John Dolan: That’s my girl... strutting her stuff on the Opera House stage

Many moons ago, when I was a teenage cub reporter, the manager of the local bingo hall on my patch asked me to come along and judge an Easter bonnet competition.

I’ve no idea why he asked me, like, I don’t think I put millinery down on my CV or anything. (I found out much later that the editor had been asked first and had told the manager to ask me, possibly while a strange glint gleamed in her eye).

Anyway, along I went, and I sat through several full houses before a dozen or so ladies of a certain age were told to don their fancy home-made bonnets and parade on the stage before me. And a fine, imaginative array of hats they were too.

I was then ushered to the stage where I made all the right noises about the wonderful hats, it being so hard to select the best one, and that, really, everyone was a winner.

With that, I announced that Doris and her clever Easter egg hat was my favourite - and the proud recipient of the £10 bingo hall voucher - and crikey, all hell then broke loose.

The losers (who I had expressly announced were really ‘winners’ too, remember) were not happy, not happy at all. In fact, they were affronted.

As delighted Doris tottered to the stage to collect her prize from me, the beaten ladies’ murmurings of dissent grew louder until they began shouting about a ‘fix’, egged on by the non-participants in the bonnet parade.

This being a northern English town, you might picture a bunch of battleaxes like Hilda Ogden, Ena Sharples, and Blanche Hunt hurtling abuse at a shrinking boy, whose suit was wearing him rather than the other way round.

The bingo hall manager, recognising the kind of outrage that clearly often accompanied a full house win, reacted swiftly. Beckoning me off the stage, he steered me to a hidden exit door behind the curtain, and told me to keep walking until I found the fire exit - and then keep walking until I reached my bus-stop.

Ever since, I’ve had an allergy to stages of all kinds, and an admiration for anyone who chooses to perform or speak on then. Not so much a case of stage fright on my part, more a case of stage post-traumatic stress disorder. If I even catch sight of an Easter bonnet tomorrow, I’ll break out into a rash.

However, on Monday night just gone, I think I finally found some kind of redemption, and that stage experience of almost 40 years ago was finally banished from my mind - consigned to the memory banks of history.

Sitting with my family, I proudly looked on as my nine-year-old daughter, Laura, actually performed on the famous Cork Opera House stage.

She was just one of 226 members of the Aideen Johnson School of Dance, based in Macroom and Dunmanway, who performed a brilliant series of dances as part of their end-of-year show, called Reach For The Stars.

There was fierce excitement, and not a few nerves, I’m sure, among parents and children - but all involved performed beautifully, putting into practice months of preparation and rehearsal.

There was modern dance, intertwined with ballet and gymnastics-style moves, to pop songs, as well as to classic stage tracks from the likes of The Wizard Of Oz.

How brilliant that the Opera House can accommodate young local people, as well as the stars that regularly take to its stage and entertain Cork audiences, to create an evening that will live long in the memory of all those there.

The show was a tribute to the dance school teacher Aideen Johnson and her team of helpers.

The school, created in 2017, aims to provide an environment for children to learn dance, but also to have a space where they feel they can be themselves. It’s a blend of teamwork and individual creativity that allows children to grow and experience art at a young age.

“The school aims for every student to leave class every week with a smile on their faces and grow in confidence through dance,” says Aideen.

That mission was accomplished on Monday night.

The school’s motto is ‘Find your Fire’, and her 226 girls and boys certainly did that in the famous and storied old Cork city building, which is celebrating its 170th anniversary this year.

In her eight years, Aideen has seen thousands of students pass through her doors, and the number of classes she runs has soared from three to 22!

She attributes a large part of the dance school’s success to their appearances at Macroom St Patrick’s Day parades - “as well as word of mouth, parents telling parents, and friends telling friends”.

Aideen had been running her end-of-year shows in Macroom Leisure Centre, but began to realise she needed a bigger stage - so she reached out to the Opera House who were only too happy to accommodate her.

She had lots of help on the night, including from her long-time assistant Martina O’Leary, and stage manager, Emer O’Neill, who really had her hands full with 226 excited youngsters!

Originally from Macroom, Aideen began dancing at age seven and went on to spend three years studying dance in Liverpool.

After that, she performed on stages in Morocco, Egypt, and England, was involved in a Lady Gaga tribute show, and worked at Trabolgan Holiday Village for three years.

One of her protégees, Nadia Silwa, who is heading off to the Stella Mann College of Performing Arts in England, took a bow on the Opera House stage this week. Nadia also trained in Footdreams Performing Arts with Aideen’s late friend, Tracey O’Donovan Linnane.

Every Corkonian knows there is no greater honour than to perform to a full house on the Opera House’s famous old boards - how amazing that this privilege can also extend to young performers from across the county.

I wondered on Monday how many of these talented dancers making their stage debuts will go on to forge careers on the stage on the back of that first thrilling night.

Take a bow, Aideen, and all the wonderful performers from her School of Dance.