Elliot is An Ríl Deal runner-up
Dundalk’s star Irish dancer Elliot Kweele did the town proud when he was runner-up in the TG4 dance competition, An Ríl Deal. The 15 year old Coláiste Rís student wooed the judges with his spectacular footwork, but was narrowly beating by the young Donegal sister Silbhe Liu and Seioda Wang.
The show aims at finding Ireland’s most talented young dancer and Elliot was one of just three acts which made it to the final which was broadcast on Sunday night.
Already a World Champion, Elliot has amassed over five thousand followers on Instagram where videos of his dancing, which combine elements of for both Afro and Irish culture,are extremely popular.
For his performances on An Ríl Deal, Elliot worked with his dance teachers Dearbhla and Nichola McGee to choreograph routines to match the Afro and Irish music tracks which he selected for a perfect blend of cultures.
Elliot has been dancing with the McGee School of Irish Dancing since he was just nine years of age. Last year he won the World Champion title for 13/14 year old boys at the World Irish Dancing Championships in North Carolina, having previously enjoyed success at the All Ireland and Ulster Champions.
After Sunday night’s final the school said; ‘ Elliot -we are very proud of you and after such a strange few months we were delighted to see you back up on stage doing what you love doing.
, Elliot was unable to defend his title but his hoping that he will be able to get back to competitive dancing next year.
In the meantime, he was delighted to be invited to join the cast of Riverdance recently for a special performance of the iconic show at Slane Castle in the summer in aid of the Marie Keating Foundation breast cancer charity.
That was actually the second time he had danced in the world famous show, as he was one of the members of the McGee School of Irish Dance who performed for Pope Francis in 2018. At 13, he was the youngest performer on stage for the performance which was televised around the world.