Jean Butler (born March 14, 1971) is an American stepdancer, a master of

Irish Dance Irish dance refers to a group of traditional dance forms that originate in Ireland, encompassing dancing both solo and in groups, and dancing for social, competitive, and performance purposes. Irish dance in its current form developed from vari ...

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who c ...

, and actress. She is best known for originating the principal female role in the Irish dance theatrical production ''

Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions Je ...

''. In January 2020 it was announced she is a member of the Irish America Hall of Fame, an honor presented by Irish America magazine.

Early life

Jean Butler was born in

Mineola, New York Mineola is a village in and the county seat of Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from an Algonquin Chief, Miniolagamika, which means "pleasant village". ...

. Her mother, Josephine, is from

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Counci ...

in Ireland. She has a sister,

Cara Cara or CARA may refer to: Places * Čara, a village on the island of Korčula, Croatia * Cara, a village in Cojocna Commune, Cluj County, Romania * Cara Island Cara Island ( gd, Cara) is a small island which is located off the west coast o ...

. She started ballet and tap classes at the age of four. She eventually quit both. She began Irish dance lessons at the age of six, which she quit promptly. "I hated it," she says. "They made me stand with my arms at my sides for two hours. So, I left. I was too young." She tried Irish dance again at age nine, this time with a different dance teacher, Donald Golden, whom she considers to be one of the most influential people in her life. About a year into Irish dance, she became very serious with it and quit the soccer and baseball teams. From a young age, she competed in regional, national and international championships. Jean and her sister Cara won numerous national titles and regional titles, and placed well in international competitions. Butler attended

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New ...

and earned an Honours Degree in Theatre and Drama from the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

Career

Butler has performed with

Green Fields of America The Green Fields of America is an ensemble that performs and promotes Irish traditional music in the United States. It was formed in 1977 in Philadelphia, led by musician and folklorist Mick Moloney. They perform Irish and Irish-American culture ...

and

Cherish the Ladies Cherish the Ladies is an American female super group that plays Celtic music. The band began as a concert series in New York in January 1985. It was the brainchild of Mick Moloney who wanted to showcase the brightest female musicians in Ameri ...

. She debuted with

The Chieftains The Chieftains are a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous wi ...

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...

at the age of seventeen, and toured with them on three continents. In England, Butler met Irish dancer Colin Dunne and they performed together in Mayo 5000 in 1993.

Riverdance and Dancing on Dangerous Ground

In 1994, under the invitation of producer Moya Doherty, she performed in a seven-minute intermission piece at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1994 The Eurovision Song Contest 1994 was the 39th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Dublin, Ireland, following the country's victory at the with the song "In Your Eyes" by Niamh Kavanagh. It was the first time that any countr ...

entitled ''

''. The piece was co-choreographed by Butler with

Michael Flatley Michael Ryan Flatley (born July 16, 1958) is an Irish-American dancer. He became known for Irish dance shows '' Riverdance'', '' Lord of the Dance'', '' Feet of Flames'', and '' Celtic Tiger Live''. Flatley's shows have played to more than 60 mi ...

. The response was so explosive that it was extended into a full show, starring Butler and Flatley. The show toured throughout 1995. After Flatley abruptly left the show over creative control disputes in October 1995, Butler was joined by long-time friend Colin Dunne. The pair were the lead dancers at the famous

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and theater at 1260 Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplace of the Nation", it is the headquarters for ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

that was filmed and put on DVD. After a long and extremely successful run with the show, Butler eventually left ''Riverdance'' in January 1997. In 1998, following Dunne's departure from ''Riverdance'', Butler once again collaborated with Dunne to create the show '' Dancing on Dangerous Ground'', which was based on the ancient Irish legend of

Diarmuid and Gráinne Diarmaid () is a masculine given name in the Irish language, which has historically been anglicized as Jeremiah or Jeremy, names with which it is etymologically unrelated. Earlier forms of the name include Diarmit and Diarmuit. Variations of th ...

. It opened in London in 1999 to critical acclaim, and then in New York. In 1999, she was also presented with the Irish Post Award for "outstanding contribution to Irish Dance". From 2003 to 2005, Butler was Artist In Residence at the

University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a public research university institution in Limerick, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in 1989 in accordance w ...

's Irish World Music Centre. In 2009, she received the "Outstanding Contribution to Arts & Culture Alumni Award" from the University of Limerick.

Later career

She received a commission from the

Irish Arts Council The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ga, An Chomhairle Ealaíon) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts." About It was established in 1951 by the Government of Ireland, to encou ...

to create a solo work in 2004. In 2005 she released an instructional DVD, ''Irish Dance Masterclass With Jean Butler'', which her sister also participated in, and completed a master's degree in Contemporary Dance Performance from the

. She premiered "Does She Take Sugar?" on April 12, 2007, at the

Project Arts Centre Project Arts Centre is a multidisciplinary arts centre based in Temple Bar, Dublin, which hosts visual arts, theatre, dance, music, and performance. History Project Arts Centre was founded by Jim FitzGerald and Colm O'Briain in 1967 after a thre ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. With Colin Dunne and George Hook she is a judge on the Raidió Teilifís Éireann reality series ''

Celebrity Jigs 'n' Reels {{Infobox television , image = , caption = , genre = Talent show , creator = , writer = , director = , creative_director = , developer = , presenter ...

''. She retired from active dancing in 2010. In January 2011, it was announced that she had designed and released her own jewellery line. The collection was launched at Showcase Ireland at the RDS later that month.

Films

Butler has appeared in several films: ''

The Brylcreem Boys ''The Brylcreem Boys'' is a 1998 romantic comedy film set in Ireland during the Second World War. The film, which stars Billy Campbell, Angus Macfadyen, Jean Butler and Gabriel Byrne, was directed and co written by Terence Ryan. The story is ...

'', ''

Goldfish Memory ''Goldfish Memory'' is a 2003 feature film about everyday relationships, set and filmed in Dublin. It was written and directed by Elizabeth Gill. Plot The movie is set around a small group of characters experiencing relationships which build an ...

'', ''

The Revengers Tragedy ''The Revenger's Tragedy'' is an English-language Jacobean revenge tragedy which was performed in 1606, and published in 1607 by George Eld. It was long attributed to Cyril Tourneur, but "The consensus candidate for authorship of ''The Reven ...

'' and ''Old Friends''. She has also auditioned for large-budget Hollywood films such as, ''

Meet Joe Black ''Meet Joe Black'' is a 1998 American romantic fantasy film directed and produced by Martin Brest, and starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Claire Forlani. The screenplay was written by Bo Goldman, Kevin Wade, Ron Osborn, and Jeff Reno, and ...

'' with

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Awar ...

, and '' The Postman'' with

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...

Personal life

In 2001 she married Irish designer Cuan Hanly.

References

External links

*
Article
by Michael Seaver on Does She Take Sugar?
Dancing on Dangerous Ground

* ttp://www.thefreelibrary.com/Riverprancer%3B+JEAN+BUTLER+LIFTS+THE+LID+ON+LIFE+WITH+RIVERDANCE...-a060405266 Riverprancer; Jean Butler lifts the lid on life with Riverdance co-star Michael Flatley
New Terrain for Barefoot Riverdancer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Jean 1971 births American female dancers Dancers from New York (state) American people of Irish descent Living people Performers of Irish dance Hofstra University alumni Alumni of the University of Birmingham Alumni of the University of Limerick People from Mineola, New York 21st-century American women