ABOUT US
We created Na Rinceoiri to use our extensive knowledge and contacts in the Irish entertainment industry to not only provide world class Irish dancing to the Irish entertainment scene, but also to making sure Irish dancers have a pathway to making their hobby a career, making sure traditional Irish music and dance have a sustained presence in the community for the future.
Our Team
Matt Smith - Owner
Matt currently plays the lead role in Michael Flatley’s ‘Lord of the Dance’.
Throughout a successful competitive career Matt won multiple regional and international championships, including holding the CLRG British National, Great Britain and All Ireland titles all in the same year, and achieving a ranking of 2nd In the world. Matt always knew his end goal was to perform professionally with ‘Lord of the Dance’ and the opportunity came in the summer of 2010.
A successful audition was rewarded with a place in the troupe and a tour of Europe. After a year performing in the chorus, he was picked to play the lead good guy role and has been lucky enough to perform all over the world in many prestigious venues including London’s West End, Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas and Paris’ Palais des Congrès.
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As well as gigs across 5 continents Matt has danced on some of the biggest TV shows in the world including guest performances on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ and numerous chat shows around the globe.
Throughout this period he has worked extremely closely with Flatley, and has now been awarded the role of Male Dance Captain for the show, in charge of the performance standard and well being of the male dancers.
Maxine Spelman - Owner
Maxine has been with Lord of the Dance for 14 years, after being picked to join the troupe at the age of 18. She has toured the globe, performing on the most prestigious stages, and has been chosen to dance alongside Michael Flatley in the biggest gigs of his life, including Dublin’s 3 Arena, London’s Wembley Arena and Michael’s last ever performance in Las Vegas.
Maxine grew up in Galway, Ireland and danced under the tuition of some of the most successful teachers in the sport. This enabled her to have a very successful competitive career, placing in the top ten at the CLRG world championships.
Throughout her years as a professional she has had the opportunity to work closely with Flatley during the creation of ‘Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games’ and the most recent iteration, ’25 years of standing ovations’. Being able to train and work in these intense creative environments has given her an invaluable understanding of professional Irish dancing, and what it takes to perform at the top level.
Maxine is also a qualified TCRG and has experience teaching workshops around the world, including at Camp Rince Ceol in America.