High Kicks and High Stakes: Sky Arts announces new series, The Battle of the Irish Dancers

Hot on the heels of the Irish Dancing World Championships in Dublin this month, Sky is today announcing a brand-new series charting the drama and devotion of Ireland’s most loved artform. New Sky Original, The Battle of the Irish Dancers, coming later this year, follows a cast of dedicated dancers and their teachers on the road to the Championships, spotlighting a dance form which requires the strength, endurance and agility of an Olympian.

Airing on Sky Arts, the three-part series celebrates Irish dancing as a life-enhancing art form requiring the skill and discipline of a professional athlete. Follow the dancers as they strive for excellence in the biggest competition of their careers and discover how a small island produced a pastime that became a global phenomenon, making its mark on Australia, America, Asia and Russia and finding its way to Broadway and the West End.

The Battle of the Irish Dancers is produced by Big Mountain Productions. Jane Kelly and Philip McGovern serve as executive producers, Muireann McGinty is the series producer and Edel O’Mahony is the series director. The series was commissioned by Phil Edgar-Jones, Executive Director of Unscripted Originals at Sky for Cécile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Sky Studios & Chief Content Officer for Sky. The Commissioning Editor for Sky is Barbara Lee.

The Battle of the Irish Dancers airs later this year on Sky Arts, Freeview and NOW in the UK and Sky Arts and NOW in Ireland

For UK press enquiries, please contact molly.wyatt@sky.uk

For Ireland press enquiries, please contact cara.mcallister@sky.ie