Jean Butler
Jean Butler was born in Mineola, New York, United States on March 14th, 1971 and is the Dancer. At the age of 53, Jean Butler biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
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Jean Butler (born March 14, 1971), is an American stepdancer, a master of Irish Dance, choreographer, and actress.
She is best known for originating the principal female role in the Irish dance theatrical production Riverdance.
Early life
Jean Butler was born in Mineola, New York. Her mother, Josephine, is from County Mayo in Ireland. She has a sister, Cara. 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 and earned an Honours Degree in Theatre and Drama from the University of Birmingham.
Personal life
In 2001 she married Irish designer Cuan Hanly.
Career
Butler has appeared with Green Fields of America and Cherish the Ladies. She debuted with The Chieftains at Carnegie Hall at the age of seventeen and has toured with them on three continents. Butler met Irish dancer Colin Dunne in Mayo 5000 in 1993, and the pair performed together in Mayo 5000 in England.
She appeared in a seven-minute intermission piece at the Eurovision Song Contest 1994 called Riverdance, under producer Moya Doherty's invitation. Butler and Michael Flatley co-choreographed the work. Butler and Flatley appeared in the response, which culminated in a full show. The performance toured through 1995. Butler was joined by Colin Dunne, a long-time friend, after Flatley abruptly left the show due to creative control issues in October 1995. They were the lead dancers at the iconic Radio City Music Hall in New York City, which was captured and put on DVD. Butler left Riverdance in January 1997 after a long and fruitful run with the show.
Butler worked with Dunne once more to produce the film Dancing on Dangerous Ground, based on the ancient Irish legend of Diarmuid and Gráinne. It began in London in 1999 and then in New York, earning critical acclaim.
She was also given the Irish Post Award in 1999 for her "outstanding contribution to Irish Dance". Butler served as Artist In Residence at the University of Limerick's Irish World Music Centre from 2003 to 2005. The University of Limerick gave her the "Outstanding Contribution to Arts & Culture Alumni Award" in 2009.
In 2004, she was given a grant by the Irish Arts Council to create a solo work. She released an instructional DVD with Jean Butler, which her sister also participated in, and completed a Master's Degree in Contemporary Dance Performance from the University of Limerick in 2005.
She premiered "Does She Take Sugar?"
The Project Arts Centre in Dublin hosted an exhibition on April 12, 2007. With Colin Dunne and George Hook, she is a judge on Raidió Partif's Éireann reality show Celebrity Jigs 'n' Reels.In 2010, she decided to leave active dancing.
In January 2011, it was revealed that she had invented and launched her own jewelry collection. The collection was unveiled at RDS' Showcase Ireland later this month.
Butler has appeared in many films, including The Brylcreem Boys, Goldfish Memory, The Revengers Tragedy, and Old Friends. She has appeared in large-budget Hollywood films such as Meet Joe Black with Brad Pitt and The Postman with Kevin Costner.