In part two of our chat with feis musician, composer, teacher, and adjudicator Francis Ward, we do a deep dive on the legacy of his composition, the Vanishing Lake. Francis gives us the background on how the piece came to be included in the CLRG set dance canon and his thought-process while composing it. We also talk about his commissioned work, Planxty Ar Sarsfield, part of the Cuimhnigh ar Sarsfield: The Wild Geese Suite, the philosophy behind World Music Pedagogy, and his thoughts on the role of competition in Irish dance.

Francis' composition, Cuimhnigh ar Sarsfield: The Wild Geese Suite, commissioned by the Limerick Bastille Day Wild Geese Festival, is available for listening on YouTube. His award-winning set dance, The Vanishing Lake, is available for listening at every single jig set round at a competition near you.

In part one of this two-part interview with Dr. Francis Ward, Julia gets far too excited to nerd out with another ethnomusicologist. We chat about Francis' early foray into traditional Irish music and dance, his experience at University of Limerick, how to inspire students to find passion and drive in pursuit of music and dance, the evolution of tradition in Irish dance, and so much more.

Francis' composition, Cuimhnigh ar Sarsfield: The Wild Geese Suite, commissioned by the Limerick Bastille Day Wild Geese Festival, is available for listening on YouTube. His award-winning set dance, The Vanishing Lake, is available for listening at every single jig set round at a competition near you.

And if you want to listen to what lawyers and law firm marketing and business development professionals can learn from Irish dance, here's the episode of The BD Catalyst that Kristo referenced in the intro.

In this episode of Planxty, we talk to the world-renowned Irish dance artist, choreographer, educator, and creative producer Ciara Sexton. Tune in hear about her myriad projects - including her children's book, My First Book of Irish Dance (available here: https://a.co/d/04VNHnyQ) and her upcoming preschool YouTube series It's Time to Dance with Ciara. We cover so much in this episode, including how she balances all the different hats she wears as a performer, teacher, and mum. Throughout the episode, Ciara's solution-oriented and optimistic outlook shine through.