids will might one day in the clubs and be around the clubs.

Speaker 3 6:38

I think teachers don't just show up. There's so much work behind the scenes from your choreographing. You can't just show up to a class. You have to prepare before you get in there. So it's all of that stuff that maybe parents don't see and they don't understand which we do. We know where they're coming from. So, again, this is why we need these awards.

Speaker 2 6:57

That's what we're acknowledging, all of this hard work.

The Awards Process and Timeline

Speaker 1 7:00

But you're right, the parents might not know about all that going on. At times it's a kind of drop-off pick-up. Did you have a nice time, kids? Yes, you had a nice time, but everything that's going into it it's different from a lot of other sports as well I don't know if you class it as a sport. Would you class it as a sport? It's a sport activity can I be honest?

Speaker 2 7:20

I think I'm right in the middle between a sport and an art, because I think it's pure athleticism. I was remiss of me not to say art there, because of course it's an art form.

Speaker 1 7:33

But you're right, it is athleticism. Honestly it's a bit.

Speaker 3 7:35

Of course it's an art form. Yeah, yeah, but you're right, it is athleticism. Yeah, honestly, it's a bit of both, yeah it's a sport and an art we're defining.

Speaker 1 7:40

Dance here, on the spot.

Speaker 2 7:41

Yes, take our word for it. You know, rick dancing was in the olympics this is true.

Speaker 1 7:46

What was?

Speaker 2 7:46

her name?

Speaker 1 7:47

um oh uh, it was a really silly name, she had oh, I can't remember what it was a really silly name, shad.

Speaker 3 7:53

Oh, I can't remember what it was, and she was a really silly dancer.

Speaker 1 7:56

Yeah, I think that did. She troll the world. Yeah, they were quite clever. Yeah, but yeah, yeah, yeah, if it's in the Olympics, it's, it's a sport there, you go?

Speaker 2 8:06

that's your answer. It's evolving and it's the fastest growing activity in Ireland. Is that right? Activity in Ireland?

Speaker 1 8:12

Is that right?

Speaker 2 8:14

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 8:16

And we're so lucky, we're so blessed to have you Class for Kids on board with us.

Speaker 1 8:22

We're delighted we genuinely are and you're very easy people to work with. It's not always the case you ones out there know who you are.

Speaker 2 8:28

Because we can be divas.

Speaker 1 8:32

So can we.

Speaker 2 8:33

Can we also say what's so exciting? That Class for Kids are now in Ireland and you need to go on and follow their Instagram page because we're doing this. They are amazing. The amount of engagement Class for Kids are doing with everybody throughout the dance industry is amazing, so we would ask you all to get on and give them a wee follow, because they've actually got a few exciting ventures coming up oh, we've got plenty.

Speaker 1 8:56

And you know what? There is no cue card behind this camera for you to read that was unprompted, and that's why we love you guys. Thank you. Tell us how people can like. What's the next steps then, with them around the world for our Ireland awards.

Speaker 3 9:10

Our nomination process has opened, so, yep, so everybody can now enter. It's free to enter, there's no cost. So you can enter all of the categories. Once that is closed, on the 19th of May. 19th of May, it will all be sent to our judges. Our judging day then is taking place in 1st of June, and they will then condense it all down and shortlist it. We will then contact the shortlisted people from who the judges have selected. We will give them a little phone call, let them know they've been shortlisted and that they are invited to come along to the event.

Speaker 3 9:45

So many people out there on tenderhooks waiting on these calls so exciting a wide range of judges from different dance styles and backgrounds, which is so important to us. That's not just someone from one dance style, because our awards incorporate every genre of dance, so it's really important to us to have someone from all backgrounds fully, fully, inclusive of all dance.

Speaker 1 10:06

That's it. So, lastly, when is the date for the first one? Because I need to know when I'm getting this Tuck's booked.

Speaker 2 10:13

Saturday, the 13th of September in Castle Knock Hotel in Dublin. Glitz and glam.

Speaker 1 10:22

Glitz and glam.

Speaker 3 10:23

I cannot wait, none of this gear. You'll see me a little bit better in that one.

Speaker 1 10:28

Tuxed, I'll be wearing my frock, I'll be lovely.

Speaker 2 10:32

Will it be a pink suit?

Speaker 1 10:33

Could well be. If they want me to be on brand. There's going to be some pink in there, isn't there?

Closing Thoughts and Event Anticipation

Speaker 1 10:44

Yeah, absolutely Guys thank you, so we'll see you soon. Yeah, thank you. Thank you, didn't I tell you? They were wonderful ladies, absolutely brilliant. We're delighted to go and be working with them and we'll be back and forth over to Ireland jumping that pond an awful lot more because, if you don't know, we're based in Glasgow, so it's not that far a flight.

Speaker 1 11:05

I don't like flying though anybody that works with me knows that. I literally turned round the other day when we were on the flight back and showed one of my colleagues my hands and was like, look, and they were very sweaty and it wasn't nice. I'm not terrified of it. I just get quite nervous on the way up, way down's fine, way down's fine. But anyway, yes, I digress. I digress when I'm here myself because it is kind of lunacy. I feel like a madman in the room myself. I hope you enjoyed that podcast and we'll have far more to come from these guys as we go over to the events later in the year. Really, really good partnership. We've got there thanks to our partnership manager, seema, who's also not here today. She's on holiday, otherwise I, who's also not here today, she's on holiday, otherwise I'd have her plonked here. But yeah, great to catch up with them and I'm going to do a very, very, very lonely and sad sign off.

Speaker 2 11:50

Bye, see you next time.