Morgan Bullock is an American

Irish dance Irish dance refers to the traditional dance forms that originate in Ireland, including both solo and group dance forms, for social, competitive, and performance purposes. Irish dance has evolved over centuries and is believed to have its roots i ...

r, known for her Irish dance remix of rapper

Megan Thee Stallion Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Megan initially gained recognition when videos of her freestyling began to circulate widely on social me ...

's song "

Savage Savage may refer to: * Savage (pejorative term), a derogatory term to describe a member of a people the speaker regards as primitive and uncivilized Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Bill Savage, in the 2000 AD ''Invasion!'' ...

", which went

viral The word ''Viral'' means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). It may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spre ...

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

and

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

in May 2020.

Biography

Bullock started dancing when she was 3 and discovered Irish dance at the age of 10. She has been dancing at the Baffa Academy of Irish Dance in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

ever since. In 2019, she placed 43rd at the Irish dance world championships. In May 2020, she posted a video to TikTok of her Irish dancing to the popular song "Savage" by Megan Thee Stallion. The video was reposted by large accounts on several social media platforms, including

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

(Irish prime minister)

Leo Varadkar Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2017 to 2020 and from 2022 to 2024, as Tánaiste from 2020 to 2022, and as leader of Fine Gael from 2017 to 2024. A Teachta Dála, ...

– who invited her to Ireland to dance in the 2021

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chris ...

parade –

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

's mother

Tina Knowles Celestine Ann "Tina" Beyoncé Knowles (born January 4, 1954) is an American businesswoman, fashion designer, author, and philanthropist known for establishing the brands House of Deréon and Miss Tina by Tina Knowles. She is the mother of singe ...

, Irish-Nigerian author

Emma Dabiri Emma Dabiri FRSL (born 25 March) is an Irish writer and broadcaster. Her debut book, ''Don't Touch My Hair'', was published in 2019. Her 2021 book, ''What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition'', became an international bestsell ...

, and the large Instagram account

The Shade Room The Shade Room (TSR) is a media company, founded by Angelica Nwandu in March 2014. Instagram-based, The Shade Room offers celebrity and trending news on an hourly basis, predominantly within the African American community; ''The New York Times'' ...

. Padraic Moyles, the lead dancer of Irish folk music show

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 J ...

, invited her to join the show's US tour when it comes to Virginia and offered her free admission to their summer school, Riverdance Academy. Bullock stated she faced backlash from users on social media who saw her untraditional dancing as appropriating Irish culture, but she explained it, "represented a very small minority of the feedback that hegot". In November 2020, she joined Irish

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

Colm Brophy Colm Brophy (born 22 June 1966) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South-West (Dáil constituency), Dublin South-West constituency since the 2016 Irish general election, 2016 general election. He se ...

and Ambassador of Ireland to the United States

Daniel Mulhall Daniel Mulhall (born 8 April 1955) is a retired Irish diplomat and a former Ambassador of Ireland to the United States. He has also been Ireland's Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Germany and Malaysia. Education Born in Waterford, Ireland, Mul ...

in Ireland's new

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

strategy, which according to Taoiseach

Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 16 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician serving as Taoiseach since January 2025, having previously held the position from 2020 to 2022. Martin served as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Min ...

: "seeks to give reland'sdiaspora a strengthened voice within Irish life, while also setting out the many ways this Government will work to support the Irish abroad." Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Bullock was unable to attend the St. Patrick's Day parade in Ireland, but in March 2021, she performed virtually for the US' Embassy of Ireland. In October 2022, Bullock was announced as one of the recipients of the Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad for 2022 in the category of Arts, Culture and Sport.

Personal life

As of June 2020, Bullock is pursuing a

master of education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum an ...

degree at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...

to become an elementary school teacher.

References

External links

"Watch Morgan Bullock perform Irish dance on TikTok"
from ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' (August 3, 2020)
"American woman puts diverse spin on Irish dance"
from

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

(March 15, 2021) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bullock, Morgan African-American dancers African-American female dancers American female dancers People from Richmond, Virginia Performers of Irish dance Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Dancers from Virginia 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women