In the past five years, country music has captured the imagination of a new generation. The youngsters in rural Northern Ireland have replaced the nightclubs with country music dances. Stars like Derek Ryan, Mike Denver and Johnny Brady are packing out venues across the country, much to the delight of thousands of twentysomethings.
The craze for the music brings a resurgence in the dancing that goes with it. So from Larne to Longford, jive classes are jam-packed. Dance teachers like Niall Doorhy can pack seventy eager learners into his class in west Meath on a Tuesday night. This is a scene repeated across the country, as music fans learn their moves in the hope of graduating onto the dance floor.
Jiving has now become so popular it is almost a competitive sport on the dance floors of Ireland. The top jivers are an elite group who move in packs around the country to dance with each other, learn new moves and groove to the best dance bands from Monaghan to Mallow. With this craze for dancing perfection comes the ambition to be crowned a 'champion dancer' - a much-coveted title.
In this episode, we follow the fates of some very competitive young dancers who have their sights set on the top prizes at the jiving competition at the Monaghan Town Country Music Festival - which attracts the top dancing talent in Ireland. We traverse the country roads of Ulster with jiving aces as they gear up for the big competition showdown. Show less